Pool Toy Hopper 01/18/2025 Photo Album

There are a vast number of hopper patterns to choose from out there, and I am certain that there are some that outperform the pool toy hopper. I first became acquainted with this fly, when I asked a fishing guide that I respected what his favorite hopper pattern was. He replied pool toy hopper, and I tied some and have stuck with them for many years. They are very buoyant, and they are visible, and they serve the dual purpose of catching fish and supporting nymphs in a dry/dropper set up.

Nice Look

In the early years of tying this fly, I produced various body colors, but I have since concluded that body color is not that important; and, thus, all my pool toy hoppers are size eight with a light tan or beige body. They seem to work. I have a lingering supply of yellow, and then some pinks and grays. Perhaps I should experiment with other colors, but why mess with success?

My last post was on 01/27/2024, so you may want to check that out. It has a link to earlier posts, and you can trace these links back for quite a few years.

Cluster of Eight

Andrew Grillos is the creator of this fly along with the hippie stomper, and I cannot contemplate fly fishing without the benefit of these two masterpieces of foam. I counted my holdings of pool toy hoppers and discovered quite a bit of shrinkage, and I can certainly attest to losing many of these hoppers to trees and bushes. In order to restore my inventory to my optimal stocking level, I tied eight additional models in tan. I refurbished two that were missing legs on one side, and then I applied my skills to the vise and cranked out another six.

Hopefully the pool toy hopper continues to provide many days of entertainment on trout streams this summer.

Chernobyl Ant 01/17/2025 Photo Album 

Follow this link for my previous post on the Chernobyl ant. My post of 01/15/2020 contains a materials table. I first started tying this fly after some phenomenal fishing on the Green River with a guide. Bank hugging brown trout crushed the low floating foam attractor in all three sections. My version of the Chernobyl ant copies the very effective fly that my guide introduced me to many years ago.

In the intervening years “imrovements” and variations have been many, including a Chernobyl ant with a double foam body and the ever-present chubby Chernobyl. I tie and own quite a few chubby Chernobyls, and I must admit that the high wing makes them much more visible in fast water and low light scenarios. Nevertheless, I still carry a decent supply of classic Chernobyl ants tied in the same manner as those that my guide placed on my line many years ago.

Ready For Action

When does the classic Chernobyl ant earn its keep in my fly box? Primarily on small narrow high mountain streams that are lined with dense vegetation and overhanging tree limbs. A classic Chernobyl ant is all foam with a synthetic chenille body. This fly repels water, and it shines in close quarters, because back casts for drying the fly are unnecessary, and in fact they are a detriment to success. I can dap and bow and arrow cast this fly, and it floats like a cork, and this is a huge advantage in the tight quarters that typically dominate narrow high mountain creeks.

A Few Materials Required

I counted my inventory of size 10 and size 8 Chernobyl ants, and I learned that my stock was more than adequate for another season. However, in order to stay in practice, I tied one size 10 and added it to my fly box. I am certain to use the old fashioned Chernobyl ant during 2025.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle 01/14/2025 Photo Album

For more information on Jake’s gulp beetle please click on this link to my previous post. For step by step tying directions use this link to 10/22/2015. This terrestrial is very easy to tie.

Angled Look at a size 14

For some reason I abandoned Jake’s gulp beetle over recent years. I suspect lack of line time resulted from me favoring other smaller terrestrials that are easier to track such as the hippie stomper. Nevertheless, beetles are a favorite food source for trout, and I would not want to be without them.

Materials and Two Beetles

I counted my beetle supply and discovered that I maintained adequate quantities; however, I tied two more to reinforce my ability to tie this simple fly. I am ready for wind blown beetles in 2025.

Sunk Ant 01/11/2025 Photo Album

Even though I experienced quite a bit of success over the previous summers with a sunk ant, for some reason I mostly abandoned it in 2024. I am not sure why, but ants are everywhere, and I plan to atone for my poor judgement in 2025. I enjoyed my earlier success on small high mountain streams, and this makes logical sense, since large black ants are constantly present on trees and woody branches bordering on these streams. My previous post of 01/02/2024 provides more information as well as links to prior posts.

Big Black Ant

My preferred fly tying instructional video can be found on YouTube, and the tutor is famed fly tier Kelly Galloup. I counted my supply and quickly realized that my storage bins contained adequate quantities of size 16, but a few additional size 14’s were desirable. I tied three large sunk ants, and I am now satisfied with my supply. Hopefully I can train my brain to knot a sunk ant to my line more frequently in the new season.

Additional Three with Associated Materials

Fat Albert 02/03/2024 Photo Album

It is difficult to supplement my post of 01/23/2023 with relevant information. If you are interested in this fly click on the link to my previous year narrative. This fly receives quite a bit of usage as the surface fly that accompanies double nymphs in a dry/dropper configuration. In addition to serving as an extremely effective strike indicator, it attracts its share of eats along the way.

I counted my fat Alberts and determined that I needed six to replenish my supply for the 2024 season. I dumped my damaged fly canister, and four old fat Alberts with missing legs materialized. I refurbished the handicapped hoppers and tied three new versions, and this allowed me to gift one to my friend, Nate. I am now fairly certain that I have adequate fat Alberts to get me through the upcoming season.

Pool Toy Hopper 01/27/2024 Photo Album

I have very little to add beyond my post from a year ago, which can be viewed at 01/22/2023. I probably deploy the pool toy hopper more than any other large hopper or foam pattern. It is only surpassed by the smaller and, in my opinion, more versatile hippie stomper. Ironically both flies were designed by the master of foam, Andrew Grillos.

When I counted my inventory of pool toy hoppers, I discovered that I needed to increment my supply by nine, and I added one for my friend, Nate. I also maintain some plastic canisters with mangled and damaged flies that I placed out of service during the season, and I discovered six flies in this condition. I approached my vise and replaced the missing legs on the damaged flies and then produced four new versions; three for me and one for my friend. I am certain that this fly will spend quite a bit of time on my line throughout the season, and I am equally sure that legs will fall off, and a few will be donated to trees and aggressive fish. I am prepared for every eventuality in 2024.

Chernobyl Ant 01/23/2024 Photo Album

For an excellent recap of my experience with and usage of the classic Chernobyl ant please review my post of 01/23/2021. It also contains a link to a materials table, and it does an excellent job of explaining the circumstances that induce me to tie a Chernobyl ant to my line. I am unable to build upon that narrative here in any significant way.

My usage of the Chernobyl ant has declined in recent years, as chubby Chernobyls, fat Alberts and pool toy hoppers now command the prime position as a highly visible and very buoyant surface fly in a dry/dropper configuration. For this reason my loss of this fly is negligible, and consequently I determined that I had adequate supplies for another year. In order to remain in practice and to provide some for my young fishing friend, Nate, I tied two. They turned out great, so hopefully Nate will enjoy them as much as I do.

Jake’s Gulp Beetle 01/16/2024 Photo Album

Check out my post of 01/17/2023 for more information and links related to Jake’s gulp beetle. This fly is quite easy to tie, and one of my historical posts provides step by step directions.

I deployed the foam beetle a few times during 2023, but I do not seem to revive its effectiveness similar to situations in past years. I suspect some of this shift resulted from my tendency to not use it, as I tend to default to the hippie stomper, stimulator or deer hair caddis before resorting to a foam beetle. This is perhaps a mistake on my part, so I will try to reverse this trend in 2024.

My supply was slightly depleted, so I tied an additional five with one going to my friend. The remaining four were split evenly between size 14 and size 12. I feel prepared for terrestrial plopping in the upcoming season.

Fat Albert 01/23/2023 Photo Album

Refer to my recent post on the pool toy hopper for a comparison of the pool toy hopper and the fat Albert. They are very similar. Check out this link to my report from 2022 for additional links and narrative on the fat Albert.

Refurbished Fat Albert

I continue to deploy the fat Albert early in the season, when I desire a large and buoyant top fly on my dry/dropper set up, and it does the job quite well and even occasionally pounds up an eager fish. The fat Albert also sees heavy usage during the end of June and early July, when I edge fish the larger rivers, as the snow melt remains high, but the rivers are clear, and the fish are bunched along the banks seeking refuge from the fast current. Again the buoyancy is a major plus, and the large yellow bodied foam fly also imitates the golden stoneflies that are prevalent during this time period.

Teeth Marks Make Them More Effective

As was the case with the pool toy hopper, I found five flies in my damaged fly canister that were missing legs, so I simply added legs to restore my inventory to adequate levels for the upcoming season. These flies will see action within a few months.