Questions on Beetle & Ant Patterns

[Zonk]

I've started using fur ant patterns (size 18 - 20) the past few summers with moderate success. Sometimes I'm able to get a rising fish to take a small ant after refusing just about everything else.

My question is has anybody had success fishing ants and beetles as "searching" patterns (ie. nothing rising at the time)? I'm talking about generally realistic patterns not Chernobyl Ants.

I've read that people do have success with these as a searching dry, but I'm so used to using large Stimulators, Humpies, etc. as an attractor that I lack confidence a non-rising fish would move for a small ant or beetle pattern on the surface, particularly on the Catskill tailwaters. Is my skepticism warranted?

Also I usually don't start using ants until late July early August. Perhaps I should start using them earlier in the spring?

Thanks.

Zonk

 

[Bobby_Wilds]

well, i dont know about using ants or beetles as a searching pattern, but i do have a variation of a caddis that i use as a searching fly. i have them from size 20 or so up to a 14, so the smaller fly has worked.

 

[PRomano]

First trout I ever caught on a dry fly was with a black fur ant.
On small to mid size streams with lots of overhanging trees/brush; I use them as searching patterns during the summer months. They work great!

 

[Andy B]

Hi Zonk:

Fishing with Ants and foam Beetles in the summer months specialy when nothing is rising would be good patterns. I would say they would be more productive if fished around over hanging trees and brush. Keep in mind that Ants really come active in the late spring so fishing them a little earlier would not be a bad thing. Keep in mind that Inch Worms, Bee's, Ants, Beetle's are all out and about and do drop into the water were a hungry trout will always find them and happily eat them. Just because there is no hatch going on does not mean that terestrials are not present and falling into the stream. Hope this helps you a bit

Sincerely
Andy BRasko

 

[Zonk]

Thanks guys, come this summer I'll have to fish a searching ant with more confidence. It's amazing how much better a fly fishes once you are confident about it.

Zonk

 

[theartoflee]

If you are going to break out the trestrials try the McMurray ant. This is a fly you can fish with confidence.

 

[Zonk]

Nice tie! Like the hi-vis paint job. Looks like it would float like a cork as well. I'll give the McMurray a try.

Zonk

 

[gadfly]

I have had great success fishing dry ants. I tend to fish them more on windy days when ants are more likely to get blown into the water. As others have suggested, I fish them on the banks near overhanging vegetation. I also like to use them along rock walls.

I've never used beetles much on the east coast, but they proved to be a deadly searching pattern out in MT last August. I plan to experiment with them more next year in my normal haunts.
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[Andy]

I never prospect with a small dry fly I can hardly see; I simply cannot follow it and fish it effectively. Even hi-viz ties are difficult for me to follow in varying light patterns and currents. A couple of seasons back I had a big brown literally swallow a size 10 black beetle which I couldn't see and thought was elsewhere. I'd much rather prospect with nymphs since I can watch the visible line or strike indicator.

 

[PRomano]

I never prospect with a small dry fly I can hardly see; I simply cannot follow it and fish it effectively. Even hi-viz ties are difficult for me to follow in varying light patterns and currents. A couple of seasons back I had a big brown literally swallow a size 10 black beetle which I couldn't see and thought was elsewhere. I'd much rather prospect with nymphs since I can watch the visible line or strike indicator.

I have the same problem. Why not use a strike indicator when fishing dries? I use a large easy to see pattern. Henryville Special in size 12. Works great... give it a try.

 

[PAflyguy]

I've never used an ant as a searching fly, but a beetle will work. the difference is that the beetle has a big body and when tied right makes that "plop" on the water. My experience with terrestrials is that if you don't see a fish actively feeding then it's all about that plop sound. Fish get used to hearing bugs hit the water and will come running to check it out.

 

[Trout Nazi]

Put a tiny glop of that moldable, biodegradable, strike-indicator putty on your tippet knot when fishing small flies, just a little, you'll be able to see better then.

 

[PRomano]

Put a tiny glop of that moldable, biodegradable, strike-indicator putty on your tippet knot when fishing small flies, just a little, you'll be able to see better then.

I always wanted to try putty but I had a feeling it would come off during casting. Does it hold well?

 

[Agust]

I always wanted to try putty but I had a feeling it would come off during casting. Does it hold well?

Using big old blobs of putty instead of cork or yarn indicators does result in lots of launched bits of putty. But if you put a little bit on your knots it tends to stay on. This way you can follow the dots to track your fly, its actually quite effective and does not produce the hinge that large indicators do. (Of course the hinge is sometimes beneficial so as with most things this is not a panacea to replace all other types of indicator strategies.

Back on topic, I like foam ants with bright white wings (so you can see them) as searching patterns. But have more luck using beetles to search, usually with a dollop of bright nail polish n the back. On really small stream, I tend to go with a yellow stonefly imitation, mostly because they hatch all summer and fish get used to seeing them. On bigger stream, like the Pequest or Musky I like terrestrials under bushes. On Really big water like the west branch or beaverkill, I tend to just walk until I see a rise. Searching there scares more fish than it catches.

 

[jlajoie]

I fished a black indicator beetle on the B-kill last year, with much success some days. It was later in the summer, but it was bringing them in on every other cast. Great searching pattern, and the hi-vis orange dot is easy to see.

 

[mbwmn]

I have the same problem. Why not use a strike indicator when fishing dries? I use a large easy to see pattern. Henryville Special in size 12. Works great... give it a try.

I use a large elkhair caddis or october caddis as an indicator frequently... even w/ emergers...it really pays off fishing tiny dries in the evening.

(makes the tiny ones much easier to see when I put them in the trees. :crap

 

[Andy]

I have used--and continue to use--two dry flies with one being more visible and acting as a locator. However, since up to 90% of the food a trout takes is subsurface, I think nymphs--to include a dry with a nymph dropper--is the more productive way to go when prospecting.

I gave up on strike putty after the first time I tried it. It sits too low in the water and I just couldn't follow it in foam, tricky currents and varing light. I found the same thing true with my orange steelheading line--if the light was right I could see it fine. Against a dark backround and on overcast days it was useless. Pinch-on adhesive indicators were more visible but resulted in twisted, snarled tippets.

 

[Zonk]

I have used--and continue to use--two dry flies with one being more visible and acting as a locator. QUOTE]


Andy,

When you use two dries what is the length and size of the tippet you are using between the two?

I tried the two dries before, but didn't have much success. I felt that micro drag from one fly would impact the drift of the other. Maybe I should have been using a longer and lighter tippet between the two.

Zonk