The Grasshopper Fly Hall of Fame

The Grasshopper Fly Hall of Fame

Ah, grasshopper–you’ve come to the special part of the dry-fly season. When trout eat surface-riding “T-bone steaks,” because they simply cannot help themselves. It’s “grasshopper time” when “time on water equals fish”–maybe the most magical, and honest, dry-fly season of all.

But what hopper pattern should you cast? Well, if you search the interwebs, you’ll find plenty of recommendations, most of which carry a “click here, buy now” tag, which essentially means they’re advertisements–some of them produce, though many do not. 

I’ll give you my best ten grasshopper fly patterns, and in doing so, I’ll challenge anyone to knock any one of them off the list. Of course, there are other hot new ideas, and some cool new patterns that work wonders, but if there were a hall of fame of grasshopper fly patterns that have been proven over time, I think these should be the first ten inductees.

Dave’s Hopper. Created by Dave Whitlock, it’s a realistic facsimile that actually looks like a grasshopper. Not sure what the red tail is all about, but my grandfather said any grasshopper without a red tail isn’t worth a damn. Floats well, fast water, slow water, works both east and west, so realistic and buoyant you need it somewhere in the arsenal.

Dave’s Whit Hopper. Also created by Dave “Whit”lock. Like a floating corn husk with a bullet head. Whitlock was simply dialed on hoppers more than any of his contemporaries. This is my favorite hopper pattern for big, western rivers, and the truth is, the more it gets chewed on, the rattier it gets, the better it works. I’d trade a brand-new bug for a well-munched Whit’s Hopper any day. Mr. Whitlock was, unquestionably, the greatest hopper master of our time.

Amy’s Ant. Jackson, Wyoming, icon Jack Dennis created this pattern and named it for his daughter. And this puppy just plain works. I swear by the tan color. It rides beautifully in riffles and flats, and might just be the ideal complement for any dry-dropper rig. But trout also undoubtedly love it on top, and if you get refused, it’s the best “size down for a second shot” bug that will earn an eat on a follow-up.

Chernobyl Ant. This simple black foam terrestrial taught us (or should’ve taught us) that profile, and action, are paramount when it comes to fishing terrestrials like hoppers. I worry so much more about size and profile these days than I care about colors, accents and so forth. Extensions like the “Chubby” or a “Fat Albert” only serve to underscore the importance of a buoyant ride and enticing silhouette. This pattern changed the terrestrial game entirely.

Muddler Minnow. Wait? Isn’t the Muddler a streamer fly, meant to imitate a baitfish like a sculpin? Well, yeah. But it can also be the most versatile fly in your box, if you know how to fish it, and when. Grease it up, and it’s a top-riding hopper. Maybe it’s a drowned hopper. I will never hit a river without at least one Muddler in my quiver.

The BC Hopper. Named for the collaboration between John Barr “B” and Charlie Craven “C,” this bug encapsulates a sturdy dose of the best fly innovation prowess that’s ever been poured into a single fly pattern. It is, no doubt, a beefy tostada, and I prefer to fish it in the Rockies, much more than Michigan or anywhere east. It thrives where the currents are roily, but it’s also one of the best top-riders for a hopper-dropper rig you might find.

Schroeder’s Parachute Hopper. It seems like an Adams Parachute (mayfly, dry fly) on steroids. It’s easy to see and track after you make a cast, but the lighter materials through the body make it more “natural” than a heavy foam body slapping down on the river surface. In slower, less choppy water, there are few options that produce better.

Letort Hopper. This one proved its mettle on one of the most difficult spring creeks in the world, where trout are super-selective. A simple (hopper inspired) bullet head, worked down to a thin body, with a highly-visible hair wing. Makes perfect sense, and it works, no doubt, far away from Pennsylvania. It isn’t the best top ride for a dry-dropper rig, but it might be the best answer for a trout that you saw almost eat the first hopper pattern you threw, if you want to switch and give them a second chance.  

Morrish Hopper. The Morrish Hopper is a smartly engineered fly because it flips all the switches that appeals to a trout that might be vulnerable to an attractor fly. The silhouette, of course, looks buggy, like a grasshopper, and it has those tantalizing wiggly rubber legs. It’s not my favorite dry-dropper hopper, and it’s not my favorite single presentation terrestrial bug, but it’s a damn good bug when you’re figuring out everything in between.

Rainy’s Hopper. This is a foamy, spongey pattern, and while it might ride high in the current after a cast or two, it really shines after those casts, when the tail end sinks a bit, and it looks like a grasshopper “cripple” pattern. I won’t fish this one in dead-flat water, but I will lean on it, hard, in riffly water, especially when I’ve attached a trailer nymph. – Kirk Deeter

Your Late-summer Hopper Checklist

Required reading for aspiring hopper anglers: Modern Terrestrials by Rick Takahashi, Terrestrial Fishing by Ed Koch, Seven Tips for Fly Fishing Hoppers from The Missoulian Angler Fly Shop, Five Tips for Montana Hopper Fishing from the Montana Angler, A Crash Course in Hopper Fishing from Fly Fisherman: “Too many people try to cast a leader that is too long, so the fly is more easily blown off target, or just doesn’t turn over.”

The hopper media vault: “Hopper Season”: South-Central Oregon's spring-fed Williamson River. Wild Fly's “Prairie Hoppers”: A week of hopper fishing and truck camping in Montana. “Hopper Season on the Madison” from Madison River Fishing Company. Hopper fishing school: “Ten Tips for Fishing Grasshoppers” from Red’s Fly Shop (we love the slap reach cast and non-slip mono loop hacks). Fall hopper day with Gilbert Rowley. A “once in a generation grasshopper event” from Jensen Fly Fishing (the brown trout eat is worth the wait).

Fly selection: When you’re thinking about selecting hopper patterns, the fly choices can be nearly overwhelming. Our partners, Yellow Dog Flyfishing (10% off Yellow Dog “fly assortments” with a Flylab membership) and Madison River Fishing Company (20% off all flies with a Flylab membership), carry 64 and 34 different patterns, respectively. How do you choose? Well, you want some foam patterns that can ride low in the water film for slower water conditions. You also should have some hi-visibility, high-floating patterns for heavier, bumpier water. (And vary the sizing and coloring for both.) You also should hunt down some classic deer hair, feathered patterns like the Dave’s Hopper and Whit Hopper, that can be a little more life-like. Think big vs. small and thin vs. “bushy” profiles. All of which was covered in Deeter’s excellent fly rundown above.

We pulled this from the previous “Stonefly Hooksets” newsletter, but the same applies to hoppers: slap them on the water. Fish can often be triggered by the sound, or vibrations, from big hoppers hitting the water. Try to intentionally power your forward cast, so your fly slaps the water with a little more sound and commotion. (We also love the slap reach cast from Red’s Fly Shop: “Ten Tips for Fishing Grasshoppers.”) As long as you don’t get into the bad habit of tailing your loops, you might be surprised by the results… 

Gearing up: Approach the hopper fly-fishing game with the correct equipment, which often means having the right fly rod and matching fly line that are capable of doing the work (think 9-foot five and six-weight fly rods, unless you’re on smaller walk-wade streams). Hopper fishing requires long casts with big bugs, lots of line mending and longer leaders. Undergunned fly rods can become an exercise in futility. 

Let ‘em ride: The late Denny Breer, one of the Green River’s best fly-fishing guides, often talked about leaving big flies (hoppers, cicadas) on the water much longer than anticipated. From Castwork: “When float-fishing the Green with large terrestrials and cicadas, Denny urges, sometimes demands, his clients to leave their flies on the water as long as possible without readjusting or recasting. Over time, Green River trout have trained themselves to avoid fly patterns (especially those of poor-flying cicadas) that do not remain undisturbed on the water for longer than 25 to 30 seconds. For the trout, it is simply a means of survival. In their minds, big bugs that move unnaturally or too often are fraudulent and never worth eating. I don’t care how pretty the fly is, says Denny, if you move it all the time, they’ll know it's a fake.”

Loop your tippet knots to big dry flies. Fishing grasshoppers means using larger flies and heavier tippets, which can impede fly movement. A great hack is using a tippet-to-fly loop knot, like the non-slip mono loop, to add some more life and “twitch” to your presentations. The boys at Red’s Fly Shop also note that you get better hooking angles.

Product Buzz

We review the Hardy 1912 Perfect Fly Reel, Airflo Superflo Universal Taper Fly Line and Romano talks about “Rehabbing Old, Rusty Boat Trailers.” Hatch Magazine reviews (basically, a press release) Redington’s ACE fly reels: “redesigned carbon-fiber drag system to provide a longer lifespan and more torque.” TroutRoutes (40% off with a Flylab membership) has added two new stream gauge networks to their app, adding thousands of new waterways. “How to Choose the Right Fly Rod” from Epic Fly Rods. “Outfitting the Ultimate Fly Fishing Truck” (even some tire recommendations) from Midcurrent. Louis Cahill from Gink & Gasoline provides an excellent primer on fly lines for switch rods. 

Fly-fishing News

Check out the BONEDALE FISHING REPORTS four, five and six, featuring legendary guide, Kea Hause, from Colorado’s Roaring Fork valley. Fish Handling 101: Keeping them healthy, especially when it’s hot. “The Passion And Peril Of Guiding In Tanzania” from The Flyfish Journal. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is opposing the state of Utah’s attempt to seize control of 18.5 million acres of federal public lands–make your voice heard. Hilary Hutcheson, a guide, outfitter, writer, filmmaker and conservationist from Columbia Falls, MT, talks to the Sidchannels podcast. “Dawson” the 2024 Stimmies Awards Winner from Fly Fusion. “Tom”: The friend fish deserve from Patagonia Films: “The Babine River is just the place I need to be…”

Quote of the week: “Activism is the rent you pay for living on the planet.” – Bruce Hill

Recent Press

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“We think you guys are starting a race to the bottom with discounts…” – Anonymous Manufacturer

Where do we even start to unpack this legacy manufacturer perspective…

Why do we provide the angling consumer discounts? Because fly rods are now $1200, waders $900, fly lines $130 and guide trips $800, for a dude who can barely row. I guess you should think of us like a form of consumer protection.

Also, every week our collective inboxes are filled with the latest, greatest manufacturer DTC marketing campaigns intended to discount almost everything. 

So, the consumer is getting routinely gouged, the fly shop is contractually forbidden from running deals and the manufacturers slowly inflate prices and discount when they feel like it? The fly-fishing marketplace is quickly evolving to a place where almost everyone, except the hard goods brands, is losing.

We’re always looking for Flylab feedback–send any comments, thoughts, suggestions, and we’d love to hear from you.

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