Historically, my typical rig for the Upper Kern River is a 3x leader with a size 4 tan Huck-Hopper on top, followed by ~3 feet of 4X tippet then a size 8 black Beldar stonefly nymph imitation followed by another 18 inches of 5x tippet and a size 16 Huck Green Caddis Nymph Cripple.

But, the Weakness of that rig is that you really have to be an expert to cast it.  That Beldar Stonefly Nymph is huge and heavy.  Sitting in between the Huck Hopper and the Huck Green Caddis Nymph Cripple makes the rig unbalanced.  It’s literally impossible to roll cast without the eventual tangles or wind knots.

When i started tying Perdigons it immediately became obvious i could put together another effective combo with a size 14 Perdigon dropped below the huge huck hopper then followed by a size 16 Perdigon…. making it just as wildly effective because those perdigons get down in a hurry…yet, much easier to cast (overhand and roll) because the perdigons are small; yet heavy.

Learn about the benefits of Perdigon style flies on this site here.

If you are an experienced fly fisher and familiar with the wild conditions at the Upper Kern (or Kings) Rivers, you may be saying to yourself: “Throwing 3 flies is crazy and asking for disaster.”  Yes, it is.  and to redo the entire rig is 5 knots. Overhead casting a 3 fly rig is difficult; roll casting even harder.  Also, note that in a few states like Montana you are not allowed to throw more than 2 flies.

I typically lose flies on a 3 fly rig in two ways: hung up on the bottom or when the wind blows me off course mid cast.  I lose flies, but I do catch a lot of fish on the upper Kern and Kings.  I’m an expert there.  I take the risk because I think it’s worth it.  I respect people that don’t take the risk of losing flies.  They cost money.  And it takes time to re-rig with 5 knots involved.  I can tie up a new rig quickly upon losing the entire thing.  Yes, that is frustrating.  But, IMHO you have to take risks if you want the big rewards.  Yes, a long 3 fly rig like the one I do is not only difficult to cast, but also risky to losing flies.  Yes, it’s deadly the entire season.

My typical rig for the Upper Kern River is a 3x leader with a size 4 tan Huck-Hopper on top, followed by 3 feet of 4X tippet then a size 8 black Beldar stonefly nymph imitation followed by another 18 inches of 5x tippet and a size 16 Huck Green Caddis Nymph Cripple.

If you are an experienced fly fisher and familiar with the wild conditions at the Upper Kern River, you may be saying to yourself: “that is crazy and asking for disaster.”  Yes, it is.  Overhead casting that rig is difficult; roll casting even harder.  The 3 tungsten beads in the beldar stone don’t make it any easier.  Without wind it’s manageable for a good cast.  I typically lose flies two ways: hung up on the bottom or when the wind blows me off course mid cast.  I lose flies, but I do catch a lot of fish on the upper Kern.  I’m an expert there.  I take the risk because I think it’s worth it.  I respect people that don’t take the risk of losing flies.  They cost money.  And it takes time to re-rig with 5 knots involved.  I can tie up a new rig quickly upon losing the entire thing.  Yes, that is frustrating.  But, IMHO you have to take risks if you want the big rewards.  Yes, a long 3 fly rig like the one I do is not only difficult to cast, but also risky to losing flies.  Yes, it’s deadly the entire season.

This fly is made from the best materials, is super durable to the point where you will start to notice bite marks from trout attacks.  It’s buoyant so you can fish it all day….even if it gets beat up with bite marks.

FYI:

• This is the fly I kill with on the Upper Kern River
• The Huck-Hopper also works great for Large Mouth, small mouth and shoal Bass.

my guidance for the Upper Kern:

My color preferences in this order:

1. Tan (matches a huge amount of the grasshopper species there)
2. Black (you always need black in the mountains to match most of the terrestrials)
3. Grey (matches a huge amount of the grasshopper species there)
4. Purple (the last color seen underwater in the spectrum. Ideal for murky or deep conditions)
5. Yellow (there are a number of yellow-bodied and yellow-winged grasshoppers there, and they stick out like a sore thumb.)
6. Brown (I I have no idea why this works, but it does.)

So, being that said, a size 4 tan Huckaby hopper is the perfect hopper in a hopper dropper scenario where you drop two heavy perdagons below it. They’re like battleships and they float all day.  Be generous with the length of the dropper. Those deep runs will provide for you if you go three to four feet below the hopper.

Black in a size 12 is a must, either fishing it alone or in a double hopper scenario with a bigger one in front of it.

Everything else in sizes 8 and 10 without a dropper works great.

You can drop a single fly from any size 6.