Inchworm vs. Ant

[Sylvaneous]

Don Douple said there are no magic flies, but if there were, they are pale yellow sucker spawn and inchworms.
Earning my stripes on the Lehigh Valley streams, ants were considered trout candy. So now that we are well into terrestrial time (when water and weather conditions allow) what do I tie on? On a recent 2 day trip to the Little J. and Spring Creek (carefully fishing the coolest water up until it began to warm ) I found the sunken ant to be superior.
I had them tied on together and the ant was favored. I think I only got 1 on the inchworm. (However, the trailing nymph seems to be more frequently taken.)

Fishing was NOT good but when I did catch a trout on the ant, I kept thinking, "why fish anything else?"

Syl

 

[Jaybird]

Just an observation , on how finicky trout can be around spring creeks . Last year on a Friday an ant in the surface could do no wrong , fishing was so good I cleared my Sunday , and tied up some ants just to go back and do it again . 48hrs later they could careless about the ants .. Things change quicker than we think sometimes even in the summer .

 

[wildtrout2]

Is Inchworm the PC way of saying Green Weenie?

 

[Bamboozle]

It's funny, creeks in the Lehigh Valley are my home waters and I spend a ton of time in the Cumberland Valley and if I had a dollar for every trout I caught on a beetle I'd be rich.

As a result, I haven't fished an ant in years...

However I wouldn't be without an inchworm (floating foam version, NOT a Green Weenie) or a foam bee pattern anywhere, especially at places like Clarks or the Letort.

My usual MO is to try a beetle first, if they don't like that an inchworm followed by a bee or vice versa depending on the steam. It is amazing to me how a simple change of terrestrial fly over the same fish works for me almost 100% of the time.

If none of those work, I go to a midge pupa or Griffith's Gnat.

You can have hatches... I live for this time of the year!!!

 

[Van_Cleaver]

I fish ants most of the time and usually wet. Most often as a dropper behind a tungsten bead head pattern. Not only are they lethal most of the year for trout but they are equally deadly on pan fish; especially in a larger size. Last night it was slow on my local lake and stinking hot! Fished just before to a little after dark and landed maybe 9 blue gills and one crappie. Every blue gill took the ant which was fishes as a dropper below a foam popper. That said I did miss a few on top.

 

[Sylvaneous]

wildtrout2 wrote:
Is Inchworm the PC way of saying Green Weenie?

I sexually identify as a 'weenie'.

Syl

 

[larkmark]

The weenie gets their attention and they take the ant. You will consistently catch more using both flies in tandem than you will fishing either separately.

 

[troutbert]

Inchworms, ants and beetles are maybe the best flies to use in the summer months and into early fall.

So during that time of the year, I recommend carrying all 3.

If you want to reduce the number of flies you are carrying, you could leave behind lots of other patterns, but keep those, for summer fishing.

It does seem like on some days they are really hitting inchworms, and other days they hit better on ants.

They may get keyed on one vs the other depending on which they see hitting the water most.

Just like trout get keyed in on sulphurs or other bugs.

 

[redietz]

larkmark wrote:
The weenie gets their attention and they take the ant. You will consistently catch more using both flies in tandem than you will fishing either separately.

Yep. The OP was talking about a floating inchworm, but the same principle applies either way.

I try to always think about how a team of flies will fish, not about the individual components.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

'round here ..if you ain't fishing a wet ant, you ain't fishing

 

[Dave_W]

I'm with Bamboozle on beetle flies, and hatches vs terrestrial fishing.

But with that said, the topic here is ants vs. inchworms and, as a great fan of both, I can say with no doubt that ants are better producers for me. . . and I fish both patterns wet and dry.

My inchworms are small and very slender, not typical GW profile.

Back in the day, there was something of a school of the inchworm that was associated with certain technical freestoners with hemlock cover - Clarks Creek in particular - that claimed a significant inchworm bite in June (we have discussed this claim here on PAFF in past years). Some folks have claimed it's a myth or head fake, but other swear by inchworms in early summer. I can't say I'm convinced there's an inchworm bite, but I do like them when I see 'em hanging from trees. Mountain brookies love 'em.

Nevertheless, I think the profile of an ant is much more familiar to trout and they are a higher confidence fly for me than inchworms.

Anyone wanna put this to the test? Maybe try a wet i-worm and wet ant on a dropper and count fish? Would make a fun and interesting experiment.

Good topic.

 

[larkmark]

I would also pick an ant over an inchworm or weenie but something about the combo works well. Trout become more opportunistic this time of year with less hatches. I just saw one eat a large white moth the other day.

On the topic of terrestrials....I used to fish a small limestone creek in a heavily agricultural area. Lot's of manure and chicken houses. I was seeing these dark shapes floating down and trout were really eating them. Figured out they were just house flies that were floating on surface. I put on a black caddis and it worked pretty well.

 

[Steeltrap]

About a month ago me and a buddy were fishing Laurel Hill Creek. He was catching em on a "green worm". So, I switch to a green worm and got nothing.....not even a looker.

Later we compared the worms, and his had a red (thread) head on it. That was the only difference...size and color were almost the same.

I tied up several using red thread to copy what he as using and about a week later.....it didn't matter. He nor I could get anything on those green worms. But.....soft hackle's were working quite well!!!

 

[Bamboozle]

My Inchworm pattern is an idea I got from a package of Bill Skilton's insect green cylindrical foam:

Size 16 or 18 dry fly hook, shank wrapped with thread, piece of 1/8" or 3/32" foam lashed fore and aft with a slight hump in the middle.

DONE!

ANYONE can tie a dozen in 5 minutes and for me they work like a charm. I also fish tiny midge pupa under them and use them for indicators.

BTW - You could EASILY fish a wet ant under one and do some research... ;-)

I have one Green Weenie that was given to me by someone but I have never fished it because the floaters works so well.

I also tie the same pattern with black foam and have them on hand if I encounter Gypsy Moth Caterpillars or fish taking Tent Caterpillars.

Foam rules supreme in my fly boxes!!

 

[JeffK]

All are good, but here are my 2 cents.

I usually start with a 14 foam beetle - can't go wrong. I like a size 16 foam ant as a starter too, but it is harder to see. I go with a orange one, but it still is small even with a parachute tie with a foam post.

Sinking ants are great. Try them in a size 10. I know it sounds huge, but look at the size of the carpenter ants crawling on your local trees. They plop into the stream frequently (especially if a breeze blows) and can't swim.

OK, small winged ants can be great too. A size 20 ant can be the ticket in late summer/early fall when swarms of flying ants are about. Trout can go nuts when an ant swarm crosses a stream and you better have a small winged ant pattern.

Inchworms are my least used pattern. I like a size 16 deer hair inchworm since it seems more slender, but foam is OK. I also tie a size 16 sinking one of just chartreuse thread on a hook. Inchworms are rarely my first choice, but I have had some luck using them during a trico spinner fall when the trout are too picky. A change up sometimes is in order.

Finally, although green weenies are too large to be an inchworm in my view, some days the browns go wild over an unweighted green weenie with the loop tail. They flutter seductively as they sink and some days trout will cross a pool to grab them.

But as the first post said, there are no magic bullets. Use what works for you.

 

[redietz]

Bamboozle wrote:
It's funny, creeks in the Lehigh Valley are my home waters and I spend a ton of time in the Cumberland Valley and if I had a dollar for every trout I caught on a beetle I'd be rich.

As a result, I haven't fished an ant in years...

I feel exactly the opposite -- I haven't fished a beetle in years because ants are so effective.

 

[troutbert]

wildtrout2 wrote:
Is Inchworm the PC way of saying Green Weenie?

Yes and Ant is the PC way of saying Black Itsy Bitsy.

And Sulphur is the PC way of saying Yaller Thangy Wangy.

 

[larkmark]

Can anyone tell me the colloquial term for Jassid?

 

[Tups]

Leaf hopper.

 

[LetortAngler]

If I had to choose between an Ant or Beetle - I’m likely going with the Ant. Fished Wet or Dry it is just remarkably effective. Once 4th of July rolls around and the Japanese Beetles and other various Beetles start showing up in good numbers I’ll begin fishing a Crowe or Skiltons Foam Quick-Sight Beetle.

George Harvey tied a really interesting inchworm pattern where he spun chartreuse dyed deer hair along the entire shank of a 2-3x hook, cylindrically trimmed in the shape of a worm. Still have a few I tied in my box that have tangled with some very nice Letort browns.