Step by Steps, Foam Grasshopper

Here is a step by step for a nice little Foam Grasshopper pattern that will catch pretty much any species that is partial to sucking insects from the surface of a river or lake !

You will need :

2mm craft foam in two colours plus black for the eyes.
Medium round rubber legs
Pearl crystal flash
Thread 140 denier
Hook of your choice and size but any medium shank hook will suffice
Super glue
UV resin
A gate latch needle or large eye sewing needle
Fine grade sandpaper

First step is to select some 2mm craft foam in your chosen colours, I'm using orange and brown here. Cut 2 strips of different colours about the same width as the gape of the hook you are going to be tying on. Length is a little tricky, you will have to estimate enough to form the body of the grasshopper from tail to wing as this is all one piece and you simply fold it over to form the complete Grasshopper. There will be a little trial and error involved but basically you will need about 3/4 of an inch to stick out beyond the bend of the hook to form the tail, then enough to cover almost the length of the hook and then a further length to fold back allowing for the formation of the head and wing, which wants to be almost the same length as the body excluding the Tail. I hope that makes sense but have a look through the pictures below at the tying process and you will see what I mean !

Glue one end of the two strips together

Trim the corners at both ends and then use fine grade sandpaper to round them off

Lay down a thread base on your hook and place the foam on it with about 3/4 to an inch of foam sticking beyond the bend of the hook. Make a few wraps to begin forming the segmented body and also secure the foam to the hook. I add a drop of glue where the thread crosses the shank to add a bit of extra security and keep things steady while making the next few wraps.

To make it easier to make the next wraps to form the segments on the tail I reverse the hook in the vice. Make two wraps down the tail section but don't tighten them down too much and then wrap back again up towards the hook bend crossing the thread over on the underneath of the foam.
 

 

Now start making wraps up towards the hook eye to form the body segments.

 

Stop the wraps about 5mm from the hook eye and tie in a bunch of crystal flash to represent wings.

 

Now cut a small piece of black foam into an oblong shape, this is going to be the eyes. Sit the piece of foam just in front of the flash.

 

Now fold both pieces of the main body foam back over the small black piece. Make  just a couple of wraps to temporarily form the head.
 

 

To attach the Antenna make a couple of holes in the head with a needle
 

 

Undo the wraps over the head and fold the top piece of foam back but re secure the bottom piece again  with one wrap to keep it out the way.

 

 

I use a gate latch needle to get the antenna through the foam but any needle with a large eye that will accept medium round rubber legs will suffice.

 

 

Cut a small piece of medium round rubber and draw it through the back of the foam using the needle

 

 

Pull both ends of the rubber through

Undo the wrap on the bottom layer of foam and fold the top piece back over and secure with a few wraps re forming the head. Try and make the small piece of black foam sit at an upright angle rather than horizontal so it looks more like real Grasshopper eyes.

To make the rear legs for the Grasshopper cut a couple of small strips from a single layer of foam and then trim the ends to taper them. Tie on some pieces of medium round rubber to complete the legs as in the pictures below. Add a drop of glue to the knot to secure them in place.

Tie the legs in with a few wraps

Trim the excess foam so it doesn't cover the eye and then tie in a single piece of round rubber on either side to make the front legs.

Once all the legs are secure bring the thread underneath the head and whip finish by the hook eye.  Trim all the legs to the length you want and finally add some glue wherever the thread crosses the shank under the fly to add some extra security and then add a thin layer of UV resin over the threads to tidy everything up and add a final bit of strength. 

This is a fun little tie and even more fun to fish with !