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Joe’s Hopper
Joe’s Hopper
Tying Instructions
1. Wrap lead-free wire around the shank starting about two eyelengths from the eye and ending over the point of the hook.
2. Secure the wire wraps with thread wraps and an application of superglue.
3. Clip some fibers from a red hackle and try to keep the tips even with minimal handling. The length of the tail should be about the same as the hook gap.
4. Attach a brown hackle that has been clipped to about one half the hook gap by the tip at the base of the tail. Also attach a piece of yellow yarn and secure it to the top of the shank from the base of the tail to the 3/4 position on the shank. Bring the thread back to the tail tie-in position
5. Twist the yarn tightly and than relax the yarn allowing it to twist upon itself. Find the proper length by putting a bodkin on the yarn where you wish to have the extended body. The extension should be about one half the tail length. Secure the extension with tight thread wraps.
6. Twist the yarn once more and wrap towards the eye stopping just beyond the 3/4 position. Clip off the butt end and secure with thread wraps.
7. Palmer the brown hackle around the yarn, tie off and trim.
8. Tie in the turkey tail wings to the sides of the body. Clip the side hackles so the the wings can position themselve closely to the body. The wings should have a slight upward curve to the tips when you tie them in and should not extend much beyond the tail.
9. Tie in the brown hackle by the tip, choosing a hackle that is slightly webbier than you would normally use. Prepare the hackle first by rubbing the barbules in a planar axis.
10. Wrap the hackle forward carefully without overlapping any of the barbules. Secure with thread wraps and trim off the butt. Whip finish for the head.
| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | TMC 5212 |
| Thread | Danville Yellow 6/0 |
| Body | Yellow poly yarn |
| Ribbing | Brown Hackle, palmered, trimmed short and tapered |
| Tail | Red hackle fibers |
| Wing | Mottled Turkey wing quills, Treat with Flexament |
| Hackle | Brown and Grizzly hackle |
Joe’s Hopper
Developed by Art Winnie of Traverse, Michigan in the early 1940’s. It was known as the Michigan Hopper but evolved into the name of Joe’s Hopper by the 1950’s. It was a popular hopper pattern for Joe Brooks, hence the name, and the pattern is not much different than the original tied by Art Winnie.
This fly was a forerunner to Dave Whitlock’s Hopper. Joe’s Hopper can be fished as a dry fly but it is often fished as a wet fly when it is weighted. Fish the fly within riffles during the hottest part of the day. Also use the fly along undercut banks and deep pools. During periods of hatching, a weighted Joe’s Hopper will not work well. However, during a lack of nymphal activity, a weighted Joe’s Hopper can become the fly of choice.
Gary LaFontaine was a strong proponent of Joe’s Hopper. He preferred the weighted variety and would wade upstream presenting a drag-free drift. He found that size and color played a primary role in trout selection. The trout would prefer the most abundant mature hopper in a particular size and color available on the stream. Larger hoppers might be available but they would be ignored by the trout. Gary also liked to utilize a skip cast and a carom splash off the banks. He tried to minimize the use of the loud splat presentation since it would often frighten the fish.
Since the hopper has been around for a while there are many current variations. One is to apply a foam butt to the fly just above the red hackle rather the the extended yarn body.