Craft foam, two colors laminated Any two contrasting colors (brown/tan shown; pink is a favorite) (Two pieces of 1.5 mm foam glued face to face, cut to one hopper body)
Squirrel tail Natural deer hair (Small unstacked tuft for the wing)
Rubber legs Brown or any color rubber legs (One strand, doubled)
Dry fly hackle Brown furnace or grizzly dry fly hackle (One or two feathers)
How to tie it
Prep the body ahead of time: coat one side of a piece of 1.5 mm craft foam with contact cement, press a second color onto it, weight it flat under a book overnight, then cut hopper bodies from the laminated sheet with scissors or a body die.
Mount the 3X-long curved hook and start black thread about a third of the way back from the eye.
Lay the foam body on top of the shank and lock the rearmost natural indentation down with several tight wraps at the 40% point, going under and over the foam a couple of times so it cannot spin.
Advance the thread a short way and take several tight wraps in the next indentation to form a second body segment, then advance again and secure the third segment with only medium-tension wraps so the foam is not crushed.
Advance to the front nub of the foam and lock it down there; this is what really anchors the body. Then return the thread to the segment behind it, where the wing goes.
Tie in a small unstacked tuft of squirrel tail on top at that point using medium wraps so the wing lies low rather than propping up. Trim the butts short, then wrap thread over and between the stubs to lock the hair in.
Advance the thread toward the eye and tie in one or two brown furnace dry fly hackles by the stem.
Take the thread back to the wing tie-in point and secure one doubled strand of rubber leg there with two loose wraps; position the legs out to the sides and slightly under, then add several medium wraps to lock them in.
Return the thread to the front and palmer the hackle forward with five or six turns to the eye area, tie off and trim the excess.
Stroke everything back, build a small flat spot behind the eye, whip finish, then trim the legs to length, front legs slightly shorter than the rear.