Hopper Variant
In my own, albeit limited experience,
this dry fly has few equals. Either leave the fly to its own
devices or give it the occasional twitch and then wait for
something to nail it.
Even if no fish are showing I fish this fly with real confidence
as it will usually
rise a fish or two, on the water I fish regularly it can sometimes
be used to the exclusion of all other patterns and the takes
can be spectacular.
Materials used:
Hook: Size 12
Drennan Emerger Hook
Thread: Brown
Body: Orvis Fine
and Dry Dubbing Hendrickson Pink and any brown antron dubbing
Legs: Knotted
pheasant tail fibres
Hackle:Red
Game
Please note, the material list above is
just a guideline
1. Start
by running thread down to a point just before the bend.
2. Apply
a pinch of fine dubbing to the thread and create the rear
half of the body (this should be of a lighter shade than the
front half).
3. Next,
dub on the front half of the body which should be both darker
and coarser than the rear. Leave room for the legs, a bushy
hackle and head/whip-finish.
4. Now
tie in three pairs of knotted pheasant tail legs (forget tying
your own, just buy some, trust me on this one).
5. Trim
the waste and lash down the ends then return the thread to
a point just in front of the body and tie in a hackle of suitable
length........
........to give you at least four turns. Tie
off the hackle and trim the waste off. Form a neat head (failing
that, one that looks like the one you see below). At this
point I like to temporarily stroke the hackle fibres backwards
to make the whip finish and varnishing a little easier.
6. All that remains
now is to whip finish and varnish. Once the varnish is dry
stroke the fibres forwards again.