RIO's Hopper Popper Fly

Perfect for summer trout fishing, hopper-dropper rigs, and aggressive smallmouth bass

The RIO Hopper Popper is a highly effective foam grasshopper / popper fly designed for anglers who want a single pattern that covers both surface explosions and subsurface opportunity. Built with RIO’s proven foam construction, this fly offers incredible buoyancy, durability, and performance in a wide range of freshwater situations—whether you’re targeting late-summer trout sipping terrestrials or smallmouth bass crushing poppers.

Featuring a hollow popper head that creates enticing surface disturbance and a buoyant foam body that easily supports weighted droppers, the Hopper Popper is tailor-made for the popular hopper-dropper setup, making it an ideal search fly for covering water and drawing aggressive strikes. Available in natural grasshopper color schemes like tan, olive, and gold, it blends realism with fish-triggering action.

Check out other awesome terrestrial flies by clicking here!

How to Fish the RIO Hopper Popper

For Trout (Hopper-Dropper):

• Cast upstream or across current and let your nymph sink naturally
• Mend line for a drag-free drift, or add short strips to activate the popper head
• Target banks, undercut edges, grassy shorelines, and structure

For Smallmouth Bass:

• Strip with short bursts and pauses
• Vary retrieve speed to trigger reaction strikes
• Focus on rocks, wood, weed edges, and shade lines

Ideal For

• Summer & early fall hopper fishing
• Hopper-dropper rigs
• Stillwater and river fishing
• Trout • Smallmouth Bass • Warmwater Species