Foam Hopper?

Any body got a *foam hopper* pattern they would like to share? I saw the
1st live grasshopper of the summer today. I usually tie them with
conventional materials but would like to give the foam a go.
Thanks, DH


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DoubleHaul
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Here is my Improved Hopper


These hoppers catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout, bluegill and
catfish and are excellent searching new waters. They can be used almost
year around and are especially useful in wind. Yellow ones are easy to see
in faint light. Floating and sinking hoppers are equally effective. Use
small green size 12 hoppers in early season and big size 4 brown and yellow
hoppers in the late fall. This pattern is tied under the hook making it ride
higher and more fish-attractive.


Pattern Traditional Material

Hook: Size 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 4X long, light wire Dai-Riki
700;.Mustad 9671 or 9672; or Daiichi 1710 or 1720. Choose lightest wire
possible.

Thread: 6/0 - size 8-12; 3/0 - size 6-4; black, yellow or green
waxed.

Tail: Dyed crimson hen saddle hackle - 5-7 fibers -2/3 to
100% web.

Body: Small and medium round foam; yellow and white colored
with Leaf Green and Tan Prismacolor permanent marker.

Wings: Natural brown, dyed yellow and green hen back; bent and
prepared.

Under 7-9 bleached and dyed yellow or green elk or moose hairs,

Coating: Dave's Flexament or Softtex on Saran Wrap.

Hackle: Grizzly; natural, dyed yellow or green, shiny side
forward.

Legs: Knotted pheasant tail fibers or trimmed grizzly hackle
stem.



In advance, coat bottom side of hen feather, place bottom side on Saran Wrap
and let dry overnight.



Instructions

1. Measure piece of foam size of hook, measured from bend to hook eye,
and cut.

2. Measure one hook gap on foam, then punch hook point through center
of foam and push foam up against hook eye out of the way. Insert hook in
vise.

3. Select 5-7 red hackle fibers one gap long, trim and tie off looping
down at bend.

4. Pull foam back to thread, place foam under hook with short end to
left of thread and over red fibers. Using soft loop technique and thumb
nail, form abdomen under hook, crossing on top of hook. Tie off end of foam
leaving room for hackle.

5. Select, pack and trim hair foam length plus one half gap extra. Tie
in and wrap hair.

6. Tie in legs; splayed. For ease in tying, tuck ends of legs under
hopper through bend.

7. Select dried hen back feather that is at least as long as foam.
Using scissors, trim Saran Wrap, discarding webby fluff. Bend in halves
along center of feather, Saran side down. Trim to form matching wing case.

8. Tie in wing case over legs and hair, leave room for tying head,
cement if desired.

9. Select grizzly hackle, tie in dull side forward, whip finish and
apply head cement.



The yellow size 8 caught a 16 inch small bass today. Hope this helps. Any
questions, just let me know
Good luck!
John


"DoubleHaul" wrote in message
news

Any body got a *foam hopper* pattern they would like to share? I saw the
1st live grasshopper of the summer today. I usually tie them with
conventional materials but would like to give the foam a go.
Thanks, DH


--
DoubleHaul
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DoubleHaul's Profile:
http://www.njflyfishing.com/vBulleti...hp?userid=1306
View this thread:
http://www.njflyfishing.com/vBulleti...ad.php?t=11797


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DoubleHaul wrote:

Any body got a *foam hopper* pattern they would like to share? I saw the
1st live grasshopper of the summer today. I usually tie them with
conventional materials but would like to give the foam a go.

You could always try the "club sandwich":
http://shop.flyfishing.about.com/fly...etails/328.htm

Then there's the "klod hopper":
http://fishingwithflies.com/HoppersKlodHopper.htm

Last night I was playing around with a "new" design. I had tied
some furled body mayflies for my trip to the mountains last month, and
got to thinking that a similar design might work for hoppers.

To tie a furled body you attach some poly yarn to your hook and
leave it extending back past the bend. Twist the yarn until it just
starts to kink. Double it forward over itself, letting it twist around
itself, pulling the loose piece forward to the desired length of the
body. Tie the loose piece off on top of the hook. (If this isn't
making any sense, you can see it done he
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...31907fotw.html)

Anyhow, I took some yellow poly yarn (a thick piece, as hoppers have
bulky bodies), attached it to a #10 Tiemco 2487 and made an extended
furled body (I left the top piece long to use as a parachute post). I
then added a turkey quill wing over that, dubbed up to where I posted
the poly yarn, tied in an oversized grizzly hackle on the post, tied in
a brown/black mottled rubber leg on either side, dubbed in front of the
legs and wrapped my hackle and tied off.

The result is a pretty cool-looking extended body hopper that should
sit pretty low on the water, but with the poly yarn, should float quite
well. And as soon as we get a couple of days without flooding, I'll
give it a try. :-|


Chuck Vance