Grasshoppers are often overlooked for smallmouth bass fly fishing. One hot July afternoon, I was walking down through a hay field beside the river headed for a favorite riffle downstream. Hearing a commotion in the river that I couldn’t identify prompted me to go check it out. The smallmouths were feeding heavily on the grasshoppers I had accidentally chased into the river as I walked down the hayfield.
I walked back up to the beginning of the hayfield and waded 40 feet out into the river. I put on a Murray’s Bass Hopper size 8 and cast it in tight against the bank. Two line-hand jumps later and a large smallmouth took the hopper. Wading down the river, I caught many smallmouth as I ran my bass hopper along the bank.
Several years ago my son, Jeff, and I were floating the James River in August. Jeff landed the biggest bass of the day with a Dave’s Hopper size 8 as we drifted along a heavily shaded bank. We fished many other flies that day but the hoppers caught most of the bass.
For more information and to see other dry fly patterns for smallmouth bass, visit our website at www.murraysflyshop.com