Fall Hopper Fishing with Spinning Tackle

Fly-fishermen get excited when the fall hopper bite comes up in conversations. Imitating grasshoppers and other terrestrial insects with fly presentations can produce fast fishing action with thrilling surface strikes this time of year. Overlooked by too many spin-fishermen is the fact that they too can get in on the season’s best hopper fishing.

We’ll look at a spin-fisherman’s hopper strategies for fishing creeks and rivers, considering the best lures to use and presentations that will provide the best fall fishing action.

Brown trout and smallmouth bass are the species most often touted by fly anglers in association with fall hopper fishing. The truth is, though, that other species of trout and black bass, plus a host of panfish species have a hard time resisting a well-presented grasshopper imitation.

Creek and river fish of various sorts feed aggressively throughout fall and look to the surface for meals. Around many streams, terrestrial insects provide plentiful feeding opportunities this time of year. In addition to grasshoppers and crickets, other terrestrial insects like cicadas, beetles and ants commonly get displaced by wind, faulty hops or missteps, and fish remain ready to nab easy meals.

Although there may be subtle distinctions in casting locations and gear specifics, the angling approach is essentially the same whether you’re targeting bass, trout, panfish or whatever bites. In truth, that’s one of the best things about this approach. The broad appeal of hopper imitations commonly results in fast action from multiple fish species.

The Rebel Crickhopper, a floating/shallow-diving crankbait that very naturally matches the profile of a cricket or grasshopper, offers the same appeals as a “hopper pattern” fly, but with added benefits. For most anglers, a Crickhopper fished on light spinning tackle is far easier to cast quickly and accurately to key spots than a hopper fly pattern cast with a fly rod. More significantly, a Crickhopper can be danced on the surface to very effectively imitate a displaced insect struggling to find its way back to dry land.

For fall hopper fishing, a Crickhopper largely becomes a topwater lure that drifts and dances on the surface. Occasionally fish do favor a cranked, diving Crickhopper, surface presentations are primary for fall hopper fishing. The core presentation combines allowing the Crickhopper to drift in the current while reeling up slack and adding action by twitching the rod tip or reeling slowly to make the lure wobble and wake.

Aim casts near the bank, especially in eddies and in areas where terrestrial insects are likely to end up afloat, such as beneath overhanging tree and bushes and beside grassy banks. Let the lure rest after landing to match what typically happens when a displaced insect finds itself in the water. Sometimes fish will attack before you do anything else.

Past the initial pause, experiment with twitches and slow reeling to see what prompts strikes, and be sure to incorporate pauses so the bait can drift uninhibited. Displaced insects frequently stop moving, possibly to get reoriented. Mentally note what you were doing whenever fish attack. The fish’s preferences will vary from one day to the next.

• Crickhopper – The original Crickhopper is 1 1/2 inches long, weighs 3/32 ounce and has No. 14 treble hooks. Cranked, it will drive a few feet, but the primary fall approach of drifting and twitching keeps it at or very near the surface most of the time.
• Bighopper – The Bighopper matches the original in shape and in its general action. It’s a bigger version at 1 3/4 inches and 1/8 ounce and is rigged with No. 10 trebles. It allows for longer casts and offers a larger profile.
• Crickhopper Popper – The Crickhopper Popper is the same size as the Bighopper. However, a cupped popper face replaces the diving lip on the front end. So instead of wobbling and diving slightly, the Crickhopper Popper pops and stays on top. It’s perfect when you want to make a bit more noise to get the fish’s attention or to trigger strikes.
• Matte Crickhopper Colors – Four new Matte Crickhopper colors are available in all three Crickhopper models in addition to traditional colors. The Matte colors eliminate unnatural glare and incorporate a special photo printing process to add the markings of real cricket and grasshopper species.

You might have heard about Rebel’s LIVEflex soft plastic lures, which were introduced last year. All accurately imitate popular natural forage items for gamefish, especially in creeks and ponds. Included is the Rebel Hopper, which, as the name notes, matches a cricket or a grasshopper.

All the LIVEflex baits come with two pre-rigged on KEG Head jigs, which match them perfectly. Fished on the jig and swam with slight upward twitches, the Hopper matches an insect battling to get back to the top. Adding a float a foot or two up the line allows it to drift, straying suspended at a predetermined depth.

A highly natural alternative presentation begins with rigging the Hopper with a hook strung into the nose, through the center of the body and out the center of the back, toward the rear end, and then either casting it with a fly rod or using a casting bubble (which is basically a clear float) or even a regular float for casting weight. The Hopper, which is made from buoyant LIVEflex material, floats and drifts naturally behind the float. Another good option is to use the hook alone but add a split shot for casting weight. This creates a more subtle action than fishing the same bait on a jighead.

Stealing one more page from the fly-fishermen’s book, a hopper/dropper rig allows you to get the fish’s attention with a surface-splashing insect and then have an irresistible smaller insect imitation suspended just beneath it.  To rig, simply tie about 18 inches of mono or flouro to the back treble and tie a tiny jig or a fly to the other end.

I like the Crickhopper Popper best for this approach because the pop is a perfect attention getter, but at times I’ll go with the subtle Bighopper. I’ll only use the regular Crickhopper for this technique if the dropper is a small, unweighted fly-fishing nymph and I’m mostly targeting panfish or rainbow trout. My default dropper is a Bobby Garland Itty Bit Mayfly fished on a 1/64-ounce Itty Bits Jig Head. A 1/64-ounce Lindy B-MAX Little Nipper also works great as a dropper.

The fishing technique is the same as without the dropper, except it usually involves even more dead drifting, with only occasional rod snaps to create a pop or dancing motion. Some fish will still hit the Crickhopper on top. When fish grab the dropper, the surface lure becomes a bobber, or a strike indicator, as fly-fishermen like to say. It might suddenly dart out of sight, but if you notice it slowing unnaturally or sliding sideways, set the hook!

One rigging note: The dropper leader will sometimes get twisted around the front treble. If you intend to do significant dropper fishing, it’s not a bad idea to remove the front treble from a one or two Crickhopper Poppers or Bighoppers.