When the hot days of summer are here and Terrestrials are abounding, there is nothing better to fish for Trout in small streams and rivers, than live Grasshoppers. You can gather up a bunch of these in a field pretty quick, especially when you get the Grandkids involved.
There are two ways to fish a grasshopper: on the surface, like a dry fly, and beneath it, like a wet fly. Both catch trout- more than anything else at times during these hot days. If the grasshopper is to be fished on the surface, you should use a light hook so it will float better. If it is to be submerged, the weight of the hook doesn?t matter.
I prefer to hook my grasshoppers by starting the point of the hook between their eyes and pushing it on through the body, forcing the grasshopper around the bend as I go. The point should be exposed near the tail. Pick the right size hook to match the size of the grasshopper you?re going to fish with. The hook need not reach full length of the body, but the point should be exposed somewhere between the back legs on the underside. The eye of the hook should be against the hopper?s forehead, between his eyes.
I fish these the same way I fish flies, with an 8 foot fly rod. Spinning and bait-casting tackle are not suitable. Fishing a grasshopper on the surface is exactly the same as dryfly fishing, except that more care must be used in casting to keep the hopper on. The roll cast is handy here. Using other rods will cause you to whip the bait off.
The object is to make your hopper behave exactly like one that might have tumbled off the bank. Let the hopper float with the current and try to prevent drag, which would cause it to move unnaturally on the surface. If the hopper kicks after the cast, great so be it, and sometimes you can give him a little action by twitching the rod tip very slightly.
Don?t over due it; just a little can induce strikes.
