The following isn’t entirely my idea. I saw a Youtube video about a California fly tier who made a “hopper cator” with nylon loops at each end.
I’ve been fishing the foam hopper-dropper since the late 1980s. But I typically tied a hopper to a relatively stiff tippet, and then knotted another tippet to the bend of the hopper hook. That’s useful, but a growing number of nymph fishermen like to use huge fat orange bobbers at variable positions on the leader, sometimes all the way up to the base of the fly line. And it isn’t really possible to mount a typical foam hopper to the butt section of an aggressive leader (40lb test perhaps).
The youtube video I saw (and now cannot find) showed a hopper built with thick closed cell foam, with a nylon loop at each end. The tier threaded the butt end of the leader through the front nylon loop twice, and then once through the rear end loop. That way the bobber hopper could be repositioned up or down the leader as needed. But it would also stay put well enough to hook the occasional fish that takes the hopper. I tried it. Works well. But the twice-through-the-front-loop fastening method does have a tendency to kink butt section of your leader.
If you alter that arrangement ever so slightly, by threading through the front loop only once, and then over and around the body of the hopper and then between the body and the shank, and then out through the rear loop, you can still catch a fish. And it doesn’t kink the leader butt. You can run the hopper all the way out, so you have maybe an 18" nymph dropper. Or you can position it right at the base of the fly line too–perhaps fishing into 10’ or 12’ of still water.
Some fly fishermen won’t use bobbers at all. No matter what. Which is fine. But when I head out to the river I see one huge hot pink foam nymph bobber rig after another. They’re not nearly as much fun to watch as a hopper. And they never ever catch a fish. I make bobber hoppers with 1/4" thick closed cell foam, about 2" long. That might sound like a rig that never would catch a fish. But they do. And even if they didn’t they are more fun to watch than a round foam bobber. On most days I seldom catch more than one or two fish on the bobber. But they are often the two biggest fish of the day. A beadhead nymph or two, trailing how ever far behind, will catch as many fish they ever do.
Thanks for those links. I fished one today. Moving it up and down the leader, so you can custom adjust the nymphs below, is possible but awkward. I don’t have a better solution. But I’m working on it. This is an important idea. If you ever do use a foam strike indicator–it only makes sense to use one that also catches the occasional fish. This is an idea that needs refinement I think.
Why not tie it on a tube then you could secure it with a tooth pic? If you want a hook then tie a mono loop under the dressing and hang one off that.
Cheers,
A.
You don’t need any special supplies. A blind salmon iron or a heavy needle is great for putting a tube on while you tie it. Or if you have some stiff wire, bend the end about 1/8" at tight angles then cut your tube at 45 degrees. Drop the tube onto the wire then put it into your vice. Once you have finished tying it cut the end off square and “mushroom” it with a flame. I’ll try and get some photos done. A cotton bud tube would be ideal for the tube. I’d go with plastic tubes, Its easier to make them float!
Cheers,
A.
Indeed. That’s the idea I’m working with now. I’m using narrow-gauage red straws from a fast food restaurant. I actually started making them that way a year ago. I posted a photo here (or perhaps at classic flyrod forum, which is the other place I blabber at). And someone said “that’s cool, but Mikey Weir does it with loops, and his is a better solution.”
Now, a year later, I’ve worked both ways. And I’m coming back to the straw (or tube). With a narrow tube buried inside the foam, with hook below, you can thread the leader through the tube TWICE. The line tightens on the foam, so you can position the hopper at any point on the leader, up or down, and still catch a fish with it. And it does not kink the leader. A huge hopper works for heavy nymphs, even for streamers, and still catches a fish every now and then. Often the biggest fish of the day.
Even (sometimes) in March. You don’t have to wait for terrestrial season. I mean, why wait? The primary purpose here is to make your own indicator. You only need 3 or 4 for the whole season.
Pegging the fly to the leader (instead of through tube, back over the body and then through the tube again) is a good idea as well. But the only pegs I have are too narrow for the straws (tubes) I’ve got. If I can get that sorted out I’ll try that too.
I think you are making this much too difficult for yourself.
If an overhand knot is not closed on itself, it will not damage a mono leader or tippet. You can simply position the bobber hopper where you want it on the leader by tying an overhand knot through the front loop and then trailing the tip end of the leader / tippet through the back loop. Easy to adjust the depth of the trailing fly by loosening the overhand knot and moving the bobber hopper up or down the leader. ( The smaller the leader / tippet the more difficult it can be to deal with the overhand knot. And, the larger the material used for the “loops”, the easier it will be. )
Yes, the higher up on the leader and the thicker the section where you tie the overhand knot, the more likely you will get something of a kink in it. But it won’t damage the leader and you should be able to stretch that out.
Had a go with the tube idea, didn’t add a hook but you can if you like. The tube doesn’t need be very long.
Hope this gives you something to work with.
Cheers,
A.
OK. Here’s my tube version. Two slabs of 2lbs per cubic foot closed cell EVA foam, with gray on bottom and orange on top. You can spot it from a half river away. The two slabs are glued together. A drinking straw is buried in the foam. A hook lashed below. A little nylon mesh reinforces the thorax area.
You could peg this to the leader. But I haven’t found right sized pegs yet. I need to get some tube fly tubes.
But you can also thread the leader through the tube, back over top and around the thorax once or twice, and then back through the tube again (the leader does NOT go through the eye of the hook).
That fastens the hopper well enough you can actually catch a fish. And they will bite it EVEN when mounted in the butt section of the leader. You can loosen it up and move it to any point on the leader. It does not kink the leader. You do have to be careful with this rig. I hooked one on a branch last summer and broke my rod tip, because the hopper was at the 30lb part of the leader instead of the 6lb part.
This floats so well you could use it as a strike indicator (a bobber) for a small Mepps Spinner. Not that I would ever do such a thing, you understand. ;=))
I like AlanB’s too. Better in fact. His is far more handsome. But this baby got the flotation. And a hook.
