Overview
This Charlie Craven pattern from Charlie's Fly Box showcases Lance Egan's innovative approach to hopper design that has become a favorite among competitive anglers and guides. The Bionic Hopper's genius lies in its combination of a foam cylinder underbody with a thin foam shell back, creating both the profile and durability needed for all-day fishing. The orange Krystal Flash tail provides a bright trigger point while the white poly yarn wing ensures anglers can track the fly in any conditions.
Related patterns
Behavior & presentation
- Natural Behavior
- Grasshoppers living in streamside vegetation occasionally misjudge jumps or get blown into the water by afternoon winds. Once waterborne, these large insects create violent surface disturbance as they kick powerfully trying to swim back to shore, their struggles broadcasting easy meal opportunities.
- Where Trout Eat It
- Trout intercept struggling hoppers floating in surface film along grassy banks, undercut banks, and foam lines.
- How to Fish It
- Cast tight to grassy banks with distinct splat, then dead drift followed by subtle twitches mimicking trapped grasshopper struggles.
- Best Water
- Target foam lines, undercut banks, pools, slicks, and grass edges where terrestrials collect.
- Strike Type
- Watch for visible explosive rise as fish intercept surface drift.
Fishing strategy
- Rigging Suggestions
- Fish on a 9-foot leader tapering to 3X-4X tippet for good turnover. The foam construction provides exceptional buoyancy, supporting multiple heavy nymphs without sacrificing the hopper's natural attitude on the water.
- Seasonal Timing
- and early fall when grasshoppers are abundant along streamside meadows. Peak hopper activity occurs during warm, windy afternoons from July through September.
- Pro Tips
- The white poly yarn wing makes the fly easy to track even in choppy water or low-light conditions. The combination of foam cylinder and foam shell back ensures the fly floats indefinitely, making it perfect for extended drifts and dry-dropper fishing.
Where to fish it
Rivers anglers pair with this fly, with local shops that stock it.
River details and fly shops from River & Run, our sister site.
Entomology
Terrestrial grasshoppers inhabit grassy banks where they feed on vegetation, becoming waterborne through misjudged jumps or wind events during peak afternoon heat. Upon impact, these large orthopterans thrash violently with powerful hindlegs while attempting to swim toward shore, generating substantial surface commotion. Their massive protein payload and predictable late-summer availability trigger bold feeding behavior, with fish often traveling significant distances to intercept them.
- Order
- Orthoptera
- Family
- Acrididae
- Common name
- Grasshopper
- Organism
- terrestrial
- Life stage
- adult
Pattern details
- Moving Water
- Rocky Mountain
- dead-drift
- hopper-season
- competition
- modern
- guide-fly
- tailwater
- freestone
- spring-creek
