MICHIGAN HOPPER
I love hopper fishing. Just recently I had an opportunity to fish the one of Michigan's most beautiful rivers of the Upper Peninsula --- the Escanaba. I arrived during the peak of hopper season and a local stirred me toward a secret spot just south of the city of Gwinn. I really nailed them! I stopped counting after twenty fish in just over three hours. I came prepared with about six different hopper patterns (three of each). This was a pattern I had never tried before. This pattern was easy --- three hoppers --- three cast --- three fish, all of which were in the 14" range. This pattern will now find a permanent place in my fly box.
Materials:
- Hook: Mustad #R74-9672 4XL
- Thread: Black or Yellow, 6/0
- Tail: Red Duck Quill, calftail or floss, tied short.
- Body: Medium Chenille, yellow, green or brown.
- Wing: Deer Hair, medium brown, tied trude over the body.
- Hackle: Brown, tied heavy.
Instructions:
Step #1 Lay in a good base of thread --- this
prevents the additional materials from
slipping or spinning on the hook.
Step #2 Tie in your choice of tail material,
per the recipe.
Step #3 Tie in the medium chenille. Color
should match the hoppers in your
area. Be sure you leave a lot of
room for the wing the hackle and
the head.
Step #4 Tie in the deer hair wing, trude
style. Hair stackers are optional.
Step #5 Tie in you two brown hackles,
securely.
Step #6 Secure your hackle wrap. I like to
use soda straws instead of hackle
guards.
Step #7 Tie off the head, remove the soda
straw and be liberal with head cement
both fore and aft.
Please do not confuse this pattern with the famous original "Michigan Hopper" created by Art Winnie. It is not related at all. It's simply another great Michigan pattern created around the 1970s. The creator is unknown. The pattern is very simple to tie and my creel log will indicate that it's very productive! I will return to the Escanaba to fish this secret spot again.
See you on the water…..
Tom Deschaine
~www.michigandryflies.net~
For more great info, check out:
Beginning Fly Tying | Intermediate Fly Tying | Advanced Fly Tying.