Walk into any fly shop out west this time of the year for a bit of local information and it won’t be long until someone lets you know that fish are eating Hoppers! Late July -September, in the Bozeman area, provides some of the most unique fly-fishing of the year as trout begin to “look up” and focus on Grasshoppers that mistakenly end up on the water. They come in all sizes and colors in the wild – and even more in the fly bins. It never hurts to have too many flies, in my opinion, but here are the top 5 hopper patterns for fly-fishing the Madison, Gallatin, and Yellowstone rivers of Southwest Montana.
The Thunder Thigh hopper has become a regional best seller and guide favorite as it “checks all of the boxes” in that it floats high, is easy to see, durable, and fish eat it! Available in several sizes and colors, I prefer to fish this one in the Golden, Pink, or Tan color in either a size 10 or 12. It’s buoyant foam body easily holds up most “dropper” nymphs, including the heavily weighted jig-style nymphs we have come to rely on most days.