Hippie Stomper 12/26/2019 Photo Album
Visit my 01/13/2018 post for the story of my introduction to the hippie stomper, and check out 11/18/2018 for a materials table and an update on the effectiveness of the hippie stomper. Without a doubt the hippie stomper has become an essential fly within my array of fly fishing offerings, and as such I visited my vice to replenish my depleted supply.
Nice Side View
Andrew Grillos is the designer of the hippie stomper, and I had the unique opportunity to join him at Trouts Fly Fishing in Denver for a fly tying session on March 16, 2019. I was already a huge fan of the pool toy hopper, another of Andrew’s creations, and his user friendly was on my radar as a new green drake imitation. I thoroughly enjoyed my day with Andrew, and I discovered that he is from Colorado, and he has a very diverse fly fishing background. His resume includes some streamers and nymphs, but his signature works are centered on foam.
Fish Attractors
The hippie stomper exceeded my expectations during extensive field tests in 2019. I find it especially effective in small streams as the lone fly or lead fly in a dry/dropper. The relatively large size, white wing, and foam make it highly visible and buoyant, and these qualities pay off in small narrow high gradient streams with significant amounts of bushes, glare, shadows and white water turbulence. Although high elevation creeks showcase the hippie stomper, one should not overlook opportunities in larger rivers. A trip to the Arkansas River on 07/30/2019 confirmed that the hippie stomper could produce trout on a larger body of water.
A Batch of Eleven and Materials
My experiences with the hippie stomper during 2019 reinforced the effectiveness of the version with a peacock dubbed body. When I counted my supply of stompers, I learned that I possessed fourteen peacock, five silver, and eight red. I judged the quantity of silver and red to be adequate for another season, but I manned my vice to crank out eleven new peacock versions. I stashed six in my fly boxes to raise the total to twenty, and I gifted five to my son Dan, so he can join the hippie stomper revolution.