One of the best things about summer dry fly fishing is the opportunity to fish terrestrials – hoppers, ants, beetles and other big, land-based bugs. This time of year brings the exciting chance to splash a big grasshopper pattern tight to the bank and see what emerges from below the cutbank.
When it comes to summer dry fly fishing, here are some of our favorite terrestrial patterns that we’d recommend keeping in your fly box this time of year…
GLO ANT
If we've said it a million times before, we'll say it a million times more - out of all the terrestrial patterns you can fish in western states like Colorado during the summer months, ants are by far the most underrated. Rather, the most under-appreciated. Either way, they are not fished enough, especially in mountain creeks and high elevation lakes. And here's one reason why:
Any given mountain range's wind patterns will depend on their topography. However, one pattern quite common in the Rockies is a mountain-valley circulation. In this type of pattern, wind will blow up the valley during the daytime, moving from lower to higher elevations. At night, the winds will change direction and blow back down the valley, from higher to lower elevations.
"Alright then, nerds. What does this have to do with the trout?", you might be wondering.
Both wingless and winged ants are extremely susceptible to the dreaded W. If you've ever fished in (or at least visited) high elevations during the summer, you know how vicious the wind can be. As these strong gusts push up the mountainside, they carry legions of ants with them. These ants then get blown onto the surface of the water, where they will either drown or become food.
Enter the Glo Ant. Originally created by Vince Wilcox of Wiley's Flies, the Glo Ant works as an ant or a beetle imitation. Its multi-colored foam post includes glow-in-the-dark phosphorus, making it visible at night after being "charged up" with a flashlight. It, along with its UNI-Glo Yarn wing, also make the Glo Ant easy to see during the daytime.
The Glo Ant can be fished as a single dry fly, or as the trailing dry in a double dry fly rig. This fly fishes especially well when drowned with 1-2" of the surface. If you love fishing terrestrials, you'll love the Glo Ant.
CHERNOBYL ANT
The origins of the Chernobyl Ant can be traced back to Utah's Green River. In an article for American Angler, Scott Sanchez claims the fly was created by a group of guides in 1990. The crew was attempting to make a pattern to imitate the river's big black crickets.
Sanchez recalls a story he heard from one of the Green River guides involved, Greg Gaddis, in which the guides were together one night, crushing a few too many beers and swapping stories from the water. One member of the group, Allan Woolley, had recently added rubber legs to the pattern the group had been working on. When asked what the name of his new variation would be, Woolley responded, "It doesn't need a fancy name. It's just a damn ant."
One of the other guides, Mark Bennion quickly replied, "But it's a f****** Chernobyl Ant!"
The moniker stuck immediately. And just like that, the Chernobyl Ant had earned its name.
Those Green River guides were really onto something - this fly is something special. The Chernobyl Ant is a big, gaudy terrestrial that is highly visible to both angler and fish. The visibility on this fly is especially impressive considering how low it rides in the water.
The Chernobyl Ant is a perfect example of a “dinner bell” fly. If you haven’t heard the expression, “ringing the dinner bell” refers to slapping the surface of the water with a big dry fly to get the attention of trout in the area. The goal is to get the fish to come investigate the fly and then either eat it, or catch sight of a more natural dropper suspended below the surface.
Use this pattern to imitate grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, beetles, and any other oversized crunchy critter that might take an unintentional swim during the summer months.
HAMBURGLER
When you think of all the different terrestrials that you fish, where do beetles fall in the pecking order? With all the ants and hoppers on the move during western summers, it's hard to not hone in on them. Generally, hopper/ant imitations are easy to see and fish. Beetles, not so much.
Many beetle patterns can be difficult to fish at times, especially as a single dry fly. Beetles vary greatly in size and can measure anywhere from less than 1/8" to nearly 1 inch long. Flies that imitate them can range from a size 6, all the way down to a size 24. Beetles are usually either black or red in color and the flies used to imitate them can be nearly impossible to see at a distance.
From here the Hamburgler was born. Designed by Umpqua Feather Merchants Signature Tyer Andrew Grillos, this fly is a foam beetle pattern with a realistic profile. Grillos created the Hamburgler as a solution to the near invisibility of black beetle patterns.
The Hamburgler features a pink McFlylon parachute post, which keeps the fly visible in almost any conditions. The peacock Ice Dub underbody adds just enough flash to attract attention and mimic the dull shimmer that beetle bodies have. Plus, the rubber legs add in vibrations akin to the legs of a real beetle struggling on the surface.
Put all the pieces together, and you have a beetle pattern that floats like cork, is easy to see, and is even easier to fish. We love fishing this pattern in high mountain lakes, backcountry creeks, and medium freestone rivers. Fish this fly close to the bank, drifting it under vegetation or other overhanging structure.
ANT ACID
We're all familiar with Kelly Galloup's steamers. The Sex Dungeon, the Barely Legal, the Peanut Envy, the Zoo Cougar... the list goes on and on. And while the streamers he creates are some of the best in the industry, KG is by no means a one-trick pony. The man can do it all - this bug is a great example of that fact.
Enter the Ant Acid. Distributed by Montana Fly Company, Galloup will be the first to tell you that his shop, The Slide Inn, sells more of this pattern than any other terrestrial. Exactly why becomes clear when you fish this bug - it consistently produces trout.
The Ant Acid was designed to imitate a flying ant that has fallen onto the surface of the water. Flying ants will leave their nests early in the summer for a couple of reasons - either to search for food within their territory, or go looking for a new territory to inhabit. When these ants are flying, they become susceptible to strong winds. If a sudden gust knocks an ant onto the water, he can not just fly away. Instead, the ant will get stuck in the surface film, moving its legs and trying to work towards shore.
Just like with all of Galloup's flies, the proportions are key. The Ant Acid was designed to match the pronounced segmentation of an ant's bulbous, hourglass shape. Ants have a large head and abdomen, with a thorax that is more slim. To imitate the shape, Galloup uses the same color of dubbing for both the abdomen and the head, while the fly's thorax is an alternate color. The thorax on this fly acts as a clear indicator of where the head/abdomen start and end, but also as a hotspot for trout that are looking up for a meal.
BABY BOY HOPPER
Created by Charlie Craven, the Baby Boy Hopper is a pint-sized variation of Craven's popular Charlie Boy Hopper. Like its big brother, the Baby Boy floats like cork, is easy to see on the water, and does a great job of imitating the silhouette of a real grasshopper. But while the Charlie Boy is an excellent pattern to use midsummer to early fall, the Baby Boy Hopper is an early summer all-star.
Grasshoppers hatch from their eggs in the late spring or early summer, as the weather begins to warm. Hopper nymphs look just like the adults, except they are smaller, do not have wings, and have bodies that are not yet fully formed. These juvenile hoppers are extra vulnerable during this stage and are often picked off by birds, mice, reptiles, etc. They are also susceptible to strong winds and can easily get blown onto the water - where they become an easy meal for trout watching the banks.
The Baby Boy Hopper is also excellent as a buoyant dry fly for dry dropper rigs on small water. It hits the surface with a little plop, compared to the thunderous splash of a larger foam hopper. The proportions on this bug make it one of the best grasshopper patterns you can fish in creeks.
THUNDER THIGHS HOPPER
The brainchild of Umpqua Feather Merchants Signature Tyer Eric Paramore, the Thunder Thighs Hopper was created to provide anglers with a realistic grasshopper imitation. While the rubber legs of a Chubby Chernobyl and other comparable bugs do their best, the split foam legs of the Thunder Thighs allow the pattern to sit on the surface just like a real grasshopper. Don't take it from us; the pattern's creator sums it up best in this excerpt from a post on FlyFishingTheSierra.com:
"This pattern has all the right qualities to be a real fish catcher. It has rubber legs, a foam bullet head and a very realistic silhouette. The legs of the hopper may seem a bit excessive, but I noticed last year that the trout, especially late in the season, liked this style of hopper with the over-sized legs, or Thunder Thighs. This realistic foam hopper pattern is easy to tie, and it can be tied in any color combination. As the summer went on, this hopper seemed to fish better and better. The realistic silhouette of this grasshopper pattern with its thick foam/rubber legs, bullet-head, large eyes and flashy wing seemed to trigger trout consistently throughout the summer, even in low, clear, late summer conditions. The realistic legs on this pattern set this terrestrial apart from most other hoppers.”
Looking to fill a box of more of our favorite patterns? Shop more of our Summer Fly Favorites!
Contact Us With Questions
Have questions about dry fly fishing or need help getting started? Please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to help at the fly shop in Littleton. Or you can give us a call at 303-794-1104. Have fun fishing those terrestrial patterns this summer!