How to fish grasshoppers
The way to fish grasshopper patterns is distinct and best done with some minor tweaks to the traditional techniques.
Read more about an epic adventure fishing grasshoppers - Extra-terrestrials here
Fast moving water
Fish the hoppers through fast, oxygenated water. These flies stay afloat in the most turbulent of flow, and allow you to fish all of the likely spots trout will hold.
Photo credit: Pat Ryan
Banks
As grasshoppers live their lives on land, they often end up in the drink from grass tussocks that line the river banks. These banks, also providing good structure for trout to hide, are the double whammy. Get your hoppers right up on the edge, with a good long drift and you’re a shout for an eat.
Bring the fly to life – due to the size of grasshopper, and their ability to move through water (or at least their efforts to do so) they can create quite a commotion on the surface. Slap the fly down to make a splash, and then when on the surface don't be afraid to move the fly and bring it to life. If fishing the fly in slow water, a little twitch to replicate a stranded hopper trying to get back to land, sending small ripples across the surface, can often be the trigger to induce the eat.
Photo credit: Pat Ryan
Mix up the colours
Whilst the natural colour spectrum of grasshoppers is generally restricted to the greens, yellows and browns, unnatural flashy hues can aid the cause.
Bigger is better
A larger profile is a) a more enticing prospect for the trout, b) easier for the trout to see and c) aids in making a racquet when hitting the surface, all helping the trout take notice of the fly and tempt the eat.
Legs XI – get legs on your fly
Having picked up plenty of grasshoppers in the paddock, they seem to be all legs. More importantly the legs don’t stop moving. This is the same when they are stranded in on the surface film, desperately looking for a platform to launch from and escape the jaws of defeat. The presence of legs on the fly can often be the difference between getting an eat or not. Rubber legs work best for adding movement.
Photo credit: Pat Ryan
Foam – big floating flies
A real grasshopper is buoyant and they rarely seem to sink. Getting patterns that are tied with foam ensures the fly rides high and stays afloat, even through the roughest of riffles.
Have a ball
Lastly, enjoy it! The window of time that the hoppers turn on is agonisingly short, and overlaying that with our availability to get out and fish narrows the opportunity significantly. We may only get one or two days a season to fish the hopper hatch so cash in, fill your boots and enjoy some adrenaline- fuelled activity.
