A couple tips for you.

Since I can't think of any good fishing stories or have any new patterns ready to unveil, I thought I would toss a few things out there for you that might be helpful.

The first tip I want to share with you is the sizes of the foam bodies I use for The Hopper Juan.  While many people don't have the foam  cutters I use, I recommend them for the ease of making these bodies.  If you can't obtain them or would just rather use scissors, here are the sizes that you should aim for.

For size 6 Hopper Juan's, I use the large cutter, which is roughly 7mm in width.  For my favorite size, size 8, I use the medium size which is about 6mm.  The small is about 5mm, and I use those for size 10 Hoppers.  If you want to cut these bodies straight, I recommend using a piece of glass or a self healing mat and a very sharp razor and a metal straight edge such as the one in the picture above.  Measure the widths and run the blade down the straight edge and try not to cut yourself.  It doesn't take much using a sharp bade.  Using these tools, you can make several strips of foam for hopper use.  

 The other tip I will share with you is the use of Water Shed on your dry flies.  I use this on all my dry flies and I do believe that it does help.  If you want proof, just put a drop of it on an untreated fly.  It soaks it up like a sponge. The same thing happens when you put your untreated fly on the water for the first time.  I even go so far as to treat my hoppers with this stuff.  Elk hair and synthetics soak up water and if you can help prevent that, then you are a step ahead of most people.  Your flies will still eventually soak up water and may need to be changed, but I usually don't mind if it's the fish that are causing that problem.  Water Shed is distributed through Hareline Dubbin Inc.