top water terrestrial fishing

[Gavin]

Hopper, cricket, beetle, ant. I like non foam creations the best. But big is better than small on the hoppers & crickets.

[Kayser]

Best month ever was a #8 cicada in 2011.

Normally, a #12 foam beetle, #18 fur ant, or a #8 rubberlegs stimulator, in the opposite order.

[fishinwrench]

There's a smallish lime-green/red legged hopper that starts showing up in June. Do up a few (BLT style) that match their size/color and you'll have some fun for awhile after Memorial day.

After that it's #14 black beetles and #18 black ants all Summer.

Next time you stumble across a hatch of tiny Maycaddis whatever's and the fish seem to be all selective to them...throw them that 18 ant !

[timsfly]

We are catching trout on # 10 & #12 black foam beetles right now, I enjoy throwing them, but when they will hit a hopper I enjoy that more. Big flying fur ants work well all summer

[ness]

ness' Xtra Terrestrial. It's a killer fly.

[snagged in outlet 3]

ness' Xtra Terrestrial. It's a killer fly.

Pics?

Pattern?

I have a canister of elk hair "hoppers" I start carrying in June.

Just wrap a bunch of elk hair on a hook and fold it over front to back.

Add in the preformed legs and It's done.

The more beat up it gets, the better they like it.

Pete

[ness]

Pics?

Pattern?

I have a canister of elk hair "hoppers" I start carrying in June.

Just wrap a bunch of elk hair on a hook and fold it over front to back.

Add in the preformed legs and It's done.

The more beat up it gets, the better they like it.

Pete

Sorry -- classified

It's really pretty much a Madame X but I tie it with palmered hackle over the dubbing body.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Sorry -- classified

It's really pretty much a Madame X but I tie it with palmered hackle over the dubbing body.

Classified!!!

Don't make me start a ned rig thread.

Pete

[podum]

I love foam pattern - hoppers and stoneflies. Both have worked consistently for me in Missouri, Colorado and Wyoming. Simple to tie and better yet, you can buy a lifetime supply of foam at Hobby Lobby for $4.

[Al Agnew]

Funny how the trout out here on the Yellowstone seem to learn hopper patterns from one year to the next. One year's hot pattern won't produce nearly as well the next year, and something new will be a lot better. I have some beautifully realistic foam hoppers that I even worked over with magic markers to make them even more realistic, and the fish will eat them sometimes but they aren't anywhere near magic. Hopper fishing gets started around the first of August and the hoppers get more and more numerous until sometime into early October, but the fishing usually peaks in mid to late August and the fish ignore all hopper patterns more and more after that. And if it's not a fairly windy day, the fish won't come up to hoppers--they seem to know that the real ones are only likely to hit the water on windy days. When they start getting really picky about eating fake hoppers, you can often entice them for a few more weeks by twitching your fly just like it was a hopper trying to swim.