Japanese Beetles

[Dave_W]

I'm seeing more than usual of them around my neck of the woods this summer, including quite a few munching shoreline vegetation along Breeches yesterday (the fish responded with enthusiasm to a beetle pattern).

While beetle flies are always a go-to summer pattern for many of us, I think some years the fish really key on them when JP are numerous.

What are you seeing in your neck of the woods? Is this going to be a good beetle year (for fishermen, not garderners!)?

 

[dryflyguy]

Not a good year for gardeners is right. They're eating my wife's herb garden big time.

I've been catching fish on my crowe beetle patterns just like I usually do in summer.
I tie them with an underbody of peacock here, and black deer hair pulled over the top.
I guess they could be considered a jap beetle imitation.
Whatever they represent, they always work fine for me

 

[Bamboozle]

To be honest, excluding Tricos, I usually only fish two flies 90% of the time from now until the fall: beetles & bees.

I NEVER have a problem bringing fish up to a beetle pattern in the summer. My theory is they present an opportunistic meal on most of the streams where I fish which have limited hatches so the fish clobber them regardless of whether they have seen one lately.

I don’t fret about size (to be honest I only fish one size) but I like them on a light tippet and I cast so they splat when they hit the water.

If you haven’t read them, get hold of a copy of Charlie Fox’s “This Wonderful World of Trout” and read Chapter 3 – “Popillia Japonica” or Chapter 7 - "Japanese Beetle" in "A Modern Dry Fly Code" by Vince Marinaro.

The accounts of the early beetle infestations in Pennsylvania are amazing!!

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Tons of them but I live on a farm. we have them in large numbers every year. I just wish i would see the extremely large green beetles we have streamside
Size 2 beetles!

 

[Tigereye]

NE PA had very few this year, at least Carbon Co. I usually need to spray my rose bushes and hawthorne tree to limit the damage. No need this year.

 

[rrt]

Sal,
You don't want to see the big green beetles. They are the emerald beetles that are killing the ash trees. I imagine 95% or more of the ash trees around here are already dead. If you've got them where you live now, kiss your ash trees good-by.

If you have woodlots on your farm, you might want to selectively harvest your ash trees before the beetles kill them. The beetles really are that bad.

 

[Bamboozle]

rrt wrote:
Sal,
You don't want to see the big green beetles. They are the emerald beetles that are killing the ash trees. I imagine 95% or more of the ash trees around here are already dead. If you've got them where you live now, kiss your ash trees good-by.

If you have woodlots on your farm, you might want to selectively harvest your ash trees before the beetles kill them. The beetles really are that bad.

I THINK the beetles Sal is referring to are Green June Beetles which are MUCH larger and rounder than the Emerald Ash Borer.

An Ash Borer Fly would be about a size 10.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Looked it up, bam is correct.

Either way, the farm has no ash trees

 

[dc410]

I just happened to be in the area of the “run” on Tuesday mid day so I figured I’d give it a shot for an hour. I was tossing a size 14 black foam beetle and had 4 or 5 real splashy takes at it but couldn’t manage to hook anything. Some days are just like that, but they sure did seem very interested in the fly I was offering. I never really linked it to the presence of the Japanese beetles, but it all makes sense now.

I just made it down to the Yellow Breeches and crossed over to the other side and got caught in the middle of the mini monsoon that dumped about 2” of rain on the area in very short order. No sense hurrying back to the truck on that one. I haven’t gotten that wet in a long time while fishing.

 

[csoult]

They are tearing my hops up. I’ve looked into benifitial nematodes, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

 

[jifigz]

I don't ever see many Japanese beetles around my part of the state except on grapevines. I also don't fish beetle patterns much until September or so. Truth be told, I fish ant patterns a lot more than beetles.