The thing about hoppers… is that … they are still here.
And they are going to be here for more than a minute, so you best get used to them and best come in and buy your favorite ones before they are gone! They go real fast here at the Beartooth. The guides and clients eating more hopper flies than the fish do, so stay on top of it and get armored up! The bins have been restocked over and over again and still there are not enough to supply the valley somehow. The bite has been predicted to last a week or two more. The weather looks good for the rest of the week for throwing hoppers. Pitch and twitch! Thanks to all the rain this summer early on, and all the green grass, we have seen one of the most prolific hatches of grasshoppers of all time. Swarms of hoppers have taken over the valley. There are hoppers everywhere. Ants and beetles are in the mix too, but the hopper game is strongest. If you are having a little trouble hooking up on the hopper, try a different size, a little bit different silhouette or try changing colors. Keep changing it up until you find the one that they like for you. People come in the shop everyday telling us that “this is the only one they will eat”. It’s funny, every time I hear “the only hopper they will eat” …it is a different hopper each time I hear it. What works for one person is not always the same fly for another person. So, keep mixing it up. We are progressing ourselves in this sport when we stay in the water and keep switching it up until something starts working. If one bug is not catching, then try another. Another thing about the hopper fishing is that the hopper bite may die down with clouds present.
Some flies that have worked for us and the guides here this week are as follows:
Morrish Hopper Pink or Yellow size 10 and 12
More-Or-Less Hopper Pink size 10 and 12
Yeti Hopper Red size 12
Yeager’s 409 Red size 12
Delektable Ant Cinnamon or Red size 12 and 14
Delektable Prince Brandon any size but especially 16
Lightning Bug Silver size 16
Softhackle pheasant tail size 16 or Delektable Lil’ Spanker Pheasant Tail
Green Machine size 14 and 16
3 Dollar Dip Red size 16
Bat wing BWO size 16
Delektable Purple Lil’ Spanker size 16
