What's your favorite terrestrial??

[sandfly]

are puppy flies considered terrestrial, OH wait thats for when we go Taimen fishing..... :-D :-D

1- red ant would be a fav. on spring creeks...

2- a small catapiller on freestone's..

I like to roll on a fire ant mound till I'm covered in them then shake real hard by the stream then, cast a orange ant out.. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Padraic]

Squaretail wrote:
http://wolftracksfly.tripod.com/flies.htm
Terrestrials are hands down my favorite as well. Spun deer hair beetle has truly amazed me. Only know 2 men that can cut them properly. Thing about these beetles is when held in a fishtank you can see the hairs on the bottom holding tiny bubbles of air underneath.
Large or small trout, native brookie stream or the Breeches when the parking lot is full, trout come to them when the ant, the cricket, and the hopper just get inspected and passed by. Hopefully the link will be posted but he probably likes tying these least of all. Evidently trimming them is a bit of a chore.

This is the first I've seen of these spun deer hair beetles, but I like fishing the Mohawk fly. It was invented by Gary Lafontaine's daughter. The trimming on that fly is very unusual and makes the fly sit very deep in the surface, much like many beetles do. I've done especially well on the Codorus with them.

 

[ryguyfi]

Never heard of a mohawk fly and couldnt find any on a quick internet search... Care to fill me in with a pic or pattern?? :-D

 

[MKern]

I prefer the hi-vis parachute carpenter ant size 12-16. However, one day last fall there was a (spinner fall) of size 22 red winged ants and the trout were feeding exclusively on them. Needless to say I now have a half dozen in my box.
I have only ever caught 1 trout on a hopper. It was a foam hopper, and because of it I am waiting for next year (it went plop and the spring creek brownie nailed it).

 

[dryflyguy]

Another thing about terestial fishing - I've only done well using them on smaller and medium sized streams. Never had much success on big water - the Yough, Delaware, etc.

Tim - I've also had little success with hoppers in PA. I guess you just have to find the right spots where some are available to the fish.

Bamboozle- I learned that trout eat bees during and incident that happened about 20 years ago. I was fishing Penns in the fall, - when the fish started rising pretty well all over. Usually at that time of year, BWO's are hatching, and that's what I had on. But they wouldn't touch it.
I finally checked the water's surface, - and found dead and dying bees coming down en mass - a bee spinner fall? Anyway, I didn't have a pattern to match, and could only watch helplessly as the trout gorged on them.
I came up with a bee fly after that episode.
My fishing buddies thought I was nuts when I showed it to them, but I have caught trout on it.
I've also never seen a heavy "bee hatch" like that since, but I'm ready for one!

 

[Padraic]

A rather stylized (and somewhat inaccurate) pic of the fly is on the cover of the book with the tying instructions in it.

On a standard dry fly hook spin deerhair and cover about 2/3 of the hook shank from the back. I usually whip finish off the fly and trim the back end of the fly at this point. The deer hair for the rear portion is typically brown, but you can try any color. Thread should match the color of the deer hair.

Trimming the fly is the key to it's effectiveness. Clip the deer hair tight to the bottom of the shank, and then clip it up to a V shape. Clip the deer hair flat on top, it should be shorter in the front and long in the back. The idea is to have the bulk in the back of the fly. This will push the bend of the fly down.

Restart with white thread, and tie in a white saddle hackle. This should be a good ole, webby wooley bugger feather NOT a dry fly saddle. It should be soft and floppy in the water. 2 or 3 turns is more than enough.

Now spin white deer hair to cover the remainder of the hook shank. Whip finish & trim the white deer hair.

I like to slap this fly down hard like a big beetle or spider falling into the water. It's not a magic fly, but trout will take it hard. I love it when a trout really attacks a fly!

 

[flyman]

I like a 18-22 fur cinnamon ant in slow water for the sippers, but a reddish foam in 16 works for me in faster water.
You can never be without a beetle.
I also like a black cricket foam cricket, I can see it fairly well in rough water, but it works well in smooth water too. It also has that come and get me plop!
Flyman :lol:

 

[Biggie]

On Clarks and the Breeches it's a black foam beetle, on Spring Creek it's a black ant fished dry or wet.

 

[afishinado]

Here is a photo and recipe for the Mohawk. Great indicator fly.

http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/ljdecuir/mohawk.htm

 

[troutbert]

Re: "are puppy flies considered terrestrial"

Not if they are Labrador Retriever puppies.

 

[Wulff-Man]

Bamboozle wrote:
Foam beetle for the same reason as Fishidiot; they do work all year round AND a foam bee/yellow jacket.

I BEEcame a BEEliever after seeing my buddy nail a 20+ inch fish at Falling Spring on one and I have KILLED the fish at Clarks on them too.

Bamboozle, Can you provide a recipe and/or photo for the pattern you use? Are their any special times or conditions that you use them? Have they worked in many streams/times/conditions, or just under certain circumstances?

 

[ian_brown]

Sbeeking of bees, there's a "bee fall" in the story A River Runs Through It (the book; I haven't seen the movie).

 

[Padraic]

There is a wasp pattern in the book Terrestrials by Steeves and Koch. They specifically mention how effective it was on Clarks Creek, so I tried it. Nadda. I've never been confident of using bees or wasps for trout. I'm sure they will try to eat one if they see it. I just don't think they'll eat more than one.

 

[JoeE]

Parachute orange ant
Parachute black ant
Parachute cinnamon ant
Foam beetle with legs


Joe E.

 

[bobm]

Sometime this year I'm gonna try a mouse fly during the night.

 

[beeber2]

#1 - Baby deer hair hopper - catches fish from June to November and beyond. May be mistaken for a caddis as well. My top producing dry terrestrial.

#2 - Baby foam hopper - floats like a cork and produces well. Also fishes well with a dropper (ant).

#3 - Foam beetle

beeber

 

[ryguyfi]

Thanks for all your replies! My first initial response when i first started fly fishing was that dry fly fishing is fly fishing (don't know if that makes sense). Never heard of a nymph until another fisherman told me that 90% of fish are caught on nymphs. He also gave me a 18 foam ant. Talk about confusing. So out my ignorance I came into some knowledge. Still was skeptical about using terrestrials becuase, "thats still not fly fishing". After a few months of fly fishing i'm getting more accustomed to the new techniques (well new to me) but all this info is great! Might have to try one of those deer spun beetles... but atleast i'm out of the dark on how many people actually use terrestrials and how often they do so.

 

[Wulff-Man]

The techniques for fly fishing with terrestrials are the same as fishing with "flies," whether it's on or under the surface, so what the heck! Use whatever works for you. I'm not sure about that statement that 90% are caught on nymphs. Maybe 90% of a trouts diet is on subsurface insects, but a lot of fly fishers like myself just prefer dry fly fishing, even if nymphing might produce more fish.

My second favorite terrestrial, after ants, is beetles. Paul G mentioned Crowe beetles, and these are great because they land with a nice plop (which gets the attention of nearby trout), and they ride low in the water but float well enough that they're easy to see, and trout like 'em a lot. The only drawback is that they get chewed up pretty quick, but they're real easy to tie and replace. The pattern only requires one material - deer hair. You might want to try some since you're a beginner fly tier. Here's a recipe: http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/articles/old/crowe10.htm

Foam beetles work real well too, and they aren't very hard to tie either. There are a lot of variations.

 

[Bamboozle]

Wulff Man wrote:
Bamboozle, Can you provide a recipe and/or photo for the pattern you use? Are their any special times or conditions that you use them? Have they worked in many streams/times/conditions, or just under certain circumstances?
???

WM:

My first attempt at a bee pattern was just getting some of Bill Skilton's foam Bee Bodies and tying them on mid shank and then wrapping some brown hackle right in the middle. Then trim the bee body to the appropriate length. The end result is a crude looking bee with the foam angling up from the hook sort of like a McMurray Ant that takes a SECOND to tie and worked EVERYPLACE I fished it. If you buy some of Bill's Bee Bodies there is a picture of the fly on the package. All you need is black thread, hackle and the Bee Body; no dubbing required!

I later started to have problems with my leader twisting with this pattern so I modified it by using the same Bee Body tied like a foam beetle. Again no dubbing required. In other words I trim the end of Bee Body cylinder to a point, and tie it in at the bend of the hook facing backward. I then wind my black thread forward to mid-shank and pull the Bee Body foam forward and tie it down with the thread and tie in a brown hackle. Add a few wraps of hackle and tie off and continue wrapping to the head where you will again tie down the Bee Body, clip off the excess and whip finish. The end result is a two bump bee that takes 2 SECONDS to tie and easily meets my requirements for a pattern I can tie fast; sober or drunk AND has the requisite “SPLAT” when cast.

Of course you can tie fancier bees but why bother when these work AND here’s something else that makes matters even easier: I ONLY tie one size of bee or beetle; a size 16. While you could argue that different sizes are important; I have yet to meet a trout that could resist the splat of my offering when he was hungry.

One final note: I SWEAR by the use of 3/0 thread when using foam. I feel it is less likely to cut the foam than 6/0 or 8/0 and I have bees and beetles that I have caught 20-30 trout on that are still together. Also Bill Skilton’s foam is all I use; it is soft, durable, reasonably priced, and available in zillions of options. Check out his Inchworm Bodies for a KILLER pattern for fussy Clark’s Creek fish. I tie mine just like the package shows and the fish LOVE them!

As far as the when and where of use…I try it anyplace where I feel like it, especially if fish are refusing my foam beetle. It works especially well in late summer but to be honest, my theory on terrestrials is; if a trout can refuse a big juicy meal like a bee or beetle in the middle of the winter; that’s one contented fish. They work for me all the time; EVEN during hatches. I prefer to fish them on light tippets like 7X because they splat better and in some places I fish, light tippets help A LOT!

Have fun!

 

[Wulff-Man]

Thanks much, Bamboozle. Very helpful and interesting!