Hip-Hopper Tute

 

Hip-Hopper Tute

 

Here’s a Grasshopper pattern I came up with for when the smaller hoppers are around. It is tied parachute style so it will be easier to see, land upright 99% of the time and has a great hopper silhouette and color. I find that the smaller hoppers are more greenish and especially during a wet season. When it hasn’t rained for awhile or a dry summer I have found the grasshoppers are more of a olive/brownish color.
  For the body I use a mixture of golden olive/BWO dubbing. For the head of the hopper I use the same mixture but add a little caddis green in the mix.
  Before starting prepare a set of legs by taking about four strands of pheasant tail fibers and tie them in a knot. For the over wing I take a turkey wing feather and color it with an olive green Prismacolor marker. This gives the wing an olive cast. Then I coat the feather with flex cement and let it dry. This keeps the fibers together and stiffens the fibers.

Some of the material and preparation.

Hook; 3x long curved hook. #10,#12,#14
Thread; Blue Wing Olive #6
Tail: Red Feather fibers tied short.
Wing Post; White Poly yarn
Underbody; White poly yarn extended along shank
Body; Mixture of golden olive and BWO dubbing mixed
Over wing; Turkey wing feather section colored olive tied tent style
Legs; knotted pheasant tail fibers.
Head; Same as body with some green caddis dubbing mixed in
Hackle; Grizzly olive hackle feather wound around wing post. (Grizzly is a good substitute)

1. Thread base hook shank and tie in short tail of red feather fibers. Bring thread forward behind hook eye as shown.

 

2. Tie in poly wing post behind eye, leave plenty of room. Lay excess poly along hook shank and trim at tail. This will help give bulk to the body.

 

3. Wind thread over poly towards tail and back up towards post covering poly along shaft.



4. Take a mixture of Golden Olive and BWO dubbing and dub body towards tail. With more dubbing, dub body back up behind wing post.

 

5. Tie in turkey section, tent style, as shown leaving room behind wing post. Then trim end of wing just extending beyond tail.



 

 

6. Tie in each leg on each side of the down wing.



 

7. Using same dubbing for body add some Green Caddis dubbing to mix. Dub a head before and after the wing post leaving room behind hook eye to finish fly.



8. Tie in a Hackle feather as close to wing post as possible.

9. Wind hackle feather around wing post keeping hackle down towards head.

10. To knot the thread behind hook eye without getting the hackle fibers caught use a hollow tube as shown. Wind the thread around the tube twice and than fit the hollow center over the hook eye. Push the thread towards the head under the hackle. I usually do this three times and then tie off and add a drop of head cement.

Finished product

 

What the trout see

A few trout that took my Hip-Hopper