Newbie hopper pattern subject revisited

On Nov 10, 9:47 pm, George Adams wrote:
On Nov 10, 8:55 pm, mdk77 wrote:

Tonight I saw a pattern in my fly tying book called a Madame-X. It
said it could be used as a hopper, and it sat low in the water (like
some here have mentioned is a "good thing"). It looked real easy to
tie (I'm in my first season of tying so easy is a good thing right
now).

Any of you used this pattern with success as a hopper?

I'm going to give up one of my secret weapons here......tie the Madam
X all in black in size 10. It probably represents a cricket, or maybe
a large beetle, I don't know. What I do know, is once the Sulphur
hatch on my home water ends in August, this becomes my #1 dry pattern.
It is especially effective in September and October, and I have even
caught a few fish on it in November. Another good late summer/ early
fall producer for me is a Bumblebee, tied with deer hair on a size 10
hook.

The black makes sense as a cricket. Now that you mention it, I will
also tie it in a deer hair color that matches the olive grasshoppers
where I fish, rather than the natural color suggested in my fly tying
book......or maybe I'll tie all 3 colors: natural, olive & black.

We have different size hoppers around here, so I will also match the
more common sizes. This Madame-X fly will be a great addition to my
terrestrial box flies. Happy Days!!!

"mdk77" wrote
Tonight I saw a pattern in my fly tying book called a Madame-X. It
said it could be used as a hopper, and it sat low in the water (like
some here have mentioned is a "good thing"). It looked real easy to
tie (I'm in my first season of tying so easy is a good thing right
now).

Any of you used this pattern with success as a hopper?


Oh yeah. Great little bug. Even better if you tie it ala the mad librarian,
Conan: under the deer hair wing, add a couple CDC feathers. Gives it a
little extra motion.

Another variation I like is to tie it with a few strands of kystal flash or
something similar in the tail area. Good at dusk and dawn.

Have fun,

-Dan

mdk77 wrote:
Tonight I saw a pattern in my fly tying book called a Madame-X. It
said it could be used as a hopper, and it sat low in the water (like
some here have mentioned is a "good thing"). It looked real easy to
tie (I'm in my first season of tying so easy is a good thing right
now).

Any of you used this pattern with success as a hopper?


The Madame X is a classic terrestrial pattern. Try sometime a Turck's
Tarantula, which was derived from the Madame X. It's like a grasshopper
in drag. The fish love it.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

"mdk77" wrote in message
(I'm in my first season of tying so easy is a good thing right
now).

I tied up a mess o' those for a DDFS swap a few years back.
http://www.gula.org/roffswaps/detail...e=DD2001&id=18 Nice pattern, not
too tough to tie, but the getting the hair length right can be frustrating
until you get into the rhythm. (That's one of the great things about the
swaps - after tying up a couple dozen wrong , you start getting good at
doing it right.)

Joe F.

On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:55:58 -0000, mdk77
wrote:

Tonight I saw a pattern in my fly tying book called a Madame-X. It
said it could be used as a hopper, and it sat low in the water (like
some here have mentioned is a "good thing"). It looked real easy to
tie (I'm in my first season of tying so easy is a good thing right
now).

Any of you used this pattern with success as a hopper?

That is what I call a "big ugly". It works wonderfully on several
waters, east and west, that I have fished. It is especially valuable
when tying a dropper on. It floats and floats and floats. I've taken
salmon and big rainbows with it. Also, it is the fly to use when
going after carp and pan fish.

Dave