Also available for purchase in the Arizona Wanderings Shop
I started tying this fly in the summer of 2010 for the small streams that I normally fish in Arizona. I was tying much larger hoppers, which are great flies, but are just too big to be splatting in these creeks. Giving credit where credit is due, I found the pattern on backpackflyfishing.com which is written and organized by Jason Klass and the original video is here. He ties the fly as a balloon caddis and his flies are extremely well tied and much better looking than mine. For my purposes, I added some legs to the pattern and bolstered it with several dots of superglue to give it a little more durability. I also found that by using a little thicker piece of foam, the hopper will float a much better in the rough water. Over the summer, I have experimented with different colors and found several that really produce well for me. The white, yellow, red, and bright green are perfect for high visibility when you are using the fly as an indicator for a dry/dropper setup and the brown and black work well when you are working some calmer water and can see your fly. With so many terrestrials in the air, this fly is more of an attractor pattern than a specific fly the fish are keying in on. Please let me know how it works for you.
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Fish Reviews…
This fly also kills up in the Wind River range. I caught more fish on this fly than stimulators and Adam’s. My Back packing group at many trout dinners because of this fly. The Foam makes it easy to and it floats all day long.
It sure is a great fly. Thanks for sharing your success Nelson. Do you tie it in a specific color?
just tied brown foam over the top.
Honestly I think any color would have worked. The brookies hammered this fly, but there were no hoppers around. Then with some inspection i found the trees filled with caddis flies. Question answered. This fly looks like a killer bluegill bug. I’ll report back on that.
I have been fishing a variant of this for yrs and absolutely love this pattern.
Simply put it just catches fish.
I know. Floats all day and the small stream fish can’t get enough of it. Thanks for the kind words.
Ben
These flies look terrific! Do you sell them? I do not tye…yet anyway, I’d sure be willing to purchase a few.
thanks,
Jim in Mohave Valley, AZ
answered my own question as I found your store link and purchased a dozen.
Thanks Jim. Will get those bugs out to you ASAP…
Ben
hey Ben! Just read a piece on Trout Underground where Tom Chandler is raving bout your mini’s! Way to go Dude, you’ve hit the Big Time?!! Thinking Umpqua contract is in your future! Mike
Thanks Mike. I couldn’t believe it when he actually bought a dozen and then his write-up was awesome. I don’t know about “big-time” but it was cool to see the minis getting some love. Thanks for the support man. Fingers crossed for Umpqua…
Ben
AZWanderings/Ben:
Curious as to type and size hook you use for your mini-hopper……I’d like to try to tie some…….appreciate any info you can give me……I was a resident of Mesa/Chandler/Tempe for almost 20 years…..daughter graduated from ASU…..have you been to the area around Bonita Creek for the Apache trout…..what are their regs now?
Thanks, Bob
Bob,
I tie those mini-hoppers on a size 12 dry fly hook, but I’ve gone as small as a size 18 and I tie something similar on a size 6. I haven’t heard what the current regs are on Bonita. I think that the Wallow Fire may have affected that, but I’m not sure. Most everything up there in the Whites is in danger at this point. Hope this info helps. Let me know how those mini-hoppers work out for you. Take care and tight lines…
Ben
Tied a few of these up here in PA. They are killer for Bluegill and Rockbass. I gave you a shout and a link to your shop in my last post.
http://funcfish.com/2011/07/an-awe-inspiring-double-rainbow-and-some-fishing/
I fished with Mike from Troutrageous! today, he showed me your hoppers, I must have made mine 1/2 the size. Micro-hoppers maybe?
Thanks FF. Great job on your tie. Glad you guys were getting into some fish and the mini was working out for you. Thanks for the shout out. Take care and tight lines.
Ben
Just tied some myself, Ben. Even went as small as #14. Caught a few bluegill this evening with them. Great, simple pattern. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks Brian. That’s what I like to hear. Those little bugs seem to do the trick just about anywhere. Glad they worked out for you.
Ben