Fly of the Week #12- CLODHOPPER

Great summer time hopper!

Clodhopper in Sz- 12 - 8

I am going with a modified cliché on this one- Too many Flies, too little time!   Every time I look into the massive collection of flies we offer, I am just amazed, and dismayed, that I probably won't be able to fish them all.  The practical side of me says I only need about 6 flies to cover most of the fishing I do, the fly tier in my says I need 4000 flies because I want to tie all the cool, interesting and potentially knock-out flies created for every niche and situation imaginable.

The Clodhopper meets a lot of my tying/fishing criteria, those mostly being: ease of tie, color, profile, easy to get materials and movement.   I augment them as seasons and conditions change but essentially that is it.  This hopper meets all of the criteria.  Like most western states, here in Central WA we have a yearly hopper explosion and the fish are keyed into the large insects dropping from the grassy shores, being tossed by the gusty wind, or haphazardly flying into the water.   Fishing a stout 7.5 foot 3x or bigger leader, close to shore, with slight twitching of the rod tip usually produces some great summer fish.  Add to that a size 14-16 dropper about 12" behind the fly, and you have the quintessential western "hopper/dropper" rig.

FLY OF THE WEEK	PRICE	ADD TO CART
CLODHOPPER- TAN #10	$2.50 PER FLY
CLODHOPPER- PEACH #10	$2.50 PER FLY
CLODHOPPER- PINK #10	$2.50 PER FLY

Clodhopper Recipe

Hook:  Dai-Riki 710- 3X LONG, 1X STRONG- It's a nymph hook but works great for hoppers. 

Thread: Any 6/0 to match color

Body/head: Various colors of foam- tan, purple, pink, red, olive, yellow, black, etc. Doubled to on body (4mm), head is single 2mm foam.  

Legs: Any barred rubber or  silicone leg would work.  4-6 strands.  knotted if you like. 

Cut Wing: Etha Wing or substitute
Top Wing: Yellowstone Fly Goods Widows's Web
Head: See body notes- but head is single 2mm foam