Do you use Sharpie, Pantone or Prismacolor markers to add some personalized color to your hopper patters? Lots of Missouri River guides do. So do some of the more particular local anglers. Their belief is that an “out of the box” hopper pattern will never fish as well as one with a custom paint job.
When you see guides secretly discussing patterns over by the boat corral, it’s probably not the fly. It’s the make-up.
Several years ago 7wt. decided we better get a few Sharpies to sell in the shop so the “public” can buy their own markers, instead of stealing the shop Markers. We can even give you a few hints on colors, stripes, polk-a-dots, and the like. Foam likes markers. So do rubber legs. Purple markers have been hot.
I might even color my tippet purple to see if it works better?
Amazing what you can do to a tan Morrish with a few Sharpies. Does it really work better? Find out.