My late summer hopper of choice in the last couple seasons has been the parachute hopper. The parachute style enables this fly to land right side up on every cast and the prominent knotted pheasant tail legs along with the oversized hackle seem to appeal to trout looking for a substantial meal. For some reason the gray body parachute hopper seems to appeal more to August and September feeding trout than the yellow hopper imitations that shine in June and July.

Parachute Hopper 2013 Photo Album

Imitates Struggling Hopper from Above

The parachute hopper has also become a favorite of my son. On several occasions Dan has fished lakes and streams when his father was not accompanying. When he tells me about the outing later I always ask what fly he used as I am curious to see what he selects when I am not present to influence his decision. Quite often his answer is a parachute hopper, and typically the fly generates positive results.

Trout Love the Scraggly Hares Ear Body

During the summer of 2012 I made another interesting discovery, primarily on the Taylor River where the parachute hopper was extremely productive. Near the end of the 2011 season I tied some gray parachute hoppers using a gray poly dubbing with a visible rib and these looked quite realistic compared to the undersides of naturals that I plucked from the grasses along the river. In addition to these sleek gray poly hoppers, I also tied some using natural hares mask, and these were extremely scraggly with numerous guard hairs protruding in odd angles from the rough body of the fly. My amazing discovery on the Taylor as well as other Colorado Rivers was that the trout preferred the scraggly disheveled hares ear hopper.

With this discovery I am tying twenty hares ear parachute hoppers for the 2013 season. Hopefully the fish don’t change their preferences over the winter.

After tying 20 new parachute hoppers, I decided to go through my cache of discarded flies that are unraveling or too damaged for continued service. I discovered six parachute hoppers in need of repair and refurbished them and, therefore, I have 26 as I enter the 2013 fishing season.

The Chernobyl ant is another of my favorite large attractor flies that I use as a top fly indicator when using the dry/dropper approach. The large foam ant is very buoyant and the bright indicator foam makes it visible in most situations. There are also times when the fish go for this clump of foam as if it represents the last meal. Unfortunately there are other times when the Chernobyl ant draws refusals and in this case it serves as a distraction from the trailing nymph.

Chernobyl Ant Photo Album

I needed to replenish my stock of this frequently used fly so I decided to take some lessons from the pool toy construction. First I went to YouTube and viewed several video demonstrations of tying the Chernobyl ant. They all seemed to use two layers of foam, but I prefer one layer with pearl chenille wrapped around the hook beneath the first layer. The irridescent pearl chenille imitates the underside of many natural beetles that I’ve observed, and I feel this is a triggering characteristic. I could probably wrap the pearl chenille beneath two layers of foam, but I view two layers as making this fly unnecessarily difficult to tie.

Lots of Radiation Here

Two aspects of the fly that I attempted to improve upon in my latest tying efforts are the legs and the tendency of the foam to spin around the hook after several catches. I learned from the pool toy the importance of having a base on the hook shank to attach the foam to, so I made sure to wrap the pearl chenille over the hook shank at the points where I tied the foam to the hook. In addition I used a stronger and heavier thread that allowed me to apply significantly more pressure on my downward locking wraps on the foam. And the last step I took was to apply Sally Hanson teflon clear nail polish to the front and rear wraps. The teflon product is quite thin and soaks into the thread wraps. On the flies I’ve completed I’ve tested the contact of the body to the hook, and they seem to be much more solid than my previous efforts.

For the legs I experimented with finer more flexible materials and left the legs longer. My theory is that the longer flexibile legs will create more movement and thus attract more fish. I can always cut back the legs on the stream if I feel they are a deterrent to fish. My favorite leg material so far is a product called Sili Legs, and I’ve made several versions with barred legs and more with black legs. Another pool toy lesson that I’ve applied to my new Chernobyl ants is the usage of bright pink foam as an indicator in addition to the bright yellow I used on the past.

Pink Indicator on This One

I plan to create at least 20 new and improved Chernobyl ants as we head into the 2013 season. Stay tuned to this blog to find out how this experiment plays out.

It’s simple to tie and is probably my best large top fly producer, so why do I keep trying to find a replacement? Every year I experiment with a new foam hopper concoction, but I continue returning to the simple classic Letort hopper. This year I’m trying the Grillos pool toy. Last year it was the Charlie Boy hopper.

The problem with the Letort hopper is buoyancy. The large deer hair wing is very visible and it supports beadhead nymphs up to size 14 rather well; however, after fishing a couple pockets or runs it requires drying. This usually involves sopping up excess moisture using my shirt and then dipping in the white dry shake powder. It works, and I’ve been known to spend whole days following this routine, but I continue to seek an imitation that fools trout as well as the Letort hopper, but offers superior buoyancy.

In spite of my efforts to phase the Letort hopper out, I rely on it heavily so I tied twenty size 10 models with nice full wings. I viewed a YouTube video and adopted the clipped deer hair head refinement that the tier demonstrated. The ones I made recently look great, and I applied head cement to the wraps before tying down the deer hair, so these should be extremely durable.

Classic Letort Hopper

I’m convinced that the narrow body profile and yellow body color of this fly enable it to serve double duty as a hopper imitation as well as a golden stonefly adult. I’ve had great success with this fly in late June and early July when golden stoneflies are prevalent on western streams. The Letort hopper remains in a prominent position in my fly box.

While on a day of guided fishing with Taylor Edrington of Royal Gorge Anglers I asked him what his favorite hopper imitation was. Without hesitation Taylor replied with Pool Toy, and given Taylor’s experience guiding and fishing all around the world and his many hours guiding on the Arkansas River, I made a mental note to tie some. I searched YouTube and the internet for tying instructions, but could not find any. I found some photos on the web pages of online fly merchants, and read about the originator, Andrew Grillos, a native of Colorado.

I continue to search for a productive buoyant foam hopper pattern that will be highly visible and float like a cork while suspending size 14 beadhead nymph patterns. I wasn’t totally satisfied with the Charlie Boy Hopper, so I’m hoping the pool toy may be the answer.

Fortunately a recent article in Southwest Fly Fishing featured step by step instructions for producing a Grillos Pool Toy so I made a copy and studied it. I reviewed the material list and determined I had everything but a material to make pink indicators, so I decided to forge ahead and substitute a bright neon green material left over from a project completed over the holidays by my son and daughter. My first two prototypes were encouraging, but I struggled with what type of rubber leg to use and how to attach the rear legs and what color dubbing to use as a base under the first layer of foam.

Side View of a Yellow Pool Toy

I decided to call Taylor and get his input. Taylor told me he didn’t use dubbing as it absorbs water and instead used a type of floss thread to create a base on the hook. In addition he said he used colors that match the first layer of foam, but indicated this isn’t necessary, and he frequently departs from this convention with attractor materials. As to the legs he advised Sexi legs as the material that he prefers. The material I used on my first couple prototypes was yellow barred Centipede legs. I love their look and rigidity, but the knots on the hind legs have a tendency to unravel and not hold. It was around this time that I discovered Andrew Grillos’ web site and sent him a quick email asking for his advice on the rubber/silicone legs.

Top View, My Favorite

Andrew suggested the Centipede legs and recommended pulling the knot tight almost to the point of breaking. He suggested applying Zap a Gap or some form of quick drying adhesive to the knot as well and recommended coating the thread wraps where the legs are attached with head cement for additional durability.

Top View with Hopper Legs Visible

I ended up making a trip to Charlie’s Fly Box during a lunch break and found Sexi Legs along with a bright pink fiber that would be ideal as a strike indicator for the front section of the fly. I’ve now completed eleven Grillos pool toys using both Centipede legs and Sexi legs. Eight of the hoppers are tan and three are yellow, and I plan to manufacture three more pink versions which Taylor swears are very effective. I’m very pleased with the look of these flies and I am very anxious to toss on a stream to test their buoyancy.