Hippie Stomper 01/23/2026 Photo Album

Read my post of 01/13/2018, as it documents my fortuitous introduction to the hippie stomper. I labeled it hippy stomper, before I learned from its creator, Andrew Grillos, that it was spelled with an “ie”.

This fly has grown from an obscure random introduction to the top producing dry fly in my fly box. I love the hippie stomper. I carry red, silver and purple body versions, but the real workhorse fly is the one with a peacock dubbed body. The hippie stomper produces all season long, and it does double duty as a fish catcher as well as an indicator.

Peacock Body

I particularly like to use a hippie stomper as the first fly in a double dry arrangement with a smaller more imitative dry trailing on a twelve to eighteen inch dropper. The buoyant hippie stomper with the white wing allows me to track both flies. This ploy is especially useful during the blue wing olive hatches, when the tiny olive tufts are nearly impossible to follow under cloudy skies and glare conditions. Many times I am surprised with the effectiveness of the hippie stomper itself in this double dry configuration.

Ready to Float

Used as the surface fly on a dry/dropper is another effective approach; however, I do not combine it with a heavy nymph such as a 20 incher or olive perdigon. A single beadhead or a beadhead along with a tiny RS2 work quite well.

Very Popular Fly

I counted my supply of hippie stompers, and this exercise revealed the need for an additional ten. I refurbished three and tied an additional eight to add eleven to my collection. They were all the peacock body variety, as I rarely deviate from this choice, and I have adequate quantities of the other colors. I cannot wait to tie a hippie stomper to my line in the new season.