An interesting bullet head styled pattern that will take fish from the time the first hoppers appear until their last hurrah in Autumn. Yellow body and and red rubber legs are highlights and the green deer hair finish off what looks like a fine pattern. Click on the pic for more detail.

The most basic of patterns yet one of the most deadly. Often at hopper time you will go through a lot of flies, if you are fishing them correctly! This fly is designed with that in mind, taking only a couple of minutes to tie it is almost indestructible and floats like a cork all day. Click on the pic for more detail.

Dave's tie as featured here is a bit of a local institution. People come into our shop all summer long begging him to tie just a couple for them and for good reason. Deadly on the Goulburn and Rubicon Rivers or anywhere fish and hoppers intersect. Simple to tie and durable. Click on the pic for more detail.

This fly developed over the last few years after visiting American angler Jeff Currier introduced us to the Chernobyl Ant. A fly deliberately tied large, it takes fish consistently all summer long both locally and on the Swampy Plains, not to mention NZ's South Island. Click on the pic for more detail.

You can count the number of weeks Kevin has been tying for without running out of fingers but you wouldn't have known had I not told you. A good pattern that employs all the classic features of many grasshopper patterns. Has all the key triggers we will surely tie some up too. Click on the pic for more detail.

Leigh submitted this fly with specific comments attached to address the issue of the lack of gape. Happy to count a lipped fish as a stat for the diary we can see that it must notch up quite a few in the book. Impossible to sink the colouration is a particular highlight. Click on the pic for more detail.

Mick's hopper caught a lot of fish on the Rubicon this season including a whopping brownie of about 5lb. To add to this he also caught an outsized Goulburn brown within a week. This fly has the Madam X style of legs and it's inherent movement accounts for many fish. Click on the pic for more detail.

Ray's fly has been about for a while now and we constantly hear of it's success by passing anglers. A very different approach to matching a grasshopper the colour and shape are pretty spot on. Also as an added bonus it could be taken as a beetle at the right time/place. Click on the pic for more detail.

Rod's Hopper was one of the more interesting we received. Lateral thinking is definitely an attribute of the tier/angler and no fly better represents this fact than Rod's Hopper. Great combination of colours and very easy to tie, as long as you can find that hackle somewhere! Click on the pic for more detail.

Sing's pattern is styled on the classic Knobby Hopper with the addition of some new age materials. Bulky, blunt deer hair head, yellow chenille body, pheasant tippet legs and a bit of poly as an overwing. Another fly that just has to work and that we will be copying ASAP. Click on the pic for more detail.