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HOPPER FLY PATTERNS HOPPERS Daves Hopper Daves Hopper Green Daves Hopper Orange Daves Hopper Yellow Joes Hopper Letort Hopper Madam X About the Hopper Fly   Author: Unknown HOPPER FLIES Under most conditions, trout do not care if their food rises up from the stream bottom to hatch, or if it falls in from the bank above. They pay close attention to the surface making terrestrials an important food source. Fly fisherman should not neglect flies that represent terrestrial insects. Terrestrials can make up more than 60% of a fish's diet at certain times of the year in late summer and early fall. Grasshoppers will survive after the first frosts, although they are less lively, and therefore more vulnerable. Hopper patterns will catch fish in most places well into October. (Terrestrial insects include any fish food that has no aquatic stage like grasshoppers, ants, crickets, beetles, leafhoppers, caterpillars, inch worms, spiders, snails) During certain times of the year, grasshoppers become abundant. Often, a wind will blow these great fish snacks into your favorite waters. A vest full of grasshopper simulations will often cause the surface waters around you to explode with hungry trout. A delicate presentation is not essential because even selective trout (smallmouth or largemouth bass, bluegill, etc.) are looking for the telltale splash of this helpless terrestrial as it flops into their eating zone. These hopper patterns are generally big flies and you can use short leaders that are easy to cast. Moreover, even if a hopper has been chewed on a few times, the fish don't seem to hesitate to smash them again. Grasshoppers swim by kicking their hind legs in unison, using the same method as they employ when jumping. You should simply mimic this action by fishing the fly on the surface and retrieving it with short sharp pulls. Continue for about three feet and then let your fly drift for 10 seconds before recommencing the retrieve. This imitates the grasshopper at rest. Hoppers as a rule, hatch from eggs in June and July and are full grown by mid-August. The adults continue to feed up to the first frost. The eggs are laid under ground in late September or October. The premium hopper fishing occurs in August and early September. You will find your best hopper fishing on hot windy afternoons. The only downside with hopper flies is that they don't work all year round but keep some in your fly box just in case. Overhanging banks are the key to successfully fishing Hoppers. Most grasshoppers that find their way into the water's surface are concentrated in the foliage along these banks. Banks provide cover and shade for fish during hot summer afternoons. Therefore, fish which move to the banks for cover and shade, are putting themselves in the exact place where grasshoppers are most available. On larger rivers, grasshoppers should be cast as close to the banks as possible. This is most effective in streams where banks are slightly undercut and where vegetation hangs out over the water. On small streams, trout often see the presentation of grasshoppers all across the water and will be willing to take an imitation in the middle of the stream.