Shaun' Hopper - Step by Step

[ShaunF]

Shaun's Hopper

Receipe
Hook: TMC 300 #10 or #12

Thread: UTC 140 - Brown

Body: Tan 2mm foam

Underwing: Light Dun CDC Feathers

Wing: Section of pheasant tail (One of the short feathers under the long ones in a whole pheasant tail) coated with Dave's Flexement

Legs: upper leg - Pheasant tail sections coated with Dave's Flexement, lower leg - Bass lure skirt - Crawfish colour.

Collar: Elk Hair

Head: Klipspringer or any deer hair.

Step 1:


Start the thread approximately 1/3 down the shank from the hook eye, and wind down until you are directly above the hook barb.


Step 2:

Cut a thin strip of foam, approximately the length of the hook shank. Cut a slit in one side, about 1/4 the way down its length.


Step 3:

Position the foam under the hook shank, with the tying thread running through the slit in the foam.


Step 4:

Fold the foam up on either side of the hook shank. Make 2 turns around the foam, and then wrap forward just around the hook shank, underneath the foam. When you've left a reasonable gap to create nice segmentation, wrap twice around the foam again. Repeat until you've got a nice segmented foam body.

[ShaunF]

Step 5:

Tie off and trim the excess foam. At the rear of the body, you should have a section of foam on either side of the hook shank. Trim these sections so that they taper towards the middle. Place a small drop of superglue between them and stick them together.


Step 6:

Tie in 2-3 CDC feathers on top of the body to create an underwing.


Step 7:

Coat a section of pheasant tail feather with Flexement, leave to dry and trim to create the wing, then tie it in.


Step 8:

Cut 2 sections of pheasant tail, approximately 5 barbs wide. Coat both with flexement and leave to dry.

[ShaunF]

Step 9:

Take your rubber legging material, tie a loose overhand knot it in and feed the pheasant tail section halfway through it before pulling the knot tight. Fold the pheasant tail section in half. If the flexement is still slightly tacky, it should stick together. If not, add a little more so it sticks together when folded. Your legs should look like this when completed:


Step 10:

Tie in the legs as shown.


Step 11:

Tie in a collar of Elk Hair.


Step 12:

Push the Elk hair back and secure.

[ShaunF]

Step 13:

Spin some deer hair in front of the Elk hair. Repeat until you are just before the hook eye, then whip finish and and apply head cement.


Step 14:

Remove the fly from the vice and trim the deer hair to form a head.



Here's what the fly looks like from underneath:

[dlampert]

Nice pattern Shaun ! Please tie me up 10 or so and send them down to Cape Town for me to test

Regards,
Darryl

[Pheasant Tail Nymph]

Very nice, Shaun! I tied a new hopper pattern not too long ago, very similar in materials, but not so much in construction. I like the way you formed the hind legs. It is most definitely very creative.

Well done, once again.

Regards,
PTN

[gkieser]

That is freakin cool!!

[nkula_nkula]

Nice one shaun ,

Welcome to the steppers club, its very addictive....

I like the foam body, I normally tie similar pattern but with pheasant tail legs(pain to make) and an orange egg yarn body.

[ShaunF]

Links to pics fixed.

[Booger Rose]

Still is a nice fly and SBS, thanks Shaun.