The Hopper Store

It is a new year and I am excited to be able to share with all of you my new online hopper tying supply store. Over the years I have searched high and low for a variety of colors and thicknesses of foam for tying my own personal hoppers and other foam flies. Now with the Hopper Store I hope to provide you with the best of what I have found in one convenient location.

If you go check out the store, you will find fly tying foam from .5mm – 6mm thick in all the best colors. Along with sheets of foam, I have pre-cut bodies in various sizes, colors and thicknesses perfect for tying anything from 2mm Improved Chaos Hoppers to 6mm Morrish Hoppers. Some of my favorite foam to mix things up with lately has been the fuzzy foam and different two-tone combos. I plan to keep expanding the store as I discover new and better supplies. If there is anything that I don’t carry that you would like to see please let me know.

On a final note, I am offering free shipping on any item in the store from now until January 8th. To take advantage of the special, just enter the code FREESHIP2012 at checkout.

Happy tying and happy new year!

Green Machine Skwala Tutorial

PATTERN DESCRIPTION:

The Green Machine was originally tied to imitate a Skwala stonefly which is a late-winter to early-spring hatching stonefly here in Montana.  The original Green Machine is tied with brown/olive two-tone foam, with the olive tied down as the underside of the body to match the greenish belly of a Skwala adult. In addition to being a great Skwala pattern, I’ve tied the Green Machine in darker two-tone colors like tan/cocoa to imitate caddis and in lighter colors like yellow/tan or cocoa/flesh to imitate grasshoppers.

The Green Machine is a must have fly in every fly box because of its versatility for imitating caddis, stoneflies and hoppers. This little pattern rides high and is easy to see because of its thick foam body and deer hair wing and fish seem to confidently take this fly year after year.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Hook:  2x-long dry fly or nymph hook.

Thread:  UTC 14o denier.  I usually use a contrasting color for this fly like yellow thread against green foam or brown thread against tan foam.

Tail: Brown biots

Foam:  Two-tone foam with a total thickness of 4mm.

Legs:  Medium size round rubber legs.

Underwing:  Crystal Flash

Wing:  Deer Hair.  I tie a few patterns with bleached deer hair as well.  The bleached hair is easier to see in low light situations.

Post:  White z-lon

Step 1:  Form a thread base on hook.  End thread at hook barb.

Step 2:  Measure biots as shown. Biots should extend one hook gap beyond tie in point.

Step 3:  Tie in biots at hook point and wrap thread forward to tie down biots.

Step 4:  Trim biots. Next cover ends of biots with a few thread wraps.  End thread at hook point.

Step 5:  Prepare two-tone foam strip.  Width of foam should be about hook gap in width and 2″ long.  The original Green Machine has a pointed tapered tail.  I used a medium pre-cut foam body above.

Step 6:  Tie down foam body with 2-3 firm wraps of thread.  End of body should extend just beyond biots.

Step 7:  Tie in legs on both sides of body with 5-6 thread wraps.

Step 8:  Advance thread on hook only to mid-point of hook shank.

Step 9:  Tie down foam body with 2-3 firm thread wraps.  Keep thread wraps to a minimum here…we still need to tie in wings and legs at this tie-in point.

Step 10:  Prepare 6-8 strands of crystal flash. We are going to double-over the wing so there will be 12-16 strands of crystal flash for the under-wing. Tie in crystal flash with 1-2 wraps of thread.

Step 11:  Push down crystal flash against foam body, trim flash even with end of body.

Step 12:  Prepare small clump of deer hair.  Tips of hair should extend just beyond end of foam body.

Step 13:  Apply two loose wraps of tread around butts of deer hair.  Next, tighten down loose wraps of thread by firmly pulling down on bobbin.  Apply 1-2 firm wraps of thread to secure deer hair.Step 14:  Apply z-lon post with 1-2 firm wraps of thread at same tie-in point as deer hair.

Step 15:  Tie in legs on both sides of body as shown above.

Step 16:  Advance thread, on hook only, to one eye length behind hook-eye as shown above.

Step 17:  Tie down foam body with 4-5 firm thread wraps.

Step 18:  Trim head of fly to shape and trim legs to length.  Notice legs on this fly are pretty short… each of 4 legs are about length of body. Trim post.  Post should be about length of deer hair.  Trim butts of post close to tie-in point.

Finished Green Machine

Fuzzy Foam Grand Hopper Tutorial

PATTERN DESCRIPTION:

How to tie Rainy’s High-Viz Grand Hopper.  Rainy’s Grand Hopper has been around for years, but the trout never seem to get tired of eating this realistic foam hopper.  With it’s wiggly, knotted rubber legs, thick foam body, and realistic over-wing, this hopper just flat out works.

I think the main fish attracting characteristic of this hopper is the thick foam body.  Most foam hoppers have bodies that are anywhere from 2mm- 6mm thick. Popular 2mm thick hopper patterns include the Improved Chaos Hopper, Sanchez Foam Hopper, and the Chubby Chernobyl.  4mm thick hopper patterns include Chernobyl Hoppers, Doug McKnight’s Sweetgrass Hopper and the Pink Pookie.  5mm-6mm thick hopper patterns include the Morrish Hopper, and the Grand Hopper.  All of these patterns catch trout,  but some days the fish seem to key in on hoppers that are sitting low in water, much like the real thing. The thicker the foam body on the hopper, the lower the hopper rides in the water.

The Grand Hopper is a deadly pattern that should be in everybody’s fly box, especially on those days when the fish are looking for low riding, thick bodied hoppers.  This hopper is easy to tie, and looks great in all sizes and colors.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Hook:  Any 2xlong and 2xstrong nymph hook size 6-14.  For the last few years I’ve been tying all my foam hoppers on nymph hooks because of their durability, plus my hoppers seem to land upright more often with the heavier hooks.

Thread:  UTC 140 denier.  Great foam tying thread because of its strength, and the fact that it doesn’t cut foam.

Foam:  5-6mm fly tying foam. You can use Fuzzy Foam, 6mm fly tying foam, or multi-layer two tone foam.  You can make your own fuzzy foam by adding furry foam to any foam with glue.

Underwing:  Crystal flash.

Wing:  Hen saddle feather applied to packing tape, trimmed to shape.

Legs: Medium attached round rubber legs from a strand.

Dubbing:  Dry fly dubbing.  I usually dub a slightly contrasting color than the color of the foam.

Post:  Any high-viz 2mm foam such as orange, goldenrod, or yellow.

Step 1:  Form a thread base on hook.  End thread 2 eye-lengths back from hook eye.

Step 2:  Cut hopper body out of layered foam, or trim out body with scissors.  Good rule for trimming out bodies is to cut hopper bodies the width of hook gap.  Above, I have a medium sized, pre-cut hopper body and a size 1o 2xl hook.

Step 3: Trimmed out 5mm hopper body.

Step 4:  Using a razor blade or scissors, cut a slit in foam body. Depth of slit should be about 2mm.

Step 5:  Notice the cut in the foam starts about a hook gap from tapered end of foam and ends at about the hook eye.

Step 6:  Apply a very thin layer of super glue to thread wraps.  We want the super glue to quickly set upon placement of foam body.  If you add too much glue, you will have to hold the body in place for several minutes before the glue dries.

Step 7:  Place foam hopper body onto hook. The slice in the foam should now just cover the hook as shown above.  Secure foam body to hook with 2-3 thread wraps.  Notice the hopper body is sitting high on the hook, not interfering with the hook gap.

Step 8:  Cross the thread back over the body of hopper, and secure the hopper body to hook with 2-3 thread wraps.

Step 9:  Apply and trim about a dozen strands of crystal flash for underwing.  The underwing should extend just beyond tapered end of hopper.

Step 10:  Make hopper wing.  Tear of a small piece of clear packing tape.  If you can find industrial strength tape, the feather should stay adhered.  For extra durability, add some spray adhesive to tape before applying feather.

Step 11:  Affix feathers to sticky side of packing tape.

Step 12:  Hopper wing.

Step 13:  Trim hopper overwing to shape.  I like the wing to be a little wider than the body of the hopper.

Step 14:  Once you’re happy with the width of the wing, fold the wing in half with sticky side of tape on the outside. Next trim one end of wing with scissors at angle as shown.

Step 15:  Shaped hopper wing.

Step 16:  Tie in hopper wing.  End of wing should extend to ends of crystal flash.

Step 17:  Tied in wing.

Step 18:  Make the knotted hopper legs.  Tie a loose overhand knot in 3-strands of med. round rubber leg material.  Hold knot as shown above, and apply a small dab of super glue to the overhand knot.

Step 19:  After applying superglue, tighten overhand knot.  The superglue will hold knot in place and doesn’t seem to weaken rubber legs if only a small amount is used.

Step 20:  Knotted rubber hopper legs.

Step 21:  Tie in hopper legs.  I usually tie in legs so the overhand knot is even with hook bend.

Step 22:  Trim legs at tie-in point and bind down with thread wraps.

Step 23:  Cover thread wraps with dubbing.

Step 24:  Attach single-strand front legs to both sides of hopper.

Step 25:  Top view of tied in hopper legs.

Step 26:  Attach post to hopper with 3-4 thread wraps.  Notice tie-in of post is same as tie-in of front legs.

Step 27:  Top view of post.

Step 28:  Apply dubbing to thread.  Apply enough dubbing to wrap 2-3 times around post tie-in area, and 2-3 wraps towards hook eye, or enough to cover up all thread wraps.

Step 29:  Whip finish hopper.

Step 30:  Trim head of hopper.

Step 31:  Separate 3-strands of rubber behind the overhand knot of back legs.

Step 32:  Trim away two of the strands of rubber behind overhand knot.

Step 33:  (optional)  Barr rubber hopper legs with permanent marker.

Step 34:  Add eyes with permanent marker.

Completed Grand Hopper

Fuzzy Foam Grand Hoppers

Purple GFA Foam Hopper Tutorial

PATTERN DESCRIPTION:

This hopper pattern was created by Walter Wiese out of Parks Fly Shop in Gardiner, Montana.  The GFA Hopper reminds me of the Madam-X, but with a little foam thrown in for floatation and a splash of color.  I really like this hopper in sz. 14 for fishing the smaller creeks here in Montana, but it works equally well on the big rivers like the Yellowstone River and Madison River late in the summer.  This pattern is easy to tie and looks and fishes well in all colors.  Tie some up and let me know how they work.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Hook: Dai Riki 280, sz 8-14.  The Dai Riki 280 is a specific Hopper Hook that is 2xl long with a curved shank.

Thread: UTC 70 denier for sz. 14, UTC 140 denier sz. 8-12.

Body:  2 mm craft foam.

Wing: Deer Hair.

Legs:  sz. medium rubber legs, barred.

Post:  2 mm craft foam, any bright color such as yellow, white, or orange.

Step 1

Step 1:  Wrap a tread base to point of hook.  I usually wrap a 3-5 layer thread base which seems to keep the hopper body from twisting on the hook.

Step 2

Step 2:  Cut a strip of 2mm craft foam.  Strip of foam should be width of gap of hook and 2″ long.

Step 3

Step 3:  Trim end of foam strip to a taper.  Next, place foam strip on top of hook as shown above and mark the foam with your fingernail just beyond the hook eye.

Step 4

Step 4:  Place the foam strip on top of hook. Next, line up the thumbnail mark in foam with the point of hook.  Bind down foam with 5-6 firm wraps of foam.

Step 5

Step 5:  Advance thread forward, on hook only, about a quarter of the way to eye of hook.  Bind down foam with 5-6 firm wraps of thread.

Step 6

Step 6:  Advance tread, on hook only, to eye of hook.

Step 7

Step 7:  Apply some super-glue to thread wraps as shown.

Step 8

Step 8:  Bind down foam strip with 4-5 firm thread wraps just behind eye of hook.

Step 9

Top View

Under-body view

Step 9:  Advance thread back over foam body to middle of hook eye and point of hook as shown above.  Bind down foam with 2 firm wraps of thread. Notice the three body segments.  The front segment should be a little bigger than the other two segments.   Keeps thread wraps to a minimum here since the rest of the steps will be tied in here.

Step 10

Step 10:  Tie in stacked deer hair with 4-5 firm wraps of thread.  The tips of hair should extend to tapered end of foam body.

Tied in deer hair

Step 11

Step 11:  Trim butts of deer hair.

Step 12

Step 12:  Apply super-glue to butts of trimmed deer hair as shown above.

Step 13

Step 13:  Form bullet head of hopper.  Pull strip of foam extending over eye of hook back, and bind down with 2 firm wraps of thread.

Step 14

Step 14:  Trim remaining strip of foam to desired length.

Step 15

Step 15:  Barr the rubber legs using a Sharpie or other permanent marker.

Step 16

Step 16:  Purple barred rubber legs.

Step 17

Step 17:  Tie in a foam post.  Cut a narrow strip of 2mm orange foam and bind down with 2 firm wraps of thread.

Step 18

Step 18:  Tie in rubber legs on both sides of hopper body with 3-4 thread wraps.

Step 18

Completed Fly

Step 19: After tying in both legs, whip finish fly.  Trim legs and post to desired length.  I usually trim the back legs even with end of tapered body and trim the front legs shorter. For added durability,  apply head cement to the thread around the legs.

Camo foam hoppers

Pink Camo Foam GFA Hopper

Blue-Winged Olives: Because it’s not Hopper season yet

Adult Baetis, just one of many hatching on the Yellowstone on a cloudy, calm day recently.

This Rivergod Emerger in a size 16 is one of my favorites for fooling fussy trout in the springtime. This pattern is easy to tie and deadly for fish that are keyed in on adult Baetis.  Check out Dennis Potter’s website for step-by-step instructions

Here’s a basic arsenal of nymphs for springtime fishing.  Even though they are not specific Baetis imitations, red or black Zebra Midges in size 14-16 along with Copper Johns in smaller sizes will pretty much do the trick 99% of the time when the fish aren’t rising.

Western Lady Hopper Tutorial

PATTERN DESCRIPTION:

Here is my tutorial on how to tie the Western Lady Hopper.  The Western Lady Hopper has been around for a couple of years now, but some of the bigger trout eat it up like it’s the real thing or something they’ve never seen before.  The Western Lady has a very buggy look, with all of those legs, plus it sits a little lower in the water than most hopper patterns because of its hackle-wrapped body. Every summer I am surprised how many big fish, especially brown trout, I catch on pink bodied hoppers like the Western Lady Hopper and Pink Pookie. Try this pattern out, I think you’ll be happy with the results.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Hook: Tiemco 5262 size 10-12

Thread: UTC 140 denier red thread

Foam: 2mm pink foam for the under-body, 3mm brown foam for the over-wing

Hackle: Brown hackle

Wing: Bleached elk hair

Post: 2mm foam in orange, yellow or white.

Legs: small round barred legs in gray, brown, or white.  Barred super-floss legs also work well for this pattern.

Step 1

Step 1: Form a thread base on hook.  End thread base at half-way point as shown above.

Step 2

Step 2: Cut a thin strip of 2mm pink foam for body of hopper.  Taper strip of foam to a point.

Step 3

Step 3: Tie in pointed end of foam strip.  Bind down foam towards back of hook as shown above.

Step 4

Step 4: Tie in hackle, concave side facing away from you.  Bind down both foam strip and hackle stem to barb of hook.  Then advance thread forward to middle of hook shank.

Step 5

Step 5: Wrap the foam strip forward.  Lightly stretch the foam strip as you wrap forward to form a thin body.  Stop at mid-shank.

Step 6

Step 6: Tie off foam strip with 2 wraps of thread… one in front of foam strip, one behind foam strip.  Keep wraps to a minimum here because most of the fly is tied on at this mid point on the hook.

Step 7

Step 7: Trim off excess foam strip close to body.

Step 8

Step 8: Evenly palmer hackle forward to mid point of hook. Tie off hackle with 2-3 wraps of thread.

Step 9

Step 9: Trim hackle.

Step 10

Step 10: Cut a thin strip of pink 2mm foam to be used for rest of under-body.  Notice strip of foam is about same width as gap of hook and 1″ long.

Step 11

Step 11: Tie in foam strip on top of hook at mid-way point on hook.  Use 2 firm wraps of thread only.

Step 12

Step 12: Cut a 2″ long strip of 3mm brown foam for the over-wing.  The over-wing should be about double the gap of hook in width or half the hook shank in width.  Taper one end of foam strip to a point as shown above.

Step 13

Step 13: Bind down over-wing with 2 firm wraps of thread.  Tapered end facing towards rear of fly.  Tapered end of foam strip should extend beyond tie-in point 1 hook shank in length.

Step 14

Step 14: Tie in a small clump of elk hair, about a tooth pick in diameter at same tie-in point as step above with 3-4 wraps of thread.  Tips of hair should extend to point of brown foam strip.

Step 15

Step 15: Cut a thin strip of 2mm foam, about gap of hook in width.  Use any hi-vis foam color such as goldenrod, yellow or orange for the post.  I find that orange is the best color for most conditions.

Step 16

Step 16: Bind down post at mid-way point with 2 wraps of thread.  Post should extend back to hook bend.  Leave the remaining forward post as is.

Step 17

Step 17: Form back legs for the hopper by tying an over-hand knot in two strands of barred rubber leg material.  Back legs should be about 2″ in total length.  The two single strands of rubber legs will be used for the front legs, also about 2″ in length.

Step 18

Step 18: Tie in back legs of hopper on both sides of the hopper.  Notice the knots in the legs extend to bend of hook.

Step 19

Step 19: Advance thread forward to one eye length behind eye of hook as shown above.

Step 20

Step 20: Bind all three pieces of foam down with 2-3 firm wraps of thread.

Step 21

Step 21: Attach front legs to both sides of hopper with 4-6 total wraps of thread.  Next, tie off fly right behind hook eye.

Step 22

Step 22: Trim legs and head of fly as shown above.  Also trim one of the back leg strands behind over-hand knots. This fly should be glued as well at both tie-in points and between the legs.  The store bought version of this fly also glues the brown over-wing down to the palmered pink body. Simply trim the hackle on top of body, apply super-glue and hold over-body down for a few seconds… this will help keep the body from spinning on the hook.

Western Lady Hopper

Western Lady Hopper

What’s a Buffalo Bills fan to do?

 

Tying up a new hopper in Buffalo Bills team colors for every Buffalo win.  Two hoppers, week 13…  wonder if I’ll have to tie up any more.

 

Thunderthighs

PATTERN DESCRIPTION:

This is a new hopper pattern that I came up with for the upcoming season. This patterns has all the right qualities to be a real fish catcher. It has rubber legs, a foam bullet head and a very realistic silhouette. The legs of the hopper may seem a bit excessive, but I noticed last year that the trout, especially late in the season,  liked this style of hopper with the over-sized legs, or Thunderthighs. This realistic foam hopper pattern is easy to tie, and it can be tied in any color combination.  Tie a few up and let me know how they work.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Hook: Dai Riki 730 sz. 8-12

Thread: UTC 140 Denier. Tan

Body: Two-toned 4mm foam in brown/tan.

Thighs: 1mm craft foam, tan.

Legs: Super floss.  I use super floss or super flex for the legs of this hopper and barr them with a black Sharpie.  Super Floss doesn’t break when you tie the over-hand knot for attaching the leg joints.

Post: 2mm craft foam, orange.

Step 1

Step 1:If you don’t have two-tone 4mm foam, cut out a  2″x 4″ section of tan and brown 2mm craft foam.  Next, glue the two pieces of craft foam together to form a 4mm block of tan/brown foam.

Step 2

Step 2: From the foam block, cut out a 1/4″ wide strip, or a general rule is to cut the strip the width of the gap of the hook.  You should have a 4mm strip of foam that is 1/4″ wide and 2″ long.  Next, shape foam as shown above.  The strip on the right I used a medium pre-cut foam body and for the one on the left I shaped it freehand to illustrate both possible methods.

Step 2

Step 2: Side view of foam strip.

Step 3

Step 3: Wrap thread base on hook.  I wrap a 3-layer thread base for more durability, plus the hopper body tends to rotate on the hook less with a thicker thread base.  Stop thread at hook barb.

Step 4

Step 4: Attach hopper body onto hook directly above the barb. Tail of hopper body should extend about a hook gap beyond tie in point.  Use 5-7 firm thread wraps to secure the foam to the hook.

Step 5

Step 5: Advance thread forward on hook only to point shown above, just in front of hook point.   Next, tie down foam body with 5-7 firm wraps. Here we have created the first body segment of the hopper.

Step 6

Step 6: Again, advance thread forward on hook only to point shown above, about a hook gap behind eye of hook.  Bind down foam hopper body with 3-4 firm thread wraps.  Keep wraps to a minimum here because the legs still have to be tied in here.

Step 7

Step 7: Advance thread forward to point shown above, about 2 eye lengths behind eye of hook.  Bind down foam body with 3-4 firm thread wraps.  Notice body segments are all about equal size, and the last body segment is 2 eye lengths behind eye of hook.

Step 8

Step 8: Cut a thin strip of orange 2mm craft foam for the post.  Strip of foam should be narrower than width of body.

Step 9

Step 9: Bind down post with 2 firm wraps of thread.  Post should extend to barb of hook.

Step 10

Step 10: Advance thread back, over the top of the hopper to 2nd body segment as shown above.  Next, bind down post with 2 firm wraps of thread.  Trim remaining post extending over eye of hook.

Step 11

Step 11: Cut out two thin pieces of foam for the hopper thighs or legs out of 1mm tan craft foam.  The pieces above are about 1mm x 2mm and 2 inches long.

Step 12

Step 12: Using a strand of tan super floss or super flex that I barred with a black Sharpie, form an over-hand knot towards the end of the super floss.

Step 13

Step 13: Insert foam strip into over-hand knot as shown above.  Notice the foam strip is shaped like a matchbook match, thin and flat. The super floss will be tied on parallel to the wide part of the foam strip.

Step 14

Step 14: Tighten super floss over-hand knot onto foam strip with firm pressure.

Step 15

Step 15: Trim legs as shown.  Here I trimmed the super floss nearly flush with the over-hand knot on one end, and trimmed the remaining foam extending beyond the rubber legs.  These legs look good with red super floss also.

Step 16

Step 16: Attach legs to hopper body with 2-3 firm wraps of thread.  Notice joints of legs should extend to barb of hook.

Step 16

Step 16: Top view of hopper legs tied in.

Step 17

Step 17: Form head of hopper by folding over foam strip extending over eye of hook.  Bind down foam strip at same tie in point as the legs of the hopper.  Notice the head of the hopper is extending over the front of the eye of the hook.  Next, trim remaining leg strips flush with thread wraps.

Step 18

Step 18: Hopper with legs trimmed and bullet head formed.

Step 19

Step 19: Next, trim excess foam body material around the orange post flush with thread wraps.  Notice how the orange post really sticks out now.

Step 19

Step 19: Top view of trimmed hopper.

Step 20

Step 20: Advance thread over hopper body to segment just behind the eye of the hook.  Bind down body with 2-3 firm wraps of thread.

Step 21

Step 21: Attach legs to both sides of hopper.

Step 22

Step 22: Whip finish at this point at trim legs to desired length. Add some superglue to the leg joints and body segments for extra durability.

Trout's view of Thunderthighs

Finished Hopper

Realistic Foam Hopper

It’s always good to have a couple hopper patterns that are different from what everyone else is using.

How to tie the Pink Pookie Hopper

PATTERN DESCRIPTION:

The Pink Pookie foam hopper created by Dean Reiner out of Hatch Finders Fly Shop in Livingston, Montana in one of the more popular hopper patterns in the Livingston-Bozeman area… and for good reason.  The Pink Pookie just flat out catches fish.  This hopper pattern, with its foam bullet-head and foam wing, floats like a cork.  The pink foam body of the fly seems very unnatural for imitating actual grasshoppers, yet the trout see something in the color pink that they identify as being food. Whether the pink foam is an attractor-color to the trout or just the right shade of color is hard to say.  If you’re looking for that ” something different” hopper pattern try this one out.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Hook: Dai-Riki #780 sz. 8

I like to use 2xl nymph hooks for most hopper patterns.  These hooks are very durable.

Thread: UTC Ultra-Thread 140 Denier in Red for a contrast color or Pink.  I usually tie most of my hoppers with a contrast color thread.

Foam: 2mm craft foam.  Tan foam for the wing, pink for the belly.

Under-Wing: Natural deer hair.

Post: 2mm craft foam – Orange

Legs: Medium yellow/black barred rubber legs

Step 1: Create a thread base on the hook.  I usually do a 3-layer thread base.  Building a 3-layer thread base seems to keep the hopper body from twisting or rotating on the hook. Stop thread at hook point.

Step 2: With Foam Cutters: Using foam cutters, stamp out 2 pieces of foam.  I use a small foam cutter for the pink belly and a medium sized foam cutter for the over-wing.

or Step 2: Without foam cutters: Trim out 2 pieces of foam and taper the ends of the foam as desired.  The smaller pink strip of foam is just under a 1/4″ in width and 2 inches long.  The tan over-wing strip is 1/4″ wide and 2 1/2 inches long.  Foam cutters just quicken this step a bit.

Step 3: Remove hook from vise and slide the pink strip of foam onto the hook.  Pierce foam strip 1 hook gap from tapered end of foam strip. The hole in the foam should be right above hook point as pictured above.

Step 4: Bind down foam strip with 4-5 firm thread wraps.

Step 5: Begin forming segments on body: Advance thread forward on hook only to just in front of point of hook.  At this point, bind down foam with 4-5 firm thread wraps.

Step 6: Form next segment in body.  This segment should be just less than half-way to eye of hook.   Bind down foam with 2-3 thread wraps only. At this 3rd segment, we will tie in deer hair, over-wing and legs, so keep thread wraps to a minimum here.

Step 7: Advance thread to just shy of hook eye as shown in photo above.

Step 8: Bind down foam with 2-3 thread wraps.  Next, trim remaining foam as close as possible just behind hook eye.  You can push single blade of scissor behind hook eye as shown above and saw foam piece off against the blade or with fine point scissors, just trim foam strip right behind hook eye.

Step 9: Cover trimmed ends of foam with thread as shown above.  Try to keep thread wraps to a minimum here.

Step 10: View of completed under-body.

Step 11: Advance thread back to 3rd body segment as shown above.  Cross the thread over the top of the foam body.

Step 12: Take over-wing and lay it on top of pink foam with tapered ends of foam even.  Next, mark the foam with your fingernail just beyond end of hook eye as shown above.

Step 13: Flip foam piece over.  Tapered end should now be extending over eye of hook.  Line the fingernail mark in foam up with just beyond hook eye as shown above.  At this point, we will bind down foam over-wing.

Step 14: Bind down over-wing with 2-3 firm wraps of thread.

Step 15: Advance thread over top of pink foam to hook eye.  Lightly stretch tan foam over-wing and bind down foam at point shown above with 4-5 thread wraps.

Step 16: Trim butts of tan foam at original tie-in point as close as possible.

Step 17: Advance thread back again to 3rd body segment.

Step 18: Stack a clump of deer hair and tie in so tips of hair extend beyond pink foam under-body. See photo in step 21 for length of under-body, deer hair, and bullet-head.

Step 19: Bind down deer hair with 4-5 thread wraps.  Again, keep wraps of thread to a minimum here.

Step 20: Apply some super-glue to butts of deer hair for durability.

Step 21: Lightly pull foam over-wing back over body of hopper.  Bind down foam over-wing with 2-3 firm thread wraps.

Step 22: Cut a thin strip of 2mm orange foam.  Strip of foam should be narrower than bullet-head of hopper.

Step 23: Bind down foam post with 2-3 wraps of thread, then trim post to desired length. Post shown in photo above is about 1/4″ long.

Step 24: Tie in rubber legs on hopper with 3-4 wraps of thread.  Length of legs is about 2″.

Top View of Pink Pookie

Trout's view of Pink Pookie

Ask me in the summer what the fish are biting on…

Rubber Soled Wading Boots…Better Than Felt?

The latest hype in the fly fishing industry is the wading boot companies trying to replace the perfected felt soles with untested rubber soles. The theory behind banning felt-bottomed boots seems worthwhile (check out this article for more info on that), yet the replacement for felt seems forced upon us by the boot companies.  Every wading boot company has created a rubber-bottomed sole that they think will get you, the angler, from point A to point B without falling on your you-know-what.  Not one boot company uses the same rubber sole, yet every wading boot company just 2 years ago used the exact same felt on the bottom of their wading boots.  The real question is, will any rubber-soled boots be able to hold their own against felt-soled boots.

We all know that felt works.  Anytime you have a stream with rounded, moss-covered, slimy rocks, you need felt.  Other than that felt does have its drawbacks.  Felt wears out fairly quickly, it’s slippery on steep grassy banks and snow sticks to the felt bottoms.  To top things off, felt doesn’t dry, therefore, aquatic what-evers can be carried from one river to the next via your damp felt-soled wading boots.

Rubber soled wading boots in theory would be great.  Rubber dries out quickly, therefore, aquatic hitchhikers are less likely to be carried from one river to the next.  Rubber soles are nice to hike in, on the way to the river, along the banks, down grassy steep banks, and rubber doesn’t hold onto snow like felt.  This we know.  We walk around on rubber soled shoes all the time.  The real problem is those slimy round rocks found in most of our rivers.  How will rubber-bottomed wading boots hold up in those environments?

After checking out all the different rubber soled wading boots out there, I decided on Dan Bailey’s Eco-Grip Wading Boots. The Eco-Grip boot seems well built, with beefy stitches, toe guards, and a nice boxy fit, definitely not on the narrow side.  The rubber sole is what I really liked about these boots.  The tread bottom has lots of edges and lots of surface area, like what you look for in good snow tires.  Edges, surface-area, and grippy-soft rubber.

I’ve worn these boots on two different rivers with the dreaded rounded, slimy rocks.  All I can say is wow. These boots seem like they grip better than felt in almost every circumstance. Hiking, steep grassy banks, and slime covered round river rocks. The rubber soles really amaze me.  After walking in felt soles around 100-150 days a year for the last 15 years, I’m upset the boot companies didn’t go to rubber soles earlier on.

I’ve only worn the boots a few times now, but I am really impressed with their grip on slimy rocks.  I’ll keep you posted on how the boots hold up, or if I find some places where felt is still superior to rubber-soled boots.  Let me know what you think about these boots or other brands of rubber bottomed wading boots.