How to Tie a Three Dollar Dip

Producer: Tightline Productions

Many years ago, I floated the Madison River with Josh Duchateau of Firehole Ranch, and he suggested I start with a Three Dollar Dip. Although I was familiar with the original Serendipity, I’d never heard of this particular variation. The little fly worked like a charm, and I’ve since made sure I had a few of these patterns in my nymph box. In Craig Mathews’s book Fly Patterns of Yellowstone, Volume Two, he writes that guide Nick Nicklas designed the Three Dollar Dip because he wanted a version with a slimmer body than the original Serendipity. (He named the new pattern after the famous Three Dollar Bridge, of course.) In this video from Tightline Productions, Matt Grobert walks us through the simple steps for creating a beadhead version of the Three Dollar Dip.

Three Dollar Dip
Hook: Scud/pupa hook (here a Dai-Riki #135), size 16.
Bead: Gold, 3/32-inch.
Thread/body: Brown, 6/0 or 140-denier.
Rib: Gold wire, fine.
Wingbud: Bleached elk hair.