Grasshoppers

Telling it apart

• A big, sturdy silhouette, size 8–14 depending on species and age, with massive folded hind legs.
• Variable colour, green to yellow-brown depending on habitat and season.
• Flies in powerful, sometimes erratic bounds rather than sustained flight — easily blown off course by a gust of wind.
• Found in fields and meadows bordering the river, never far from open vegetation.

A powerful flight, badly controlled

A grasshopper is an excellent jumper and a capable flier, but its flight stays erratic — long propelled bounds rather than steady, directed flight. On a hot, windy August day, when grasshoppers are especially active in the fields bordering the river, one gust is enough to knock several straight into the water.

That combination — plenty of insects airborne, plus wind pushing them off course — is what makes hot, windy August afternoons especially productive, far more than a calm day when grasshoppers mostly stay put on the ground.

A crash landing, not a touchdown

Unlike a light insect settling gently, a grasshopper hits the water heavily and out of control — a genuine crash rather than a landing. A trout that recognizes that specific impact sound will sometimes move a real distance to intercept what it knows is a big meal.

That's why a hard splat against the bank, rather than a delicate presentation, imitates what's actually happening better — and often triggers a sharper reaction from the fish.

Always near the field, never far from the bank

A grasshopper never strays far from the open vegetation it lives in, which means the best opportunities consistently sit along banks bordered by fields or meadows rather than mid-current. Spot the terrestrial habitat first — a field, a hayfield, a grassy bank — before choosing where to cast.

August and September, in the afternoon heat, stay the most reliable window.