When I am fly fishing for trout in the summer months on the native brook trout there are two fly patterns I have in my fly box–ants and beetles.
As I sat in my fly shop loading my fly box, an angler watched over my shoulder. I was taking quite a few Murray’s Flying Beetles.
The gentleman volunteered that he was a professional entomologist. He asked, “Do you know why those flying beetles catch so many trout?” Apparently there are over 200 beetle type insects around our trout streams.
From early June until October the Murray’s Flying Beetle in sizes 14 & 16 is my favorite dry fly for trout. Some days an upstream dead drift on a slack line cast is the most productive technique. Other days a splat presentation as if he just fell onto the stream is best. This is an easy pattern to tie and doesn’t require alot of different materials.
Fly Fishing with Ants
As I am writing this blog, there is a big black ant crawling across my desk. I guess this is my reminder to pack some ant patterns in my box. There are great numbers of natural ants around the streams and many of them fall into the stream where the trout take them quickly.
The Mr. Rapidan Ant in sizes 14, 16, & 18 are especially productive when fished upstream dead drift on the lip and corner feeding stations. These are productive from June through September. There are many ant patterns on the market, but I like the Mr. Rapidan Ant the best. The yellow wing (yellow calf tail) allows me to easily see the ant in the water.
My book Trout Fishing in the Shenandoah National Park covers reading the water, hatch charts, and stream access.