How to Tie Foam Grasshoppers

The foam grasshopper is an effective fly for trout, bass and panfish. The fly is most effective when grasshoppers are present in strong numbers, and the foam construction allows the fly to float high on the surface of the water. The buoyant foam also allows you to drop a moderately heavy sinking fly off the hook bend. Numerous different foam hopper patterns exist, with some being relatively simple to tie and others involving advanced techniques and numerous materials.

Things You'll Need

  • Hook--Tiemco 200R #8-12
  • Thread--6/0 yellow
  • Tail--elk hair
  • Body--3mm yellow foam
  • Wing--elk hair
  • Over wing--3mm yellow foam
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Instructions

  1. Simple Foam Hopper

    • 1

      Start the thread at the half point on the hook shank and wrap the thread forward to the bend in the hook. Cut a small clump of elk hair from a hide. Use your scissors to trim the butts and remove the underfur. Hold the tips on the bend of the hook to create a short tail. Make several wraps of thread to secure the tail to the hook. Cover the extra hair with the thread and return the thread to the bend in the hook.

    • 2

      Cut a 1/4-inch section of 3mm yellow foam from a foam strip. Cut a wedge on one end of the foam and use the thread to secure the foam immediately behind the tail. Wrap the thread down the hook shank and stop, leaving one-quarter of the hook exposed above the hook eye.

    • 3

      Wrap the foam around the hook shank until you reach the thread. Make several thread wraps to secure the foam to the hook. Cut away the excess foam with your scissors.

    • 4

      Cut a moderate clump of elk hair from the hide and use your fingers to comb away the underfur. Place the fur in a hair stacker and tap the stacker against a hard surface to align the tips. Remove the fur from the stacker and hold the fur over the hook shank with the tips aligned with the base of the tail. Make several wraps of thread to secure the elk hair as a wing. Cut away the excess base hair.

    • 5

      Place a piece of foam on the hook shank. Align the foam with a short overlap covering the eye of the hook and the remainder as an over-wing. The wing will be roughly one-half the length of the elk wing. Make several thread wraps to secure the foam to the hook. Use a whip finisher to tie the thread and cut away the thread when finished. Use your scissors to round and complete the wing.