Hook Big Trout with Hopper, Ant and Beetle Flies
Wily Trout are Easier to Catch When Land Insects Plop into Streams
Jan 5, 2009
The same trout that hovered under a size 18 pale morning dun or blue wing olive mayfly during mid-morning - and then turned away - gather close to the streambanks during the hot, windy afternoon to gobble down land insects that blunder into the water.
The trout are used to seeing lots of different grasshoppers, beetles and ants plop into the water - and they are eager to bite.
Less Pressure and Tasty Hunks of Food
Trout love land insects - called terrestrials in fly-fishing lingo - because they are usually big chunks of calories that arrive in the heat of the day, when most anglers are eating lunch or napping.
The trout nose close to the edge of the stream and underneath overhanging grass, brush or trees to wait for their lunch to fall into the water.
Finding Bug-Eating Trout
Quietly and slowly walking along the riverbank is the best way to find trout that are feeding on hoppers, ants or beetles. Anglers who walk slowly and make the least noise find the most feeding fish. The best anglers always stay out of the water if they can.
A breezy day is better than a still day, as the wind blows bugs into the water.
Some anglers doubt how many bugs flop to the water's surface on a breezy day - until they take a seat on the bank on a warm, windy afternoon and see how many big trout hammer hoppers or ants.
Trout love to lurk under cut banks - places where the current gouges deep, dark caves under on the outside bends of river curves. The fish can fin quietly in the shade and then rocket out to grab a struggling hopper or beetle.
Trout also gather in deep holes along the bank and under vegetation.
Anglers unsure about where the trout lurk can simply inch along the stream and cast a beetle, ant or grasshopper fly upstream near the bank.
The trout will show up.
Tackle and Flies for Terrestrial Time
Anglers should try to match the size and color of the grasshoppers and ants in the area. Beetles teem near streams by the millions, so trout are used to seeing lots of different beetles. However, trout can focus on one particular size or color of beetle if a lot of bugs of the same type are riding the currents.
A six or seven weight rod with a weight-forward line is perfect for casting these flies. Hopper and some beetle patterns can be large - size 10 up to a giant size 2 - so anglers need a heavier line to cast a bigger fly. A heavier line is also easier to handle in the afternoon wind gusts.
A big fly needs a big tippet.
A grasshopper fly demands a 2X or heavier tippet, while a small size 18 ant pattern needs the same light tippet - 5X or 6X - used during that morning mayfly hatch.
Two Flies are Often Better Than One
Anglers new to terrestrial fishing often find it's hard to see a size 18 ant fly floating in the surface film. Seeing gets easier when a "Hopper-Dropper" rig is used.
The angler ties a Dave's Hopper fly onto a 1X tippet and then ties an 18-inch-long section of 5X tippet to the bend of the grasshopper fly hook.
A small beetle or ant fly is then tied to the smaller tippet, and the angler than works likely areas.
It's easy to spot the big grasshopper fly, and anglers soon learn to spot the smaller ant or beetle fly nearby.
Often, the big grasshopper fly tempts trout to come out from under the bank, but big fish can be shy of a big fly.
Then the trout see the smaller dropper - and can't resist the tasty snack.
Fish on!
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