Blue-winged Olives
Baetis

Tiny Baetis mayflies are perhaps the most commonly encountered and imitated by anglers on all American trout streams due to their great abundance, widespread distribution, and trout-friendly emergence habits.

Stream photos

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Insect Family Acrididae (Grasshopper)

Grasshoppers are the most exciting terrestrial insects for the trout angler. Sometimes on hot summer days large trout lie along the banks waiting for them.

Where & when

Time of year : Mid-July through August

Trout may rise to hopper flies at any time of year, but they are best on meadow streams in late August when the fish actually are on the lookout for them.

Acrididae Fly Fishing Tips

Grasshopper imitations should not settle on the water with the gentle, dainty touch of a high-floating mayfly pattern. The proper hopper fisherman takes pride in the splat his fly makes as it touches down.

Ernest Schwiebert wrote of grasshoppers in Matching the Hatch:

My experiences with grasshoppers have taught me three lessons valuable in fishing them: the gentle twitch of the fly, bouncing the fly off bankside grass, and dapping or swimming the fly on a short line. All of these tricks are suggest of the natural in the water.

These imitations provide outstanding fishing in many situations, even when the fish have not seen real hoppers. Their large, low-floating, buggy bodies have a universal appeal which makes them excellent searching patterns. Their buoyancy also makes them handy for the trick of using a large dry fly as an indicator for a nymph tied to its hook shank below.