Walter Wiese has been a fly fishing guide in the Paradise Valley area of Montana for more than two decades, so he knows a few things about hopper fishing, both on the Yellowstone River itself and elsewhere in Yellowstone National Park. Its GFA Hopper pattern is designed to float well, be visible in broken water and provide a realistic profile for trout looking to scavenge on grasshoppers or large stoneflies.
In this week’s excellent video, Tim Flagler of Tightline productions shows him tying the GFA, slightly altering the original pattern. Tim’s methods of tying in the Peacock Herl lower body, cutting the foam, and attaching the legs make things fairly easy and applicable to many other patterns as well. As always, watch these videos in 4K for maximum impact.
GFA funnel
Hook: 2 x long hopper hooks (here a Dai-Riki No. 280), sizes 6-14.
Thread: Tan, 6/0 or 140 denier.
underbody: peacock herl.
Body: Light brown craft foam, 2mm.
Adhesive #1: Fly tyers Z-Ment or superglue.
Wing: Bleached elk hair, cleaned and stacked.
Glue #2: Fly tyers Z-Ment or superglue.
Hotspot: Light craft foam, 2 mm.
Legs: Striped round rubber legs, medium size.
Glue #3: Sally Hansen Hard as nails.
Tool: Foam Cutter, Bodkin.
Note: Tie this pattern in a variety of color combinations.
