Friday, September 7, 2007

Hoppicator

I saw this pattern in Fly Fishing Life Magazine. It seemed brilliant to me so I asked Mikey Wier for a Way Upstream story. Here are the words and some of the pictures that he sent:

"The Hoppicator has been a great pattern for me. I’ve been developing the system for a several years now. I usually fish it in conjunction with weighted nymphs. The main premise is to get away from using lead or tin weights, foam or yarn indicators. I don’t like the weights because they are just more litter than needed and often tangle on your line if you overhead cast. I stopped using indicators because they scare spooky fish around here in some of our technical catch and release fishing areas. Now I just use the Hopper Dropper or Super Hopper Dropper as I call the heavier set up for all my trout fishing and even some steelhead fishing in heavy water. The system is just as versatile as traditional indicator fishing, as far as depth and weight adjustments. You just have to be slightly more perceptive about the current flows and actual river depths when choosing the right fly combo. I usually use a heavy “bomb” fly like my double tungsten Jawbreaker or Tungsten Caramel Caddis Pupa to get down deep. I then use a dropper of something smaller like my Mint Chocolate Crawler Nymph or Butterscotch Sprinkle. This system also really came in handy for the Team USA competitions. The rules call for no weight or indicators so most people just dry dropper or Czech Nymph. That’s great for some water but some places require the kind of long dead drift you can only get with an indicator. My Hoppicator set up conforms to the Team USA rules and no one else had anything like it. It won a couple beats for me. Many of my trout patterns, including the Hoppicator, will be available soon from Idylwilde Fly Company." Photos by Mikey Wier

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your right. This is brilliant. Will idylwilde be selling this fly to consumers online or only to fly shops?

Also, thanks for responding to my earlier post. Being in Virginia, I do not think I can not make it out this year.

El Pescador said...

I'm pretty sure Idylwilde sells only to fly shops but maybe they can clarify. I don't see a direct order option on their site.

Noted on the travel situation Adam. Once the FFR show in Denver is over maybe the press will publish some of the new products for all to see. I may post some gear on Way Upstream as well.

Anonymous said...

Adam,

Idylwilde Flies will be sellng this pattern and more from Mike through specialty fly shops. Currently, we offer Mikes Whopper Hopper and Caddis Pupas. We will be adding the Hopper'cator for the 2009 season.

His patterns all fish and we look forward to bringing them to the market as he shares them with us.

Thanks,
Jason Lozano
DBR FLY PRODUCTS

Jorge said...

Hello, curious, modern and nice fly. This blog is fantastic.

I've put a link to your blog. If you want, visit my blog:

http://pescapirineos.blogspot.com

Bye from Spain,

Jorge

(por cierto, el nombre de "el pescador" -> ¿ tú hablas en español ?)

El Pescador said...

Thanks for leaving a comment and for the blog compliment Jorge. You're blog looks great too....I just wish I spoke spanish (no habla espanol)....but I can try to learn.

El Pescador said...

Mikey has a video with Hoppicator fishing instructions for those interested - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkrnqcxNSMw