Hoppers have been devaatating on the Bow river for the past few weeks.
Friday last week, had a total of 16 fish on/in (all released) all on hopper patterns. From classics to Tripledeck Club Sandwich foamies.
So let's see some patterns with recipes and stories !
Used a a strike indicator with a dropper nymph tied to the hook bend.
Story: Developped locally by Mike Guinn who got tired of having large trout try to eat his strike indicator.... seriously. I work the fly close to the bank and hunt large snouts that I see rising but taht are not consistent risers. So far I'm 60% on the hopper and 40% on the dropper nymph.
Body: Foam strip (Orange, yellow, tan, brown) with a palmered red/brown hackle
Underwing: Moose mane
Wing: Yellow or white deer hair
Front Hackle: Two large red/brown feathers
Remember, the design is used as a strike indicator as much as an edible hopper so the fly is quite bulky, shown as a size 6
Pete, grass hoppers are seen infrequently on the waters I fish so I don't tie my own. I do keep some imitations in the box, but they tend to be out of the Umpuqua display at the local fly shop. Otherwise a greased unweighted muddler gets the nod.
Well hoppers did the trick again today.
9 fish landed, 1 @ 18 Inches, 1 @ 24 inches and the rest at 19 to 20 inches.
Too bad you don't get the hopper trick back there as much as we do here.
Pete - Hoppers are by far my favorite insect patterns to use (second only to streamers in my heart); I will post a few pics in the upcoming days when I get a chance. Hopefully some others on the forum will post theirs, as well!
I fished smaller hopper patterns #8's and 10's on the rivers along the NH / Vermont border as soon as I got my drivers license and went camping up there quite a bit in those days. One stretch of the Ammonusuc River is lined with crop fields and willows and all you have to do is drift a hopper along the willows to get trout lounging in the shade to come out and nail the big bug all day long.
Those were the days! I really have to get back up there again this fall.
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