FEB Hopper

[JohnScott]

It ain't really hopper season yet, but it's not too soon to start getting ready for summer.

I have a couple smallsh versions ( with a minor variation) of this FAOL Fly of the Week for August 10, 2009 left over from last year.

So when I went fishing today on a northern Idaho freestone river, I decided to see what would happen if ....

... and a half dozen westslope cutthroat decided that too soon was not too soon for some hopper action ( not counting a couple hits that didn't hook up and a couple refusals ). The fishing was only good for about an hour, but it was a really fun hour.

Going on twelve years with the FEB pattern tied in various sizes and colors for skwalas, salmonflies, golden stones, hoppers, and October caddis with consistent success on quite the variety of creeks and rivers in the Intermountain West and Northern Rockies.

John

And remember ....

[smij]

Just checked out that fly. Looks fishy! Thanks.

[JohnScott]

Going on twelve years with the FEB pattern tied in various sizes and colors for skwalas, salmonflies, golden stones, hoppers, and October caddis with consistent success on quite the variety of creeks and rivers in the Intermountain West and Northern Rockies.

... today to the salmonfly verson - tied with orange thread on a size 6 3X long curved shank hook with orange accents on a medium brown antron extended body, and medium brown foam for the forward body, with dark brown striped legging and a light blond elk rump patch hair wing.

Seemed to suit the fishies ( westslope cutthroat ) just fine. Had 10-12 in hand, four or five graciously took their long distance bye-bye, a couple had the nerve to hit the fly but not eat it, and several came to take a look and then back to the deep.

Not a bad afternoon, but the fishing should pick up shortly. May have to start cutting off the hook and playing tag.

John

[Steve Molcsan]

May have to start cutting off the hook and playing tag.

Heard that before , not sure if its was you , but often times I believe the trout do play games with me.
Once in Yellowstone I was casting across the river and two trout were passing right under my boots,

Good to hear from you JohnScott glad your still chasing them,, The FEB is a legend pattern in my fly book!

Be well - sm

[JohnScott]

Heard that ( playing tag ) before, not sure if its was you. ... The FEB is a legend pattern in my fly book!

Be well - sm

... that was me, Steve.

I've written on the subject of "playing tag" several times. The first time was a thread on the Fly Anglers on Line Forum on 5-4-12 titled "What's the point..."

There was a rather lengthy and interesting discussion with good number of participants making quite a range of comments. That was the good old days, when lots of folks on the BB joined in and threads often went on for days.

Another more recent thread was titled "Playing tag" and I did another after a visit to British Columbia in 2016 where I encountered a long time fly fishing guide who volunteered that fishing flies without hooks was a commonly accepted and legal practice in that province, and that doing so did not require a license, which is pretty expensive for non-residents.

Anyway, doing well here in the Intermountain West. And "social distancing" is really easy when you can drive 50-60 miles to your home water and have it all to yourself most of the time for hours on end.

John

[JohnScott]

... today to the salmonfly verson - tied with orange thread on a size 6 3X long curved shank hook with orange accents on a medium brown antron extended body, and medium brown foam for the forward body, with dark brown striped legging and a light blond elk rump patch hair wing.

Seemed to suit the fishies ( westslope cutthroat ) just fine. Had 10-12 in hand, four or five graciously took their long distance bye-bye, a couple had the nerve to hit the fly but not eat it, and several came to take a look and then back to the deep.

Not a bad afternoon, but the fishing should pick up shortly. May have to start cutting off the hook and playing tag.

John

... Mountain freestone rivers are a real challenge in the transition from winter flows through the runoff. My home water in northern Idaho is no exception. Although it has deteriorated as a fishery since some very large fires on its banks and in its headwater streams several years ago, it can still provide some good times, just not like the old days.

Good enough that playing tag enhances the experience. Yesterday, as is usual this time of year, was a guessing game, based on streamflow data and observations, about where to fish. I guessed right, for sure, several times, and not so great a few other times.

In the first place fished, somewhere around 15-18 fishies decided to play tag in something under thirty minutes. That was fast break fishing for sure. Tough to get that kind of action in such a short time when you have to go through the process of landing and releasing the takers, and when a lot of that kind of action can put down some of the fishies that remain willing players through very mild disturbance, if any, of their habitat.

In two other places, only a few fish played where several years ago 5-8-10 in each would have been routine. And in one place that would normally be prime in yesterday's conditions, there were no players at all, which speaks loudly to how severely the fires affected this big river as a fishery and the native fishies.

John

P.S. As a side note on the fires' affects on this river system - up until a few years ago there were lots of river otters playing their version of tag, and there were lots of osprey doing their not so tag type of playing. Haven't seen an otter in over two years, and osprey are a rare delight these days rather than a regular part of the fishing experience.

[Steve Molcsan]

This is a great pattern and fish getter for sure...have one left in my fly box ..-- as John said: I May have to start cutting off the hook and playing tag.

[Rick Z]

My favorite hopper pattern.
Rick

[Steve Molcsan]

I was hoping that John would also chime in with one of his experiences he always had great photo of his catch and releases as well.

[JohnScott]

... still my favorite, and, in fact, my only hopper pattern, Rick. Up sized and color changed to a salmonfly, it is the best producing fly I've created and used over the past fifteen or so years. And Steve, the only major flaw with the FAOL BB set up, to my way of thinking, has been the ability to post pix simply and directly, rather than through a photo hosting site. When I had some issues with photobucket.com, I deleted all my pix on that site, and not much later on photobucket went from a free site to a rather expensive proposition. More recently, I've really cut back on fishing since my home water in Northern Idaho has continued to deteriorate as a fishery. Getting skunked on that river was, for years, unimaginable, but it has become a rather regular occurrence the past couple years. Haven't bought an annual Idaho license yet this year, and may not get one, for the first time in twenty plus years.