The May Fly of the Month Challenge will be another foam hopper pattern; the
Pink Pookie.
I know, I know Its a stupid name, but it is still a good fly.
This is another fly pattern that was developed in the Yellowstone region for trout, but it performs very well as a warm water pattern.
The Pink Pookie is similar to last months GFA hopper, but I like this pattern better. The GFA hopper is a less complicated fly to tie, but those tying techniques are used to tie the Pink Pookie pattern along with some additional techniques. It may have more tying steps, but if you can tie the GFA, then you can tie the Pink Pookie. And, if you can tie both of these patterns then youll be able to tie pretty much all of the various foam hopper patterns that are out there.
I am including both a written step by step and a video of how to tie this pattern. Please note that foam cutters were used in both of these examples, but they are not required. The step by step article shows an example of how to make the foam bodies with scissors.
Heres the link to the written step by step instructions:
https://hopperfishing.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/how-to-tie-the-pink-pookie-hopper/Heres a video link showing how this fly is tied, by the originators daughter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKs0QoZ7IcwHeres my example of the May challenge fly the Pink Pookie:
(Note: I tied this example using the traditional pink body, but if you switch to a lighter yellow foam, it makes a great imitation of those big yellow bellied grasshoppers that come out in Texas during the summer.)The Fly of the Month Challenge is open to everyone. All you have to do to participate is tie an example of this months fly pattern and post a picture of it. The goal is encourage everyone to tie something you may not have tied before and maybe even learn something new.
Heads up on Junes fly pattern. Lets switch gears and start thinking about our summer trout fishing vacations (whether or not well actually get to go or not
). Junes fly of the month challenge will be an emerger pattern.