Popper Hopper
A stillwater hopper with a cylinder of closed-cell foam at the head, cut flat at the front like a tiny popper. A ribbed seal's-fur body and knotted pheasant-tail legs sit behind it. The foam lets the fly sit in the surface film rather than on top of it, and pops and wakes when pulled. The trout popper of UK reservoir catch returns, not a bass or sea-bass popper.
Fish rising or swirling on top from late spring to autumn, especially in a wave. Fish it on a floating line, static, twitched or pulled so the foam head pops and leaves a wake. Use it on the point or top dropper of a team.
The foam head pushes water and keeps the fly afloat, while the body and legs hang in the film where trout expect insects. It works as a hopper when fish are sipping and as a wake fly when they are chasing.
