FLY FISHING WITH BEETLES--by Skip Nault

Most fly fishermen know something about the appearance, biology and behavior of the mayflies, caddis flies, stone flies and other aquatic insects that make up a large part of a trout's diet. Studies conducted on the feeding habits of trout, primarily done by examining the stomach contents of harvested fish, confirm that in the spring and fall of the year, all stages of aquatic insects make up the bulk of food items eaten. However, during summer months, terrestrial insects, land dwellers that accidentally fall into the water, dominate the food fare eaten by trout.

Fly fishermen know that during summer months it is worthwhile to switch to hopper, ant or beetle patterns for success. This past August when I fished the Yellowstone River for the first time, I used hopper patterns most of the time to fool rainbows, cutthroats, 'cutbows' and browns. On the Clear Fork, beetle patterns have proven successful during summer months. Yet many fly fishermen seem to know little about the terrestrial insects that they imitate with their fly patterns. In this article I will discuss those black beetles that comprise such an important part of a trouts mid-year diet

Beetles, by far and away, are the most numerous of insect species on earth, making up more than one-third of the million or more insect species described by entomologists. Beetles are found in about every ecological niche possible; in the soil, on and inside living (See the Full Article...)