Hopper Season
When these clumsy pilots hit the water, a trout’s dinner bell rings loudly.
It amazes me how many anglers buy grasshopper flies in May and June. Either they are stocking up so they don't run out come August, or they simply can't wait for the prime time to fish them. In either case, I can’t blame them. Fishing hoppers is one of summer’s best thrills and the opportunity to fish them comes at just the right time—just as matching the minuscule Trico wears you down and you long to throw something big.
Grasshoppers spend the first 10 months of their lives as eggs. Once they hatch, they become flightless nymphs. It takes about a month for them to transform into adults, during which the juvenile hoppers molt approximately five times. If you pay attention you’ll probably encounter those nymphs hopping around from late spring into mid-summer. They look just like mini-adults, only without wings.
Want to see our selection of hopper patterns you can order from us online?
While it is possible for grasshopper nymphs to end up in the water, it is the adult stage that fish encounter most often and, as such, adults are most important to fly fishers, too. As winged insects go, hoppers are clumsy and get into a lot of trouble. You’ve seen them smack into walls and felt them bounce into your head, so it’s no surprise that a lot of them crash-land on the water. Adult grasshoppers live for two or three months so they are primarily available to trout between late-July through early October. If they have not exceeded their lifespan come fall, frosts will do them in. But before that time they provide a great angling opportunity.
Choosing Hopper Flies
Hoppers come in a variety of sizes and colors, ranging from green to tan to yellow and brown, with a variety of variegated and colorful markings mixed in. Both size and color can be important when choosing imitations, though fish are generally less selective on hoppers than they are when targeting the more homogenous mayflies and caddis. Trout are used to seeing some variety in grasshoppers, thus a good hopper box contains offerings in various colors and in sizes ranging from #12 to #6.
You can peruse our fly tying materials here and dream up your own pattern.
Hoppers also work well as attractors. Pink bodied hoppers may work very well at times. Ditto for purple hoppers. Some days color seems to be a trigger, so it pays to have some choices beyond the natural schemes.
How Do Terrestrial Hoppers End Up On The Water?
Hoppers are most active during the heat of the day. As the air heats up, river valleys often experience wind. Swirling and gusty, Montana winds often put hoppers in harm's way. And, although grasshoppers are capable of powerful flights, they tend to be short-lived. Often those flights end in the middle of a lake or stream. Hoppers can also fall into the water from streamside vegetation, landing with a juicy fish attracting “plop.”
Grazing animals and agricultural practices, such as mowing hay, may push quantities of hoppers toward watery peril. Add a strong crosswind toward a river, stream or lake and you’ll likely find fish that are keyed into the bug and willing to smash any patterns you put in front of them.
Where To Fish Hoppers
While hoppers can be a good choice on many Montana waters during late summer, windy days are typically the best times to fish them. If wind is blowing up or downstream, hoppers are most likely to fall into the river from the banks. When wind is crossing the water, they can land anywhere. Banks with overhanging grasses and vegetation are a good places to focus your efforts, especially when the wind is not blowing hard and depositing these hoppers from the air. If the banks are undercut, all the better.
Looking for nymphs to run under your high-floating hopper?
When the water is low, as it often is in late summer, fish typically feed out a few feet from shore. So don’t hesitate to cast hoppers around deeper structures, such as submerged rocks and logs, and go ahead and fish them in riffles, too. On broad rivers, such as the Missouri, mid-river flats and current seams are as important as the banks. In general, fish where the fish are and let them see that hopper.
Drawing The Strike
Hoppers are big and make a noticeable impression when landing on the water. A bulky fly that lands with a satisfying splat near a hungry fish is likely to draw a strike; lighter hopper patterns that land softly could be ignored.
Upon landing on the water, hoppers actively swim. The best way for a trout to differentiate an angler’s fly from the real thing is the presence of motion. Periodic twitching often produce more strikes than a dead-drift. So get that terrestrial kicking and twitching.
The best way to work your hopper is to provide a little bit of motion as soon as the fly lands. Give it a little jiggle. Don't move it two feet, but provide a little surface disturbance and get those legs moving like a struggling insect. Then let it float for several feet and repeat or recast if necessary.
Setting The Hook
At times, hopper eats can be violent attacks. When this happens, you can pretty much set up (by lifting your rod tip) and you've got the trout. Other times, the eats are far more subtle, as if the fish are just poking at the bug. Sometimes large fish often simply suck the fly down, hardly even breaking the surface. When this happens, it takes a second or so for the fish to complete the eat and close their mouth. Don't let your excitement get the best of you—set too quickly and you’ll jerk the fly out of their mouth. Just say, “One one-thousand lift” and then stick them.
On pressured waters, the fish often toy with the fly to see if it reacts. If they rush it and bump it and you set the hook on air, its game over. Points go to the fish. If you remain calm, you may convince the fish to come back and eat the fly. At this point, they usually suck it down, but your reaction still demands tne “One one-thousand lift.”
Don't Use 5X
Friends don't let friends fish hoppers with 5X. At least that's what my friend, Sam Wike, told me after I handed him a rod with a hopper tied to 5X. In my defense, he was in a hurry, and I tied that hopper to a leader after fishing Tricos. The first eat resulted in the fish wearing the hopper and Wike spitting mad. Depending on your situation, 4X is the minimum strength you should fish hoppers with. 3X or even 2X is a far better choice.
Come And Get Them
You should definitely stock up on hoppers. I’ve got lots of great hopper patterns at North 40, but you never know if they will last through the season. Some guys buy them 20 at a time. So, get yours before they’re gone.