This fly catches fish everywhere - Fly Tying - "Top Shelf" Hopper.

Here's the tying video for my "Top Shelf" Hopper. This is the double foam version which is what I use primarily for hopper-dropper rigs. It started as a grass carp pattern based on the foam back humpy and then I added a second layer of foam when I started traveling out west several years ago. I tie this version mainly in sz 10 and 12 mostly. The single foam version tied on a sz 14 Tiemco 2312 hook tying video linked below.
Tying video for the single foam version:
• The Fish and the Fly -...
Here's where I bought the indicator/wing yarn.
Dorsey poly macrame cord: flyfishingcord.com/collection...
Materials:
Firehole Outdoors hook 718
UTC 140
craft foam ~2mm from Walmart craft dept
Hare's ear Ice dub blend
Krystal flash - midge
Poly Macro Wing - or para post material
Medium barred centipede legs
Brown hackle
Superfine Dry fly dubbing
Find me here:
/ looknfishy
/ looknfishy
#flyfishing #fishing #flytying

[@TheSilver9r]

Looks alot like a Hippie Stomper variation, nice! Good beetle fly too.

[@LooknFishy]

Or maybe that looks like my pattern bc I was late to social media lol!

[@Utahlonghorn]

Excellent pattern!

[@williampacey9194]

Great looking hopper, very visible and still natural looking.

[@Ron_Ackerman]

Thanks Drew, makes me want to get back into tying again.

[@LooknFishy]

Awesome!

[@briljantje9583]

Nicely done! Looking good.

[@LooknFishy]

Thank u!

[@woodbr1226]

Very nice! Will tie some for our NY summer box

[@NickAndCaroline]

Wow, love it!!! Tying some up!

[@soloflyfishing]

tied of 4 of these to try out next week on a trip to Colorado. I can wait to try it out. Hopefully I took some good lessons watching you use it. Thank you for sharing the how to video

[@jerryg957]

Outstanding, thanks Drew !

[@LooknFishy]

Anytime!

[@Naplesbackcountry]

Tan and chartreuse after a summer shower is deadly for me! Great tie thanks for posting it up!

[@tylerolson5314]

I am really getting into your videos Drew, really enjoy your good clean fishy content! Thanks man and wet lines

[@billschlafer]

Excellent timing! I was just about to tie a batch of hoppers this weekend. Thanks!

[@LooknFishy]

Yep, I was doing that too and decided to rearrange my living room and turn the camera on!

[@scottnock5241]

Thanks Drew now we have the magic!!!

[@LooknFishy]

Haha for sure!

[@Malcolm_Q]

Nice tie. Thank you.

[@grahamhunt6467]

Great hopper. Durable, easy to tie floats like a cork. Thanks as always for sharing Drew. You're a great source for those looking to learn or improve their fishing techniques.

[@LooknFishy]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@richardharrod378]

Thanks, I will do this one for next season, winter set in here in Wyoming now.

[@larryhudgins6988]

Cant say thanks enough Drew. Been waiting for this video awhile now. I tied some from your original video. They work good for me here in East Tn and WNC.

[@LooknFishy]

Happy to share them. Both have been incredibly productive for me.

[@43lbcat]

Thanks for putting this up!

[@LooknFishy]

Happy to share it!

[@JesseCaraballoOG]

Super informative! The last hopper I used kept drowning with a hopper dropper setup. This outta do the trick!

[@LooknFishy]

It will definitely float some weight!

[@1Batt]

Also that has the looks of a Madam x, an Adams, a beetle,a hopper and a Royal wolf all in one bundle! Wow!

[@LooknFishy]

Like a fly fishing buffet for trout lol!

[@jimgollach6202]

Thanks for this video drew. I'm tieing right now, the weather here is to hot for my liking, will pick fishing back up in September. I need a few more materials to try out your hopper pattern, but I'm going to give it a shot. Very Very nice pattern. Thanks for sharing. Tight lines! 👍

[@LooknFishy]

It had gotten warm lol! Time to road trip to cooler areas!

[@williamklein6749]

Love the vid. Thanks. Saw it in early July. Murdered them all summer in Utah and Montana. My go-to fly in the after the A.M. 1. Ended up with Purple as my best color. 2. Eliminated the hackle and just picked out the dubbing. Didn't seem to make a difference. 3. Used it with a sliding hopper dropper rig. ( caught many trout on the hopper)

[@rustyrodgarage2686]

Very nice. I'll tie a few up and try them

[@LooknFishy]

Been a solid bug for me!

[@chriscapune7873]

Great bug!! Thanks 🐈🐾🐈‍⬛🐾

[@claytonballerine2280]

Your so shaky:) nervous? YOU KILLED IT

[@LooknFishy]

Haha, nah had just finished a 7 mile run in 95 degree heat and then rearranged my living room to set up the camera/tying area. Guess the blood was pumping lol!

[@oldsmugglerflyfishing]

Hi Drew! Nice looking fly!

[@LooknFishy]

Thx!

[@dalespencer803]

Nice looking fly. I need some in my box for a Colorado trip.

[@LooknFishy]

Definitely do!

[@ryan89870]

dang that looks good!

[@LooknFishy]

Fish dig it too!

[@63jafo]

Tied up some of the single ( brown/tan size 16) and double (black/olive size 12) foam versions last night and they worked great today on an east TN mountain creek full of wild bows. Now I've got to try some more color variations.

[@moscaman559]

Yep, that’s a good one! Thanks 👍🏼

[@LooknFishy]

Been good to me!

[@jdigioia1130]

Excellent tie - looks like one of the flys that killed it in video 27! When I become more proficient in my tying I’ll be sure to try some of these. I think they’ll do amazingly well here in NOCO! Tight lines! 🎣

[@andyrosas1989]

I'm in noco and fished them at the poudre and killed it with this fly!

[@ryansumners3153]

Thanks Drew!

[@LooknFishy]

U bet!

[@graylingsandseatrouts9940]

Nice fly! Must try it. Fun to ty as well :)

[@LooknFishy]

Definitely!

[@spencer4164]

Looks delicious

[@LooknFishy]

Fish agree!

[@ericintampa9352]

thanks for the tutorial drew. ugh, I have a lot of stuff to re-buy.

[@LooknFishy]

The good news is, I can confirm this fly produces!

[@kgm4368]

Nice Hopper Drew! I call it my Drew’s Tan Hopper. I’m planning on tying the same fly w/ a light pink belly for next September on the Lamar, Soda Butte and Madison in YNP. I’ll let yo know how my “DPH” (Drew’s Pink Hopper) works. Pink belly hoppers work so well in the park. I love the compact body like a humpy. Makes a great fly w/ a dropper! As always, great vid! Headed to the cabin and Crane & the White in 2 weeks.

[@gtoutdoorexcursions2938]

Me likey! I make one little foamy humper (hopper humpy) looking thing that shares some properties, poly yarn indicator with some bite. Tie em like yellow sallies, small (size 16) like adams, make em more hoppery too. I just tie the head back over on mine kind of like a regular ol'hopper. Nice not to have mess with floatant all the time and still carry my nymphs, but when you get that fish on it as well it's great! Love your tie!

[@LooknFishy]

Thank u much!

[@13jonnyray]

Those look killer.

[@LooknFishy]

Been super productive!

[@bumparoundbaits7475]

hey bro I really love this pattern, I'm going to try it out lol

[@Sides1160]

Nice fly. Kinda reminds me of a hippie stomper

[@LooknFishy]

Have heard that many times. My original single foam really resembles a foam back humpy. I'm guessing many foam patterns were inspired by it.

[@Sides1160]

@@LooknFishy It’s definitely a different fly. I will tie some up. I usually carry Amy’s Ant and Chubby’s, I could use another good pattern.

[@mattlittle3330]

Nice tie Drew! A neat little trick with this or any style of double foam flies is to leave the bottom foam piece long, then trim the top piece to about even with the fly. Before you tie in your hackle, take the bottom piece of foam and bend it back over the top piece and tie it down that way. This creates a hopper head with a big ol' eye, and adds more foam right over the hook eye so you are less likely to submarine the fly on a mend.

[@Happycamper1998]

First and foremost love your videos. You have inspired me to start tying flys again.🍻

[@LooknFishy]

Thank u!

[@alexhendrick8288]

Just tied one up drew rigged it on my 3 weight for Bennett springs this weekend. They have never seen this fly before I'd wager

[@adventureb4dementia364]

That looks like an excellent fly, I love foam back humpies so I'll give it a go. I would like to suggest that you tie your wings in fluorescent pink so that we can see them in the white bubble trail in your videos. Also makes it much easier for old eyes to keep track of the fly.Cheers

[@LooknFishy]

I have several with different color wings for varying light conditions!

[@flyingdutch9818]

Looks like a grasshopper swingers party

[@LooknFishy]

Right on!

[@MikePGuitars]

All the fish that insist on hitting my yarn Indy would love this fly!

[@LooknFishy]

Pretty much all I use now bc of how often they take the dry but it floats some weight too!

[@eicherranch5694]

great fly I fished it in Wyoming and caught a lot on it! Can you do a video saying where you buy your materials please?

[@ontheflyfish1234]

nice hippie stomper variant by Andrew Grillos

[@wesleymcgonagle3394]

Gidday Drew, never fly fished a day in my Life. Grew up in Australia fishing on the island beaches East from Brisbane. I have always loved fishing. I moved to the USA and live in Nebraska, not too far of a drive from WY, CO, SD. It has always been a dream of mine to learn how to fly fish. i stumbled upon your channel by accident and have been binge watching all your series. I'm hooked. Now i have the Fly Fishing Bug again. Any pointers on how to get started and learn the Art?

[@ryan89870]

If you are tying for grass carp what size and colors would you recommend?

[@bradfoster9036]

Since you use a barbless hook, what type of a setup do you use to add a dropper?

[@user-rt1io4uu6g]

Nice hopper, have you ever tied a tippet ring off the back of the fly then used a bobber stop in between the ring and the eye for an adjustable hopper dropper rig?

[@fredrickwaldon1579]

Great looking hopper.thanks for the video.Wondering did you use one of those on your Wyoming trip?

[@LooknFishy]

Pretty much all I've used since 2017!

[@michaellortz6365]

Drew, thanks for all the info you provide. With the Fireholes being barbless, what’s your approach for tying in the dropper/nymph?

[@brandonknotts8636]

I tie mine to the bend of the hook like I would with a barbed hook. I’ve never had one slide off a barbless hook if that’s what you’re worried about. If you’re seating the knot properly it really slide all that much.

[@69adrummer]

Cool looking fly man! Is it expensive (relatively of course) to get the stuff to start tying? I have a little kit I got as a gift but haven't yet acquired all the materials. I imagine the initial purchase would be the biggest but maybe I need to scope out my local wally world and hit the craft section! Have a good week!!

[@robinostby3337]

Thanks for the video and all of the ones you post on small stream fishing. If a person doesn't tie flies, can I find this at a fly shop? Thanks again

[@LooknFishy]

No, not any that I know of but you could find someone to custom order u some.

[@ChristianBockelmann]

Robin, I would be happy to tie you some. If you respond with your email, we could discuss further there.

[@1Batt]

Drew have you every tried the LaFontaine cased caddie nymphs? I have used that fly for years after talking to Gary L.(And Jack Dennis) regarding their underwater studies they did and just how the cased caddis drifts from rock to rock in faster water. Sure enjoy your videos buddy and that looks like a great fly!

[@LooknFishy]

Can't say I have.

[@1Batt]

Oops just saw the typo… should be caddis not caddie 🤣

[@arthururban8340]

great vid thanks. when you drop a fly below it, are you using the “1.5 times the depth of the water” rule of thumb when deciding how long the tippet should be off the hook?

[@LooknFishy]

No, I keep it around 2 to 3 ft. Deeper than that and I'd rather nymph with an indicator. My thoughts on dry/dropper rigs are that fish are more active and likely to come to the surface to eat and if they won't still likely to take the nymph. In many cases the hopper gets their attention and they take the nymph bc it's less risk. I have a cool clip I might try to find of a rainbow slashing at my dry and when I set it had the nymph. It ate on the way to the hopper!

[@arthururban8340]

@@LooknFishy I copied your technique this week in the Smokies, it’s good stuff man. tried to emulate your “sweep back” hook set too!

[@arthururban8340]

@@LooknFishy and that all makes good sense too. thanks for sharing.

[@NickAndCaroline]

@@LooknFishy 🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍

[@ChristianBockelmann]

Hi Drew, I know this is a late comment to this video, but is that the Peak Rotary Vise from cabelas/bass pro? I was looking to get it and wondered how you like it.

[@LooknFishy]

It is and I've been super happy with it

[@BlueLinerMedia]

Looks deadly! Do you use these for carp much still?

[@LooknFishy]

The original pattern is still my go-to in the summer!

[@RoarIrish]

Looks great. What's the approx width of the foam strips for that #12 hook? Thx

[@LooknFishy]

Hook gap!

[@RoarIrish]

@@LooknFishy Thank you. Love your videos, especially your road trip last summer

[@ryantherock7664]

How wide do you cut the foam for the body?

[@basecamper_]

How is this different from a Grillos Hippy Stomper?

[@khuhner]

This is the same thing as a hippie stomper from Andrew Grillos.

[@stevenmarod6191]

How thick is that Walmart foam? Is it like 2mm?

[@johnsurkovic5872]

Drew I wanted to tie this particular hopper pattern on my channel , small town flies . I’m not sure how copyright laws pertain to KZbin videos but I wanted to get permission to show it in my channel , I will give you full credit of course

[@kevinboyer6249]

Drew, can I order some of these direct from you?

[@paulmclaughlin808]

Looks like it might work in Virginia what would it cost me to get a half-dozen

[@TimothyKidder]

Could you post a link to the poly wing?

[@LooknFishy]

Yes, added to the description.

[@TimothyKidder]

Thanks!

[@micah723]

What size foam did you use to tie this?

[@LooknFishy]

It's craftfoam from Walmart so it'd be close to 2mm.

[@micah723]

@@LooknFishy thanks, I’ll give this pattern a try!

[@stevenbutler3869]

do you sell your flies sir?

[@OPFlyFisher304]

comment

[@joejarzynka9860]

Hm. That's wonderful if it catches fish, but maybe calling it a hopper is a stretch?

[@theresabauer2138]

𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓶 😓

[@philipmorphew6301]

Too many fly patterns. Ridiculous!

[@rustyknott-W.D]

no it doesn"t . NO fly catches fly EVERYWHERE, except my SECRET!

[@tomargent7202]

Respectfully, please don't keep big fish out of water for that long.

[@davidhale1959]

@michellehale9620 got a crafting project for you haha.