Showstopper Hopper

New Pattern from James St. Clair -

The Showstopper Hopper is a pattern I came up with after a day of fishing on one of my favorite creeks in Eastern Washington. After pulling into the parking lot, a Grasshopper promptly landed on my windshield, and I was able to observe it, for quite some time, from the trout's point of view. I noticed a couple things during this observation period: the rear kicking legs had a reddish pink tone to their underside, the front legs were substantial, and created a prominent X pattern, and while the antennae weren't as prominent, they were present, and visible. After that (successful) day of fishing, I still wanted to create a better pattern, one that was durable, easy to see, floated all day long, and had all of those features that stood out to me. 

This is a lengthy video, and these aren't the quickest tie, but I have found them to work on the pickiest fish (the biggest fish in the creek this hopper was born from are extremely picky when it comes to hoppers). Plus, they are super durable, and float extremely well, even after catching a few fish. I don't lose many of these, as most of the waters I fish them on I can wade over and get them if I snag up (blowing up the hole in the process, haha!). And it's a fly I have the utmost confidence in, so I have no problem spending the extra minutes to tie them.