[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-card-the-hopper-dropper":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"applyCta":6,"authorId":10,"body":11,"cardType":66,"description":67,"difficulty":68,"discipline":69,"editorId":10,"extension":71,"glossaryRefs":72,"hook":80,"meta":81,"navigation":82,"path":83,"publishedAt":84,"readingSeconds":85,"regionTags":86,"relatedCards":87,"safetyDisclaimerRequired":90,"seo":91,"status":92,"stem":93,"track":94,"updatedAt":84,"version":95,"__hash__":96},"learn_cards\u002Flearn\u002Fcards\u002Fthe-hopper-dropper.md","The Hopper-Dropper",{"label":7,"action":8,"target":9},"Try it on the Provo","open_water","provo-river",null,{"type":12,"value":13,"toc":62},"minimark",[14,23,26,53,56,59],[15,16,17,18,22],"p",{},"The hopper-dropper is a variant of the dry-dropper rig built around a giant terrestrial — a hopper, a beetle, an ant — as the indicator fly. The big foam-bodied dry floats high, lands with a satisfying ",[19,20,21],"em",{},"plop"," (which fish hear), and supports a heavy nymph below.",[15,24,25],{},"Why it works in summer:",[27,28,29,37,47],"ul",{},[30,31,32,36],"li",{},[33,34,35],"strong",{},"Terrestrials are the dominant food source"," from June through September. Hoppers, ants, and beetles get blown into the water all day.",[30,38,39,42,43,46],{},[33,40,41],{},"The plop draws attention."," Fish hear the splash, look up, and either eat the hopper ",[19,44,45],{},"or"," notice the trailing nymph drifting past.",[30,48,49,52],{},[33,50,51],{},"The nymph below picks off cautious fish"," that won't commit to the surface fly.",[15,54,55],{},"Building it: tie a #8–12 hopper pattern (Chubby Chernobyl, Fat Albert, foam ant) to your leader. Tie 18–28 inches of 4x or 5x tippet to the bend of the hook. Attach a heavier nymph — Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John — sized 14–18.",[15,57,58],{},"The drift: cast across or up-and-across, let everything drift naturally. When the hopper dips, hesitates, or drags, set. Half the time it's a rock; half the time it's a fish on the dropper. Either way you'd never have known without setting.",[15,60,61],{},"Where it shines: midsummer freestone rivers with banks lined in tall grass, mid-elevation streams in late July, any tailwater after sunup once water temps stabilize.",{"title":63,"searchDepth":64,"depth":64,"links":65},"",2,[],"technique","The hopper-dropper is a variant of the dry-dropper rig built around a giant terrestrial — a hopper, a beetle, an ant — as the indicator fly. The big foam-bodied dry floats high, lands with a satisfying plop (which fish hear), and supports a heavy nymph below.","2",[70],"fly","md",[73,74,75,76,77,78,79],"nymph","dry-fly","indicator","presentation","hatch","leader","tippet","A buoyant terrestrial up top, a heavy nymph below. The summer rig that catches fish where dries alone get refused.",{},true,"\u002Flearn\u002Fcards\u002Fthe-hopper-dropper","2026-05-08","120",[],[88,89],"tying-on-a-dropper-rig","reading-rises",false,{"title":5,"description":67},"published","learn\u002Fcards\u002Fthe-hopper-dropper","building","1","d9YTxHp5dHGK_0umHbimoF8mei5A8728dXFuVet6GqI"]