These bugs will help you get bites
Though the year's major aquatic insect hatches are now a memory, opportunities still exist for taking stream trout on flies.
Terrestrial insects — land-based bugs — comprise a large portion of a trout's diet. Anglers who use patterns that duplicate terrestrial bugs will enjoy success throughout late summer and early fall.
Consider the recent cicada hatch that occurred in good numbers in the central portion of the state. West Kittanning angler Mark Transue made a number of expeditions to the Little Juniata River to partake in the exceptional action that occurred when big trout were keyed in on the big bugs.
"It was some of the most exceptional trout fishing that I've ever experienced in Pennsylvania," said Transue. "It was unique, taking trout on a dry fly that big and bulky. The other factor was the aggressiveness of the fish, the way they'd attack the fly. There wasn't much messing around. They'd really attack it."
Also known as the 17-year locust (even though cicadas are not true locust), the lifecycle of the cicada is one of 17 years. But with eight separate broods present in the state, it won't be necessary to wait until 2025 for the next opportunity to occur.
Cicada frequency aside, there are a host of terrestrial bugs that occur on a much more regular basis. Each summer, the likes of grasshoppers, crickets and ants become a favorite fodder of stream trout. Transue, who likes to fish a dry fly when possible, prefers duplicating an ant.
"I prefer to fish ants because they are small," he said. "They aren't wind resistant like grasshopper and cricket patterns."
Transue fishes an ant in a number 18. Though he prefers fishing it as a dry fly, he acknowledges that an ant, like most terrestrial patterns, will catch trout when fished subsurface as a wet fly. He fishes the bug on a 3 weight line, using a fine tippet.
The best stream condition for fishing terrestrial patterns like ants is low, clear water, which happens to be how most streams run this time of year. And while fish can be taken by blindly casting over likely looking water, the odds favor the angler who drops an ant in just the right spot.
"Tight against the bank is usually the best way to go," said Transue. "You want to be pretty accurate with your casts. Any overhanging brush is ideal. Fish like to lie back in those undercuts and overhanging trees. And it's a likely spot for ants to be dropping in the water."
As with most forms of fishing, weather is a factor here. Transue advises against trying terrestrial patterns following a heavy rain that clouds up the water. A brief shower that comes and goes without heavily staining the water, though, can be a plus. He theorizes that rain drops knock bugs out of streamside trees and brush, as fish often go on the feed following such a shower.
The same can be said of wind. Wind not only propels insects into the water, it also disturbs the water's surface, making it harder for fish to detect an approaching angler.
Due to the lack of prolonged hot spells, coupled with regular amounts of rainfall, most area trout streams have higher than normal amounts of trout in them for this time of year. Gearing up with a few terrestrial patterns is a sure way of catching some of these holdovers.
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
