Pick A Hopper, Any Hopper

The Grasshopper Fly Hall of Fame

Ah, grasshopper–you’ve come to the special part of the dry-fly season. When trout eat surface-riding “T-bone steaks,” because they simply cannot help themselves. It’s “grasshopper time” when “time on water equals fish”–maybe the most magical, and honest, dry-fly season of all.

But what hopper pattern should you cast? Well, if you search the interwebs, you’ll find plenty of recommendations, most of which carry a “click here, buy now” tag, which essentially means they’re advertisements–some of them produce, though many do not.

I’ll give you my best ten grasshopper fly patterns, and in doing so, I’ll challenge anyone to knock any one of them off the list. Of course, there are other hot new ideas, and some cool new patterns that work wonders, but if there were a hall of fame of grasshopper fly patterns that have been proven over time, I think these should be the first ten inductees.

Dave’s Hopper. Created by Dave Whitlock, it’s a realistic facsimile that actually looks like a grasshopper. Not sure what the red tail is all about, but my grandfather said any grasshopper without a red tail isn’t worth a damn. Floats well, fast water, slow water, works both east and west, so realistic and buoyant you need it somewhere in the arsenal.

Dave’s Whit Hopper. Also created by Dave “Whit”lock. Like a floating corn husk with a bullet head. Whitlock was simply dialed on hoppers more than any of his contemporaries. This is my favorite hopper pattern for big, western rivers, and the truth is, the more it gets chewed on, the rattier it gets, the better it works. I’d trade a brand-new bug for a well-munched Whit’s Hopper any day. Mr. Whitlock was, unquestionably, the greatest hopper master of our time.

Amy’s Ant. Jackson, Wyoming, icon Jack Dennis created this pattern and named it for his daughter. And this puppy just plain works. I swear by the tan color. It rides beautifully in riffles and flats, and might just be the ideal complement for any dry-dropper rig. But trout also undoubtedly love it on top, and if you get refused, it’s the best “size down for a second shot” bug that will earn an eat on a follow-up.

Chernobyl Ant. This simple black foam terrestrial taught us (or should’ve taught us) that profile, and action, are paramount when it comes to fishing terrestrials like hoppers. I worry so much more about size and profile these days than I care about colors, accents and so forth. Extensions like the “Chubby” or a “Fat Albert” only serve to underscore the importance of a buoyant ride and enticing silhouette. This pattern changed the terrestrial game entirely.

Muddler Minnow. Wait? Isn’t the Muddler a streamer fly, meant to imitate a baitfish like a sculpin? Well, yeah. But it can also be the most versatile fly in your box, if you know how to fish it, and when. Grease it up, and it’s a top-riding hopper. Maybe it’s a drowned hopper. I will never hit a river without at least one Muddler in my quiver.

The BC Hopper. Named for the collaboration between John Barr “B” and Charlie Craven “C,” this bug encapsulates a sturdy dose of the best fly innovation prowess that’s ever been poured into a single fly pattern. It is, no doubt, a beefy tostada, and I prefer to fish it in the Rockies, much more than Michigan or anywhere east. It thrives where the currents are roily, but it’s also one of the best top-riders for a hopper-dropper rig you might find.

Schroeder’s Parachute Hopper. It seems like an Adams Parachute (mayfly, dry fly) on steroids. It’s easy to see and track after you make a cast, but the lighter materials through the body make it more “natural” than a heavy foam body slapping down on the river surface. In slower, less choppy water, there are few options that produce better.

Letort Hopper. This one proved its mettle on one of the most difficult spring creeks in the world, where trout are super-selective. A simple (hopper inspired) bullet head, worked down to a thin body, with a highly-visible hair wing. Makes perfect sense, and it works, no doubt, far away from Pennsylvania. It isn’t the best top ride for a dry-dropper rig, but it might be the best answer for a trout that you saw almost eat the first hopper pattern you threw, if you want to switch and give them a second chance.

Morrish Hopper. The Morrish Hopper is a smartly engineered fly because it flips all the switches that appeals to a trout that might be vulnerable to an attractor fly. The silhouette, of course, looks buggy, like a grasshopper, and it has those tantalizing wiggly rubber legs. It’s not my favorite dry-dropper hopper, and it’s not my favorite single presentation terrestrial bug, but it’s a damn good bug when you’re figuring out everything in between.

Rainy’s Hopper. This is a foamy, spongey pattern, and while it might ride high in the current after a cast or two, it really shines after those casts, when the tail end sinks a bit, and it looks like a grasshopper “cripple” pattern. I won’t fish this one in dead-flat water, but I will lean on it, hard, in riffly water, especially when I’ve attached a trailer nymph. – Kirk Deeter

Pick A Hopper, Any Hopper

“When we fail to see refusals, the conclusions we make regarding our fly arise only from the fish that actually take it. But evaluating the effectiveness of a hopper by the absolute number of fish caught on it misses the point. It’s really about the proportion of fish that take versus those that merely look. (It’s not my intention to slight any degree of success. Catching fish is still the point, regardless of how many refusals we might incur in the process. I’m just saying that whether you’ve caught two fish or twenty-two, a particular hopper isn’t responsible.) Indeed, since a trout can take only the fly tied on our line, belief in that fly as the limiting factor becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Only when we’re aware of the refusals as well as the takes can we begin to judge a fly pattern fairly…”

Read the entire article on Substack.

Product Buzz

Deeter has some thoughts on New Fly-fishing Marketing Trends: “Have you noticed the marketing shift in fly fishing from how things perform to how things look and feel? I think that’s a phenomenon. And it’s probably a good thing…” Skwala Fishing is rolling out their new Fusion Tactical Hoody, which we'll review later this fall. From Field Mag: Alpaca vs Merino: A Guide to All-Natural Performance Fabrics. “While Merino is far and away the most common animal fiber, alpaca wool is more of a spunky upstart. Though it has been around for centuries, the fabric is being used by emergent companies like PAKA and Arms of Andes, who are making some big boasts about its superiority–classic spunky upstart behavior.” Ombraz Sunglass Brand Exits Asia: The Ombraz sunglass brand is reporting that it has relocated the manufacture of its armless sunglasses from Asia to a family-owned workshop in Northern Italy. The Best Sun Shirts for Women 2025: “Shirts rated UPF 50 allow 1/50th of the sun’s rays through the material, while UPF 30 allows 1/30th of the sun’s rays through, and so on. Most of the sun shirts I recommend have a UPF 40+ to give you ample protection.” Simms Flyweight Packable Waders Review: “Billed as the ultimate travel wader for backpackers and weight-limited travelers who might be challenged to fit everything they need (not, sadly, everything they want) into a tightly stuffed pack, the new Flyweights are breathable and thoughtfully designed.” Simms’ new Second Wind Stockingfoot Wader from House of Fly ($299.95).

Fly-fishing News

Check out our new Flylab Substack and the cool content over there. A New Center: the outdoor industry has evolved: “There’s a temptation to think that big retailers dictate taste. Maybe if REI just decided to lean into hardcore alpine gear again, the market would follow and we’d go back to ‘the good old days’. But that’s not how it works…” The True Cast: Deeter talks about the history of Michigan brown trout and origins of Trout Unlimited. Barry Barr, the founder of KAVU True Outdoor Wear, has been navigating the rapid rise of tariffs during the Trump administration. “Layoffs? Price Increases? Companies Make Hard Choices as Trump’s Tariffs Set In.” Episode 146 of the Cut & Retie Podcast: Rich Hohne from Skwala Fishing reminisces about the “best marlin dinner he ever ate and that one time he was a last-minute Esox hero…” From Fly Fusion Magazine: Winners Announced for the 2025 Stimmies Fly Fishing Film Awards. STRUNG magazine has gone from print to digital, becoming the Strung Dispatch: “We had to adapt and will be sending a high-quality email newsletter once a month, with a mix of hunting and angling pieces.” New Book: Pheasant Tail Simplicity: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Fly Fishing by Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews and Mauro Mazzo. “Conceived as an advanced follow-up to Simple Fly Fishing, Pheasant Tail Simplicity focuses on essential fly patterns that all share one critical ingredient–pheasant tail.” A Paean to Bud Lilly: “For thousands of young anglers the beautiful flies pictured in Bud Lilly’s catalog brought dreams of fishing the Holy Waters of Montana’s legendary trout streams. For those lucky enough to actually spend time in Bud’s West Yellowstone Trout Shop, the array of those concoctions of fur and feathers tied so artfully on tiny hooks was dizzying…”

Recent Press

On Why Bright Flies Are Effective: “Ah yes, doing everything carefully, spending time thinking about the selection of your top and bottom nymphs, staking out your casting position, worrying about your depth and drift. And they smack the f*** out of your fluorescent orange strike indicator…” – Kerry, Flylab Fan

“You make a comment that coated fly lines were the single greatest innovation in fly fishing history. Not quite, the greatest innovation that changed fly fishing, and fishing in general forever, was the invention of the ferruless ferrule.” – James, Flylab Fan

I’m not even sure we know what a “ferruless ferrule” is? Aren’t we generally talking about spigot or sleeve-over ferrules 99% of the time?

“In reading your latest email, either buried in it or through a link it was mentioned that the Fly Tackle Dealers show [sic] was dead and the only thing left was ICAST. Unfortunately, this does not surprise me given the way businesses that create flyfishing products are behaving. First of all, a good number of them have been absorbed by LLC’s, which contribute nothing to the industry, but focus on sucking off part of the income from the companies they control as profits for themselves and luxury lifestyles. This, of course, is driving up the cost of the equipment to record highs with the results that the sport of quality flyfishing equipment is now beyond most of those in the middle class, thus once again, much like earlier tiimes [sic] has now become the ‘sport of kings’.” – James, Flylab Fan

We would contend that there’s a pile of low-to-medium priced product out there. Destination travel? Of course, flying to Argentina or Africa to fish is expensive…

We’re always looking for Flylab feedback–send any comments, thoughts, suggestions, and we’d love to hear from you.

Flylab Interview: Jim Klug

“And I don’t care if you are a Republican or a Democrat. Maybe you support the current administration, or you hate them. No matter how you vote, if you have any type of connectivity to the outdoors and you are not outraged by the very idea of selling off these public lands, then you need to pull your head out of your ass and pay closer attention. This is a dangerous process that there is no coming back from. And everyone who considers themselves an angler or hunter or outdoorsman or camper or canoeist or hiker or whatever it is, it is time to pay attention and sound off…”

Read the entire interview on Substack.

Partner Spotlight

LOGE Wolf Creek

LOGE Wolf Creek in South Fork, Colorado, is the ultimate basecamp for fly anglers exploring the well-known waters of the upper Rio Grande and surrounding alpine streams. Just minutes from prime fishing access, this thoughtfully updated lodge combines rustic mountain vibes with modern comforts like in-room Yeti coolers, boot dryers and a relaxing outdoor hot tub and sauna. With dog-friendly accommodations, van and RV spots and a welcoming community atmosphere, LOGE is more than a place to stay, it’s a gathering point for passionate anglers to connect, refuel at Café 430 and immerse themselves in the wild, trout-rich beauty of the San Juans. @logecamps

Flylab member discount: 15% off stays at LOGE Wolf Creek and all other LOGE destinations.

If you’re a fly shop, outfitter, fishing lodge or outdoor brand and interested in becoming a new Flylab partner, learn more about our program here. Join the best partner network in fly fishing.

Wild fish. Wild Places. Emilie Björkman explores some of America’s most iconic trout rivers: the Blackfoot near Missoula to a spring creek outside Bozeman, the Madison at Three Dollar Bridge, and a drift down the Missouri River by Craig, MT.