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Hoppers Patterns

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Anyone interested in posting pictures of your favorite Hopper patterns? Foam, Deer hair, or other. I'm looking for some inspiration for the winter tying season.

 

Cheers

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Just to throw it out there. What do people class as a hopper pattern?? When I first starter tying hawthorn flies and crane flies were good imitations for where I lived and generally 'hopper' flies covered that floating long legged bug. But what is a hopper pattern meant to be and what is/are the key points to tying a hopper as opposed to a leggy dry??

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Piker20,

 

There is a long history of specific grasshopper patterns like Joe's Hopper and Dave's Hopper but since foam an even larger selection has evolved. Almost any major fly retailer will have several imitations among their inventory

 

Usually, a yellow Trude, or Humpy or Yellow Stimulator will imitate the majority of hoppers we see in Wyoming, having a similar profile and coloration.

 

We also had a local pattern known as a Rummy's Dummy that was basically tied like the traditional Yellow Grayback. Yellow Double Humpy very popular on Snake River in Western Wyo.

 

Simple and durable is premium because the fish just pound them when keying on land dwelling bugs.

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Here are few from my archives, Sampler.

 

If you run a Google Images search - Dave's Hopper Fly Pattern- there are many variant's shown.

 

Have fun, I may have to tie up a Rummy's Dummy for old times sake, it is simple and one of the first things I learned to tie back in the early days. Worked well on the Sweetwater River browns and Little Wind River cutthroats.

cdchopper.jpg

foam hopper.jpg

parachute hopper.jpg

Yellow deerhair hopper.jpg

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Ah of course grass hoppers. In the UK a typical hopper would find itself grouped with crane flies and looks like a heavy hackled wet fly with knotted pheasant tail legs. I'll add a link when near a computer, haven't figured how smart phones do that yet.

UK ones tend not to be anything like as big as the foam and deer hair US ones.

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Thanks for the responses so far. Always inspired by a nice looking fly I am looking to fill my boxes early this year.

 

Piker20- I would like to see your crane posted feel free to post away. Creativity it's a great thing.

 

Joe's hopper and Dave's hopper have always been a favorite of mine.

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Chernobyl Ant is another good foam hopper.

 

Piker, our grasshoppers and locusts often run between 2" and 3" long. A big mouthful for a hungry fish.

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I like some of the foam patterns. Even stonefly patterns often make good hopper imitations.

 

100_4693_zps86d474b7.jpg

 

100_4688_zps0897f319.jpg

 

100_4692_zps47ce8d50.jpg

 

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100_4689_zpsb79d6900.jpg

 

100_4245A.jpg

 

 

In the past, and because I primarily use them for bass, these simple cork bodied sliders worked well as Hoppers.

100_4691_zps6940044a.jpg

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Confession time: I have frequently fished a live grasshopper on a bare #12 hook.

 

When I could catch some, I just hooked from top of thorax into the chest plate, then cast downstream at 90-45 degree angle, stripping out a lot of slack and trying to keep control of about 9 feet of line if strike occurred. Usually, when the little beasts were kicking their little legs and splashing about, they did not survive to the end of the drift. When they did survive to the end of drift, I still caught many fish stripping the line back -about one foot increments.

 

Once caught a big golden trout on a Joe's Hopper, in Wind River range, in a glacial lake about 1/2 mile above the timberline, there wasn't a real hopper within 5 miles of the place. I think there is something instinctual bored into the trout's brain and hoppers rule in moving water in August.

 

Good luck with tying and fishing these patterns-many very cool and innovative, thanks for putting up the topic.

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I like the "Club Sandwich" style and the chernobyls. also like a smaller black version to imitate crickets

 

But my favorite is the JS Foamie on my site, worked all summer long in various colors on panfish, smallmouth and largemouth.

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