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F&F Fly Pattern Archive

Claret Hopper

Hoppers are flies which attract by virtue of their legs and their colour. The most popular as far as the fish are concerned are those with some red spectrum in them, and the claret hopper is a good fly. Fish it on a longer leader, keep in contact, and add the occasional twitch and sure enough, something will come calling!

Pattern

Hook: Ashima F25 2x long shank sizes 12 to 16
Tying thread: red or claret 8/0
Body: claret dubbing
Rib: silver or gold fine wire
Legs: for the claret hopper I use red dyed pheasant tail fibre
Hackle: claret cock

Tying

Tie in the dubbing quite tightly from the end of the shank to the rear of the thorax, and then tie on three or four turns of wire for the rib. Tie in two legs either side, making sure that they lie on the sides of the fly, and are not too long. Finally, tie in the hackle, make four or five turns, tie off and finish. Simplicity itself, but I always go for the simple flies because you can tie more, including variants, in the same time, and thus you can spend more time on the water.

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David Westwood of NorScFly ties exclusively for private clients. All patterns for all gamefish, including magazine flies, and repeats of that last fly you have left. Contact him at Davidflies@btinternet.com