Terrestrials

When I think of hot weather trout fishing one thing sticks out in my mind more than anything else…Terrestrials.  Terrestrial insects describe any type of insects that are born on land and happen to fall in the water.  Grasshoppers are most commonly recognized from this category since they are popular out west but on eastern rivers, particularly the small streams we have around here beetles, ants, and crickets are more abundant.  Any tree lined stream has the potential to provide action for an angler fishing a beetle, while crickets and ants are worth trying anywhere trout are found. 

Another common, but easily over looked bug,  is the inch worm.  These little green worms are slow moving, and make a great food source for the fish whenever they hit the water.  A floating version is usually fished, but sinking an inch worm is a great tactic as well.

Next, I fish several different types of ants depending on the conditions.  Parachute ant patterns or small foam imitations are great on the top while epoxy body or fur ants work well fished below a dry fly in the surface film.   In my box I carry ants varying in size from size 12 flying ants to small size 18 fur body ants for fishing as droppers. 

Last of all are my crickets and beetles.  These usually range in size from 10 to 16 and are most commonly fished on the surface.  I’ll use heavier tippet for these starting with 4x and dropping down to 5x if the fish are looking at, but not eating my flies.  If I find a pattern the fish like, but I have trouble seeing I sometimes use a brightly colored paint pen to color the back of the fly.

With all of these patterns dead drifting is usually best for enticing strikes but the occasional twitch can be a deal maker for apathetic trout.  Also, throw out conventional wisdom when it comes to choosing a spot to cast.  Slow “frog water” can be a great place to throw a beetle or inch worm if the overhanging trees provide shade and have bugs crawling around. 

Every summer terrestrial insects fished dry account for some of my biggest trout of the year both on small freestone streams and the bigger tailwaters like the S. Holston and Watauga.   Keep your eyes open for big surface feeding fish in the shadows and expand your terrestrial selection to give yourself a shot at fish most people completely ignore!