Materials:
Hook:
Size 10 or 12 streamer hook
Underbody: Rayon embroidery thread in contrasting colors
Wing & Upper Body: Craft foam
Thread: 6/0 thread matching craft foam color
Thorax: Dubbing to match craft foam color
Legs: Round rubber legs (I like barred style) in medium and small
sizes
Marking pens in various colors
Using a pair of pliers, open the gap of the hook slightly, then bend
the shank slightly downward toward the rear so when you weave the butt
section it has a more bug like appearance. Start your thread just behind
the eye and wrap back into the curve of the hook. Tie in a four or five
grizzly hackle fibers at the back of the hook. Tie in six or seven inches
of rayon weaving material, one color on each side of hook up to about
the halfway point on the shank. Wrap tying thread forward, throw in
a half hitch, and cut off thread so you can start your weave.
Using overhand
knot weave, make an abdomen section to just past the halfway mark on
the hook shank. Start your thread again and tie off the ends of your
weaving material. Trim the ends. Make a dubbing loop and apply dubbing
forward nearly to the hook eye. Make a couple of wraps back to just
where the woven body ends and tie off. Let your bobbin hang here until
the next step.
Cut an
isosceles triangle from the craft foam. It should measure approximately
5/8ths of an inch by 7/8ths of an inch. Hold the piece of foam up to
the body of the fly and it should extend from right behind the eye to
just past the end of the abdomen.
Place a
couple of drops of superglue on the underside of the foam where it lined
up with your bobbin when you checked the foam length in the above step.
Folding the foam triangle in half lengthwise, but not closed tightly,
place it over your hook and tie it in with a fair amount of pressure
to begin making the segmented thorax.
Take a
three inch length of rubber leg material, double it and tie a knot in
it. Cut the front loop, and trim one of the forks in the rear to make
a hopper leg.
Slip this
leg under the last wrap of thread on the near side of the hopper. Make
another wrap or two with your thread staying in the same channel for
all of these wraps.
Repeat the above step and position the second leg on the far side of
the hopper. Make a couple of more wraps in the channel and tie in a
half hitch. The legs are now complete.
Slip the
thread under the foam and bring it forward to about 1/8 inch behind
end of foam. Make a couple of fairly tight wraps over the foam to put
the second segment in the thorax and create the hopper's head. The head
should almost look like a Crease Fly from the front.
Slip the
thread forward under the foam once more, make some wraps right behind
the eye of the hook, whip finish and apply a drop of head cement.
Take a
bodkin and make a hole completely through both sides of the head above
where the eyes will be. Run a threader through the holes and insert
a piece of small rubber leg material in it. Pull it back through to
make the antennae. Put a drop of head cement on rubber next to the foam
and pull this part back into head to glue it in.
Put a drop
of head cement where legs are attached to body and on knots in legs.
Color foam accordingly using waterproof pens
Dirk Burton
