One of my all time favorite fly shops was Herb & Cathy's Cold Spring Angler in Carlisle. Back then Mr. Shenk would just drop on in. It would be hard to forget the first time I was ever was in the presence of Mr. Shenk, the GREAT fly fishermen of the time were always willing to teach you about the sport, and fly tying. One thing great about this Savage Flies channel, it will never let them be forgotten. Thanks Matt. As always, BRAVO ZULU.
Thanks Matt a great review had the great pleasure to meet Ed in the 80s came to Johnstown to help give a fly fishing seminar his wife had relatives here so he came a few times
Yes indeed Bob. I did wonder if anybody has ever added rubber legs to this. Would it make it more effective, or is its effectiveness in the simplicity? But you're right, that in the small sizes this thing would be a fine caddis.
I think we forget what an impact seeing someone fly fish for the first time has on some kids. As a Scoutmaster in Las Vegas, a lot of the scouts got their Fishing Merit Badge, usually at summer camp on Catalina Island. Once when we were at Great Basin National Park in northern Nevada I brought along my fly rod. We were camped near Lehman Creek so I wandered over and made a few casts. I finally hooked a small Brookie, maybe six inches. But from behind me I hear one of the scouts go, "Whoa! That worked!" Within a couple of weeks I had six scouts in a Fly Fishing Merit Badge class! I know one of them who is now a financial advisor in Boulder, CO, continues to be an active flyfisherman. BTW, great fly! I was actually kind of surprised that you didn't purposely divide the turkey into two wings. If it was me, when it split, it would be one one biot on one side and nine on the other!
What a great story Tom! And you are 100% right... we should try to remember that we never know what impressions we might be leaving on others. We could be creating a life-long fisherman. And that's what it's all about. Thanks for sharing this note my friend. :-)
Letort crickets and hoppers are goto patterns for me in the summer and fall. They are great for most fish species in all my local water. Great pattern and awesome tie, Matt. Have a great day.
Sweet looking fly. Looks enjoyable to tie. What a great story line of a young fisherman. We have a little 6 year old grandson, that could easily follow that path in life. He is a little fishing machine already. Caught his first Trout last weekend. A nice little Brook. “Papaw it was the most beautiful fish in the world”. Moments that will be in my heart forever. Matt thank you my friend. Awesome video.
Great story Jeff! You should treasure these moments with your grandson, he'll be remembering them and be telling his kids about them long after you and I are gone. But that's what it's all about my friend. :-)
. Great tie, simple but effective pattern and a wonderful history! For what it's worth: Across the river from you in Virginia I occasionally have "size 16" grasshoppers land on the tractor while mowing the pasture this time of year. Pretty sure I'm not gonna tie one of those in a 16 in this lifetime but the hoppers exist! 🙃 Have a great week my friend.
Good morning Matt. Love the background story on this fly. Like this pattern just know it will catch fish. I will be adding this to the box. Thanks for sharing this one. Have a great day and stay safe my friend.
Terrific background on the fly and Shenk. It's a classic pattern that can be used as a hopper in larger sizes or a caddis in smaller sizes. This fly catches fish! The Letort can be a tough stream to fish sometimes but those classic Shenk flies still catch fish. Thanks,again, for another great session.
I had the opportunity to meet Ed. He used to give classes for tying some of his flies at a fly shop in Carlisle Pennsylvania. I was able to register and go to a few. He was a story teller. The one thing he used to do was while walking to the stream was to drop his Cricket fly in muddle puddles and push them in with his foot. He said when he got to the water and cast it in the mud dispersed in the water and the fish were triggered to hit it. He swore that he got a fish every time with this trick.
Hi Matt tied the letrot hopper about three weeks ago.Started with the original.We didn't think it looked looked like a hopper.So it turned into a project hopper.This is what we call version 1.8 project hopper.A great lookin hopper,but you can't call it a lotrot hopper now.But it catches trout like a champ.Have a great week Matt. Ken and Linda
It has always seemed to me that the simpleist flies are usually the catchingest ones.This hopper,the “usual”,and a pheasant tail nymph can cover 90% of your fly collection and you should catch anywhere on the planet.Good choice for today,Matt.
Great pattern from a great guy. I bumped into him from time to time when I'd stop in at Cold Spring Anglers (no longer IB). He certainly enjoyed hearing about people having success with his patterns. Thanks for sharing, Matt.
Nice fly Matt, I was using this Letort Hopper in the Great Smoky Mountains, sometimes a greenish or brownish depending on the wild hoppers in the area. It's fast and easy. Thanks for the great fly-tying channel it is always good. PS: it's extremely hot here in Alabama now.
I seem to struggle with turkey feathers. I'm not sure if when I purchased them, they put two feathers from the same side, or I haven't figured out exactly how to match them up. I can't wait to tie this pattern as tying the feather in this fashion, makes it fool proof for me. I tent one feather over the top, easily splitting it evenly. Then using scissors, cut it to the length, and angle that suits me. 👌🏻
Absolutely Jon! But let me tell you, you're not alone with if you struggle to match any bird flight feathers for matched wings. Just one of the reason you don't see a lot of old-school winged wet flies on my channel. :-) Though I have found over the years, even when doing smaller wings from duck and goose, that the quality of the feather makes a huge difference. And you might think you've got a good turkey feather, but if the tips are frayed, you'll never get a clean looking fly out of it. Just my observation. And yes, that's why I like this technique where you can snip the tips off. :-)
Good morning Matt. My wife and I have been away doing a little fishing. Had a great week up north. Just catching up on tying videos. I remembered seeing this one in Valla’s book. Great background to this fly too.
Appreciate it John! I hope you had a great time. I've been at a campground the last few days with my wife and kids. No fishing this time but it was some nice relaxing family time. :-)
Yep another nice simple fly. I've been noticing more hoppers around so maybe I need too tie up some of these and go down to the local pond. I don't think there's really anything great big in it but they're still fun on a light rod. Keep the good stuff coming Matt.
That fly tied in a size 16 would look just like the caddis I was nailing the rainbows on the weekend before last. My first trip to the Yough river awesome fishery the water was something like 59* we caught trout on dry flies all day long.
I feel like if the turkey wing splits it looks more natural. Tying this in bark brown pr even black in a size 12 or 14 would be a killer cricket pattern
Awesome research and narrative on a beautiful simple pattern and a great fisherman. I always liked Shenk and his simple buggy patterns from when I saw a photo of him in Joe Brooks' Trout Fishing, pg 198, holding a 8.5 pound brown from the Letort, taken on a white marabou streamer. His right biceps looked like a freaking rock! He wrote an article in Fly Tyer titled Eastern Spring Creeks in Autumn, that showed a White Marabou streamer - maybe the same fly(?). His hopper is in that article too, size 14 or 12 - 2X long dry fly hook is suggested. I don't think a size 16 2X long is too far fetched because I've seen 1/2" to 3/4" hoppers on the sun warmed foundation of my house during a late winter/early spring thaw. Also that hopper could be taken for a caddis when viewed from below with that underwing extending a bit beyond the body, just like a caddis. Thanks Matt! 💪🤓🎣
Thanks Joe! I think I know the picture you're talking about. www.paflyfish.com/threads/in-memoriam-ed-shenk.75463/ He called that fish "Old George" and it took him years, and I think I read something like 150 hours of fishing to finally catch him. That is one slab of a fish though. From what I read in later years the Letort had fallen on some hard times and the monster fish are all gone. As far as this pattern being either a hopper or a caddis, yeah, I agree. But then again, I think we could take any caddis pattern and tie it on a size 8 and it would make a passable hopper. :-)
@@SavageFliesThe photo in the Brooks (1972) book is dark and he's sitting on his legs, wearing denims. He's holding the trout vertical, right hand around the tail, his open left hand supporting the head from behind, tip of little finger at pectoral fin, along gill plate with index finger tip past jaw hinge. Massive fish! Photo from the link looks like he's wearing khakis, better photo and photographer, he looks younger too. Both photos were in bright sun. Also a massive fish non the less. I can't say if it's the same. I read a similar article about fishing for a giant brown but don't remember if it was Shenk. Yes caddis vs hopper, Muddler for a hopper too. I always thought a Stimulator would make a good bait fish with different style head hackle :o)
@@joeduca8582 Well I definitely did not see that picture. Maybe it was from one of his many magazine articles. Have you seen this one of Joe Humphreys with the PA state record brown? This thing looks like a mutant! drive.google.com/file/d/1KfZ6O1vBjOo-9WYVGJR_Fm9Pgf9YUIOi/view?usp=sharing
One of my all time favorite fly shops was Herb & Cathy's Cold Spring Angler in Carlisle. Back then Mr. Shenk would just drop on in. It would be hard to forget the first time I was ever was in the presence of Mr. Shenk, the GREAT fly fishermen of the time were always willing to teach you about the sport, and fly tying. One thing great about this Savage Flies channel, it will never let them be forgotten. Thanks Matt. As always, BRAVO ZULU.
Thanks Matt a great review had the great pleasure to meet Ed in the 80s came to Johnstown to help give a fly fishing seminar his wife had relatives here so he came a few times
Good morning Matt,
Nice fly, and always enjoy the insights on the bugs.
Back home now for a couple of days then heading to NC for about a week.
Conning to NC,bring you some hoppers and ants.They are working great now.
@@epsieblaine7968 thanks for the heads up, I love ants and a hopper is a good thing 👍
@@epsieblaine7968 I will be a wolf laurel above Ashevlle
Nice story for a versatile fly. Almost a caddis & the most simple hopper pattern that you can imagine.
Yes indeed Bob. I did wonder if anybody has ever added rubber legs to this. Would it make it more effective, or is its effectiveness in the simplicity? But you're right, that in the small sizes this thing would be a fine caddis.
@@SavageFlies I wonder if the turkey feathers even get noticed by the fish.
I think we forget what an impact seeing someone fly fish for the first time has on some kids. As a Scoutmaster in Las Vegas, a lot of the scouts got their Fishing Merit Badge, usually at summer camp on Catalina Island. Once when we were at Great Basin National Park in northern Nevada I brought along my fly rod. We were camped near Lehman Creek so I wandered over and made a few casts. I finally hooked a small Brookie, maybe six inches. But from behind me I hear one of the scouts go, "Whoa! That worked!" Within a couple of weeks I had six scouts in a Fly Fishing Merit Badge class! I know one of them who is now a financial advisor in Boulder, CO, continues to be an active flyfisherman.
BTW, great fly! I was actually kind of surprised that you didn't purposely divide the turkey into two wings. If it was me, when it split, it would be one one biot on one side and nine on the other!
What a great story Tom! And you are 100% right... we should try to remember that we never know what impressions we might be leaving on others. We could be creating a life-long fisherman. And that's what it's all about. Thanks for sharing this note my friend. :-)
Great history lesson on a very fishy looking bug.
Letort crickets and hoppers are goto patterns for me in the summer and fall. They are great for most fish species in all my local water. Great pattern and awesome tie, Matt. Have a great day.
Sweet looking fly. Looks enjoyable to tie. What a great story line of a young fisherman. We have a little 6 year old grandson, that could easily follow that path in life. He is a little fishing machine already. Caught his first Trout last weekend. A nice little Brook. “Papaw it was the most beautiful fish in the world”. Moments that will be in my heart forever. Matt thank you my friend. Awesome video.
Great story Jeff! You should treasure these moments with your grandson, he'll be remembering them and be telling his kids about them long after you and I are gone. But that's what it's all about my friend. :-)
Great story about Ed Shenk that I hadn't read before. I used this fly long ago but now I need to tie it. Thanks Matt.
Gotta love the simplicity of this fly and you know it will be a fish catcher. Thanks Matt for sharing
.
Great tie, simple but effective pattern and a wonderful history! For what it's worth: Across the river from you in Virginia I occasionally have "size 16" grasshoppers land on the tractor while mowing the pasture this time of year. Pretty sure I'm not gonna tie one of those in a 16 in this lifetime but the hoppers exist! 🙃 Have a great week my friend.
What a great story, I am from PA and have been fortunate to have fished that creek. Thanks for the history, and the Letort Hopper, great tie.
Good Morning Matt. Simple is a good thing indeed.
Great tie Matt. Loved the history.
Thank you Frank! I appreciate the note my friend. :-)
Good morning Matt. Love the background story on this fly. Like this pattern just know it will catch fish. I will be adding this to the box. Thanks for sharing this one. Have a great day and stay safe my friend.
Good morning Matt! Very cool little fly. Definitely going to tie some and give them a try. Most likely try them on a 10.
Terrific background on the fly and Shenk. It's a classic pattern that can be used as a hopper in larger sizes or a caddis in smaller sizes. This fly catches fish! The Letort can be a tough stream to fish sometimes but those classic Shenk flies still catch fish.
Thanks,again, for another great session.
I had the opportunity to meet Ed. He used to give classes for tying some of his flies at a fly shop in Carlisle Pennsylvania. I was able to register and go to a few. He was a story teller. The one thing he used to do was while walking to the stream was to drop his Cricket fly in muddle puddles and push them in with his foot. He said when he got to the water and cast it in the mud dispersed in the water and the fish were triggered to hit it. He swore that he got a fish every time with this trick.
Hi Matt tied the letrot hopper about three weeks ago.Started with the original.We didn't think it looked looked like a hopper.So it turned into a project hopper.This is what we call version 1.8 project hopper.A great lookin hopper,but you can't call it a lotrot hopper now.But it catches trout like a champ.Have a great week Matt. Ken and Linda
It has always seemed to me that the simpleist flies are usually the catchingest ones.This hopper,the “usual”,and a pheasant tail nymph can cover 90% of your fly collection and you should catch anywhere on the planet.Good choice for today,Matt.
Great tie Matt! Great fly, great easy pattern, and very close to a tan caddis, so you know it's a fish catcher. Thanks for sharing 👍. Tight lines 😀.
Love this story matt.it is an area close to me.very nice pattern and awesome tie from you.thanks for sharing.it truly catches fish.thanks a gain Matt.
That is a cool fly! Maybe even a caddis imitation in sz16
That's what thought too.
Gidday Matt. Great history and nice fly. Thanks
Great pattern from a great guy. I bumped into him from time to time when I'd stop in at Cold Spring Anglers (no longer IB). He certainly enjoyed hearing about people having success with his patterns. Thanks for sharing, Matt.
Nice fly Matt, I was using this Letort Hopper in the Great Smoky Mountains, sometimes a greenish or brownish depending on the wild hoppers in the area. It's fast and easy. Thanks for the great fly-tying channel it is always good. PS: it's extremely hot here in Alabama now.
Thanks for sharing Matt, my list is growing. Have a blessed evening my friend.
Ha! You and me both my friend. :-)
I seem to struggle with turkey feathers. I'm not sure if when I purchased them, they put two feathers from the same side, or I haven't figured out exactly how to match them up. I can't wait to tie this pattern as tying the feather in this fashion, makes it fool proof for me. I tent one feather over the top, easily splitting it evenly. Then using scissors, cut it to the length, and angle that suits me. 👌🏻
Absolutely Jon! But let me tell you, you're not alone with if you struggle to match any bird flight feathers for matched wings. Just one of the reason you don't see a lot of old-school winged wet flies on my channel. :-) Though I have found over the years, even when doing smaller wings from duck and goose, that the quality of the feather makes a huge difference. And you might think you've got a good turkey feather, but if the tips are frayed, you'll never get a clean looking fly out of it. Just my observation. And yes, that's why I like this technique where you can snip the tips off. :-)
Good legend, good fly, and great memories, thanks Matt.
Great story Matt!!! Nice tie too.. So many classic flys have come from Pennsylvania it’s great to hear about them..
Loved your story intro
Good morning Matt. My wife and I have been away doing a little fishing. Had a great week up north. Just catching up on tying videos. I remembered seeing this one in Valla’s book. Great background to this fly too.
Appreciate it John! I hope you had a great time. I've been at a campground the last few days with my wife and kids. No fishing this time but it was some nice relaxing family time. :-)
Great background story! Thx so much for your efforts. Nice hopper as well. Have a fabulous rest of the week.
Appreciate it Clyde and you too my friend!
Great spot of history, Matt. Great fly! Thanks again for this wonderful content!
You're most welcome Nicole! I really appreciate you watching my friend. :-)
@@SavageFlies ❤
Hello Matt! That was an interesting fly, it can work as a caddis and also as a hopper. All the best.
100% right! In smaller sizes you'd think this will be a great caddis imitation.
Good Morning Sir Matt, this fly looks supper amazing. The history storytelling absolutely amazing 👏 thank you so much Sir.
Great pattern, awesome back story!! Thanks Matt!
You bet Alex! Hope all is well with you my friend. :-)
Yep another nice simple fly. I've been noticing more hoppers around so maybe I need too tie up some of these and go down to the local pond. I don't think there's really anything great big in it but they're still fun on a light rod. Keep the good stuff coming Matt.
Cool fly, thanks for back story as always!!!!!
You're always welcome! Thanks for watching. :-)
Great store, great hopper, thanks Matt.
Appreciate it Lee!
Great simple hopper. Thanks Matt.
Appreciate it Chad!
Definitely a cool story Matt and a cool fly, going to try this one out
Thanks for the video
You bet Dave! Always appreciate you watching my friend.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge.
You bet Bill! Thanks for watching my friend.
Awesome backstory sir! Thanks for sharing
You're most welcome; thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing your time! KANSAS
You bet Jack; thanks for watching!
Beauty tie !! Thanks for sharing bud
Thanks! I appreciate you watching my friend. :-)
That fly tied in a size 16 would look just like the caddis I was nailing the rainbows on the weekend before last. My first trip to the Yough river awesome fishery the water was something like 59* we caught trout on dry flies all day long.
Pretty cool
I feel like if the turkey wing splits it looks more natural. Tying this in bark brown pr even black in a size 12 or 14 would be a killer cricket pattern
Awesome research and narrative on a beautiful simple pattern and a great fisherman. I always liked Shenk and his simple buggy patterns from when I saw a photo of him in Joe Brooks' Trout Fishing, pg 198, holding a 8.5 pound brown from the Letort, taken on a white marabou streamer. His right biceps looked like a freaking rock! He wrote an article in Fly Tyer titled Eastern Spring Creeks in Autumn, that showed a White Marabou streamer - maybe the same fly(?). His hopper is in that article too, size 14 or 12 - 2X long dry fly hook is suggested. I don't think a size 16 2X long is too far fetched because I've seen 1/2" to 3/4" hoppers on the sun warmed foundation of my house during a late winter/early spring thaw. Also that hopper could be taken for a caddis when viewed from below with that underwing extending a bit beyond the body, just like a caddis. Thanks Matt! 💪🤓🎣
Thanks Joe! I think I know the picture you're talking about. www.paflyfish.com/threads/in-memoriam-ed-shenk.75463/ He called that fish "Old George" and it took him years, and I think I read something like 150 hours of fishing to finally catch him. That is one slab of a fish though. From what I read in later years the Letort had fallen on some hard times and the monster fish are all gone. As far as this pattern being either a hopper or a caddis, yeah, I agree. But then again, I think we could take any caddis pattern and tie it on a size 8 and it would make a passable hopper. :-)
@@SavageFliesThe photo in the Brooks (1972) book is dark and he's sitting on his legs, wearing denims. He's holding the trout vertical, right hand around the tail, his open left hand supporting the head from behind, tip of little finger at pectoral fin, along gill plate with index finger tip past jaw hinge. Massive fish! Photo from the link looks like he's wearing khakis, better photo and photographer, he looks younger too. Both photos were in bright sun. Also a massive fish non the less. I can't say if it's the same. I read a similar article about fishing for a giant brown but don't remember if it was Shenk. Yes caddis vs hopper, Muddler for a hopper too. I always thought a Stimulator would make a good bait fish with different style head hackle :o)
@@joeduca8582 Well I definitely did not see that picture. Maybe it was from one of his many magazine articles. Have you seen this one of Joe Humphreys with the PA state record brown? This thing looks like a mutant! drive.google.com/file/d/1KfZ6O1vBjOo-9WYVGJR_Fm9Pgf9YUIOi/view?usp=sharing
@@SavageFlies 😯😲😳🤯He caught that at the Three Mile Island warm water discharge pipe ☢on a Chernobyl Ant !!!Thanks for the shock Matt :o)
🤓👍