Solano Fly Fishers
 
Tying Terrestrials
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Summer and fall patterns that fool finicky trout.
 

Most fly patterns in your fly box imitate aquatic insects like mayflies, caddis flies, midges, and stoneflies. However, studies have shown that on some waters, during parts of the season, trout actually eat more terrestrial insects than anything else. It's in these time period "summer through fall"  that you should experiment with ant, beetle, and grasshopper imitations on your home waters.

Ants are tiny but they are prolific and many fall or get blown into the water. Trout also sometimes mistake them for midges or Tricos, which are the most important mayfly in late summer and early fall. Bow River guru Jim McLennan used to fish a #16 red ant pattern with black hackle during the Trico spinner fall with great success. His theory was that there were too many Trico naturals on the water for trout to pick out his imitation, but they would move to eat ant "candy." Mike Lawson also "un matches" the hatch on the Henry's Fork and elsewhere, but he uses a beetle imitation. A beetle is a good searching pattern when no fish are showing.

Grasshoppers are a large insect that are often animated as they struggle on the water. Sometimes trout get keyed on hoppers and in fast riffle water will eat anything remotely similar. At other times, especially in heavily pressured, flat water such as Slough Creek in Yellowstone Park, trout become wise to faux grasshoppers and will closely inspect and refuse anything that doesn't have a heartbeat.

There are dozens and dozens of grasshopper patterns out there, and most of them catch fish. The Whitlock Hopper, Henry's Fork Hopper, Joe's Hopper, Schroeder's Parachute Hopper, and the B.C. Hopper are all effective flies, but I have caught more 20-inch trout on the Letort Hopper than any other, and it's by far the simplest grasshopper pattern out there. Tie it in black and it is an excellent cricket and cicada pattern.
 
  The Latort Hopper
 
 Tying Steps
Hook:
Thread:
Body:
Wing:
Head:

Note:
 #4-#12 2X long nymph/dry hook (Mustad R52S shown)
Hopper yellow 140-denier Ultra Thread
Yellow poly yarn twisted and wrapped to create segmented body
Mottled turkey wing under natural deer hair
Natural deer hair, stacked and trimmed

Ed Shenk's original recipe calls for a dubbed body of yellow fur. Use the dubbed fur version on smaller hook sizes. The poly yarn body is quicker for large hooks and more durable.
 

Step 1.

Tie in a strand of yellow poly yarn covering approximately ¾ of the hook shank with the long end extending past the hook bend. Position the thread at the ¾ point.

Step 2.

Twist the yarn into a round, tight rope, and then wrap it forward. This creates a durable segmented body.

Step 3.

Clip a ¼" section of fibers away from a turkey wing feather. The feather section should be about the same length as the hook shank. Use a pinch wrap to tie the feather section in front of the body.

 

 Step 4.

Stack and measure the deer hair so it is about the same length as the hook shank and clip the hair butts. Use a gathering wrap to tie in the clipped ends of the deer hair, then tightly secure the wing the same way as the Elk-hair Caddis, taking several turns of thread through the ends of the hair and making the final wraps and whip-finish on the bare hook shank directly behind the hook eye under the hair butts.
 
Foam Beetle
 
 Tying Steps
Hook:
Thread:
Body:
Carapace:
Legs:
Indicator:		 #10-#14 standard dry fly (Mustad R30 shown)
Black 70-denier Ultra Thread
Peacock Ice dubbing (Hareline)
Black 3mm fly foam
Small round rubber
Red 3mm fly foam
   
Step 1. Cut a ¼"-wide strip of black 3mm fly foam and cut the end to a triangle shape. The tapered portion of the foam should be 2/3 the length of the hook shank.
Step 2. Tie in the tapered end of the foam leaving the front 1/3 of the hook shank bare. Use loose gathering wraps at first and then gradually add tension to the thread so you don't cut the foam.
3. Cover the body area with Peacock dubbing or peacock herl, and position the thread at the 2/3 position.
4. Pull the foam strip forward and bind it down with two loose, then two tight wraps.
5. Clip the black foam so it extends over the hook eye. Pinch two pieces of small round rubber parallel to the fly body on one side and make an additional thread wrap at the same location to draw the center of the rubber material into the foam body. Repeat the process on the other side.
6. Bind down a 2"-long 1/16"-wide piece of red fly foam at the same position on top of the fly to help you see it on the water. Trim the red foam closely. Wrap the thread under the black foam just behind the hook eye and use a double hitch or whip finish to complete the fly.
 
Black Ant
 
 Tying Steps
Hook:
Thread:
Body:
Hackle:
 #16-#18 standard dry fly, Tiemco 101 or Mustad R30
Black 70-denier Ultra Thread
Black Hare-Tron dubbing
Black or Brown
   
Step 1. Attach the thread to the hook. Use dubbing to make a distinctly rounded rear abdomen covering 1/3 of the hook shank.
Step 2. Tie in a slightly undersized black hackle. Ants have short legs compared to mayflies so the hackle should only extend a hook-gape distance.
Step 3. Cover the middle third (or less) of the hook shank with two to four wraps of hackle.
Step 4. Create a second dubbing ball, slightly smaller than the first, being careful not to crowd the hook eye. Use a double hitch or whip finish to complete the fly.