HOPPERS & CRICKETS

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Whilst not tied to imitate any particular insect this down wing style of fly can be tied with your favourite materials and in your favourite colours to imitate a range of insects. It is a good prospecting fly when nothing appears to be happening. In larger sizes it can be twitched or fished dead drift to imitate a hopper, cicada or other terrestrial insect that has found itself in the water or in smaller sizes can be danced across the surface to imitate a caddis fly. Two of my favourite materials are peacock herl and crystal flash and I have incorporated them in many of my stimulator variants. I also tie my stimulators fatter than the original Randall Kaufmann pattern.  Three of my favourite colours and sizes are set out below.
 

MATERIALS: Hook -  Size 12 2X long fine wire hook Thread  - Orange Tail - Natural coloured deer hair Rib - Black thread Body - Peacock herl with black palmered hackle Wing - Natural coloured deer hair Head  -  Orange thread with palmered grizzly hackle	MATERIALS: Hook -  Size 12 2X long fine wire hook Thread  - Yellow Tail - Natural coloured deer hair Rib - fine silver thread Body - Golden dubbing with black palmered hackle Wing - Reversed deer hair Head  -  Yellow floss with palmered grizzly hackle	MATERIALS: Hook -  Size 6 2X long fine wire hook Thread  - Brown Tail - Possum tail or kip tail Rib - fine silver thread Body - Peacock herl with black palmered hackle over a closed cell foam foundation or dubbing Wing - White fluoro crystal flash Head  -  Peacock herl with palmered grizzly hackle

A) Wind thread along the hook shank in touching turns and return the thread half way up the hook shank. Tie in a tail of  deer hair that extends behind the hook a distance equal to about half the length of  the shank of the hook and so that the butt ends are tied down as underbody.
B) Tie in a length of ribbing material. The original stimulator recipe specifies copper wire as the ribbing. I have used fine silver tinsel so as not to add any weight to my dry fly.
C) Dub a uniform body over the deer hair under body. Tie in a hackle directly in front of the body.
D) Take two turns of hackle at the tie in position and then Palmer the hackle back along the fly to the bend of the hook. Hold the hackle in place with your left hand and pick up the silver tinsel with your right hand. Wind the silver tinsel forward locking the hackle into place and forming 4 or 5 even segments along the body. Tie the tinsel off in front of the body.
E) Trim the surplus hackle and the silver thread with a blade rather than scissors. By using a blade you wont inadvertently trim away any of the body hackles. Tie in a deer hair down wing directly in front of the body.
F) Tie in the front hackle directly in front of the wing. Dub a cone shaped body along the front third of the fly.
G) Take two turns of the hackle at the tie in position and then Palmer the hackle forward to just behind the eye of the hook. Build up a neat head whip finish and varnish the head.