As we head into August, I have hoppers on my mind. For whatever reason, I do not prioritize terrestrials in my tying over the winter months. I have other bugs on my mind and rarely get around to it by the time spring fishing gets good. So I catch myself tying last-minute terrestrials come August.
I thought it’d be fun to share a few thoughts as I tie a few hopper variations in preparation for late-summer fishing in the Yellowstone Region.
The two hopper platforms I am playing with are the Sweetgrass Hopper and Rainy’s Grand Hopper. The Sweetgrass Hopper was made famous by Doug McKnight, who designed it for the Yellowstone River near Livingston. It’s a fun fly that has worked well for me over the years across the Yellowstone Region. The Rainy’s Hopper is one I have always been fascinated by, as it was the first hopper I used when moving out to Montana. I fell in love with the foam color and those cream-barred legs. While I’ve never been able to find legs exactly like the ones on the production fly, I gave it my best shot this week with what I had.
I believe one of the most important aspects of a hopper fly is its legs. Properly positioned, prominent legs make a big difference in a successful grasshopper fly. As you can see from the photos, I have been playing around with different leg variations. The MFC rubber legs are the perfect color and make for great movement on the surface. I love the tan color as it gives the fly bin appeal, matches the naturals, and is easy to sharpie. But these legs are slightly bulky in the medium size for small hoppers. That’s when I went to barred floss legs, which made for a great look with the beautiful barring. Both legs are somewhat easy to knot, especially when compared to the foam legs popular nowadays.
I think it is hard to beat a foam body for a hopper pattern nowadays. While I love classic fly patterns made with natural materials, foam is the best at staying afloat and emulating a natural grasshopper. There are also a ton of foam colors to choose from, and foam is easy to sketch with markers to get the exact color you want. MFC has come out with some epic foam colors, and I played around with the creme and gold high-rise foam. This stuff is top quality, and I plan to buy more colors in the future.
As I’ve already hinted at, I love incorporating marker in my hopper patterns. A good friend of mine ties some incredibly realistic flies, using markers to get the proper shade and color. He has inspired me to do the same. Whether it’s adding eyes to the fly, dotting the body, coloring the legs, or changing the shade of foam, markers go a long way toward tying a realistic, epic-looking hopper pattern.
One difficulty I have had this week is in choosing the proper hopper hook. Historically, I prefer a slightly heavier hook for foam flies. It seems to help them sit upright on the surface and hold large trout. That said, I’ve yet to land on a hook I love. Any suggestions? A few hooks I have been playing with include Umpqua 3761 and 5262, along with their TMC 201R.
The best way to tie hopper patterns is in bulk, with so much prep going into the body and legs. I didn’t have time this week to tie in bulk, so it’s been a slow process. Each fly has been taking me upwards of 20 minutes. I enjoy the process though, and did my best to tie a quality fly. I use River Road foam cutters to get consistent body profiles, super glue to keep legs and foam in place, and permanent Sharpie markers to shade the body.
The goal with this hopper was to achieve a realistic hopper pattern with bin appeal. I think these flies are a great start. Hopefully I can find some time to get out on a small stream and test them out here soon.
I also tied a few ants, cause these are the terrestrials that actually catch fish this time of year. Harrop’s CDC ant is by far my favorite ant pattern and has fooled some great trout over the years.
I’d love to hear about your favorite hopper flies, and please send pictures of what hoppers you have been tying recently. While conditions are tough right now with low water, it’s worth getting out and trying to get a nice hopper fish before fall arrives.
Thanks for reading,
Nick
1 thought on “Tying A Hopper Pattern”
Nick, you tie some of the best hopper patterns out there.