The Ignorant Angler

It's time to take a break from shoveling snow.  Time to dream of green grass, warm breezes and summer sun.
So what if it's winter.  It's hopper time.
Time to tie them at least.  Also  time to take a break from tying midges.  Imagine that, something big enough to see without an electron microscope.
I don't fish terrestrials much, other than the occasional beetle.  But, as far as hoppers go, this is my favorite.  Excepting the rubber legs, its all natural.  Just elk hair and turkey.
The pattern goes by a couple of names.  Bullet  head hopper.  Mike Lawson's Henry's Fork hopper.
No need to reinvent the egg, so I won't.  Here are a few links which detail the tying steps excellently:
This site has animations of the tying steps.....bullethead hopper by a fellow named Derek Porter.
Al Campbell at Fly Anglers On Line offers a slightly different version of the Henry's Fork Hopper.
The main difference between the two versions is in how the abdomen is tied in.  …

It's been a while since I've written. I apologize.  I've shirked my duties as a blogger.  
It's been a while too since we've had occasion to use a hopper.  This one, patterned after Mike Lawson's Henry's Fork hopper, was tied with the intention of floating it in the Blackfoot.  Why the Blackfoot?  Beats me.   I just thought it was a good idea. 
Well, years passed.  The hoppers never saw the Blackfoot.  One day, this past summer, I found the forlorn hoppers in a fly box next to my tying bench. Their time had come.  I packed them off to the Madison. 
I've always liked the look of elk hair hoppers.  This pattern looks good on the water.  It floats like the cliched cork.  And, it's not too tough to tie.  
And, pray tell, how did they work that day on the Madison?  Well, pretty darned good.  There were no sippers that day.  The takes were pretty explosive. 
To quote Dan Holland from the Fly Fisherman's Bible:
A trout feels about a grasshopper the wa…