[VFB] Stimpson Klod-Hopper

[Tom Davenport]

I signed up for an intermediate fly tying class taught by Paul Stimpson (possibly spelled Stimson), a local professional fly-tyer of some note (Paul was the "hands" for Gary Lafontaine during the brief time that he continued to demonstrate his flies after being diagnosed with ALS).  I took the class because I figured I could learn some new tricks from someone who ties over 1000 dozen flies a year, and I haven't been disappointed.  Most of the flies taught are ones I have tied before (Parachute Adams, Emergent Sparkle Pupa, Twist Nymph, and Prince Nymph, and Comparadun), but with each I learned new and useful tricks.  Last week, however we tied a new fly (for me), a hopper pattern patterned Paul developed called the "Klod-Hopper".   He wanted a hopper pattern that was durable, unsinkable, quick to tie and realistic enough to catch the picky fish he fishes for each summer  in Montana (his home is in Utah, but he spends his summers tying for Eric's fly shop in West Yellowstone). I was pretty excited to learn this fly since I have never found a hopper pattern that I really liked (or had the patience to tie). Here is the recipe: Klod-Hopper Hook: 2x or 3x size 8-12 Thread: Tan or Brown flat waxed nylon Underbody: 1/8 inch thick tan foam (we used the kind you buy at a craft store, but I prefer tying it with the foam sold in fly shops, which is a little softer and forms a nicer body). Hackle: Brown Saddle (undersized or trimmed, use as ribbing, not for floatation) Body: Tan Antron dubbing (he used Wapsi "Sand" color) Wing: Elk hair Legs: Red "Grizzly"  rubber legs (the legs alternate red and black, similar to grizzly hackle) Tips:  Start at eye, wrap entire hookshank to bend and back (to help anchor the foam).  I also add a drop of super glue to the thread, but Paul didn't do this. Cut a two to three inch strip of foam the same width as the inside of the hook bend.  Tie it in on top of the shank right behind the eye with 3/4" inch hanging over the eye.  Make a few wraps under the foam back toward the bend and then tie down the foam again to form the head.  Continue tying the foam to the shank in this manner making three or four smaller foam "bubbles"  to form the underbody.  When you get to the bend, leave the rest of the foam extending beyond the bend. Tie on the hackle,  then dub the antron back up over the body.  Adding a little moisture to your fingers helps get the antron dubbing on the thread.  You want a fairly thick "noodle" of dubbing which you tie over the foam underbody as tight as you can without compressing the foam bubbles.  When you get to the head,  make a wrap of dubbing over the head to the eye, and then wrap back to the back side of the head.   Palmer the hackle to the head making no more than four wraps, and tie off behind the head.  Clean out the underfur and stack the Elk hair and trim to the exact size you want (it is tied in right behind the head and extends to the butt end of the body).  Hold the trimmed elk hair on the shank and make one soft loop around the elk hair about 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch behind the trimmed end.  Pull your thread up to tighten the loop.  This will very neatly attach the hair to the top of the shank behind the eye.  Wrap through the trimmed ends and back to anchor them down (if you do this right you can pull on the hair wing hard enough to bend the hook without losing any hair). Now tie on two legs of similar size with a couple of loops behind the head on top of the fly, then pull each leg down and position  on the sides (this is a very quick and fast way to tie on legs).  Finally pull the foam that is extending over the eye back and tie it off behind the head.  Put a dab of cement on the tie off place, trim the end to a taper, then trim off any stray antron or elk hair.  All of the wraps behind the head make a thread collar that separates the head from the rest of the body. This is a lot easier to tie than the description  makes it sound.  I also patterned a Cicada substituting black foam and black tinsel chenille for the under/over-body, orange thread, and a bit of crystal flash under the wing. Tom Davenport Home Page: http://homepage.mac.com/tsmd Webshots Albums:  http://community.webshots.com/user/tsmdav