TerrestrialbeginnerRocky Mountain West
$3.50
Beetles constitute a staggering percentage of the terrestrial insects trout eat, yet they receive a fraction of the attention lavished on hoppers and ants. This foam beetle corrects the oversight with a shellback design that lands with a soft plop, a peacock herl underbody that provides flash and movement, and an indicator post so you can see it among the real beetles on the water. It is the overlooked middle child of the terrestrial family, and like most overlooked middle children, it outperforms expectations when given the opportunity.
Frying Pan River
CO · Tailwater
Henry's Fork
ID · Spring Creek
Ruby River
MT · Freestone River
Map unavailable. Locations for Foam Beetle: Frying Pan River, CO; Henry's Fork, ID; Ruby River, MT
seasonal playbook
Summer is fly fishing's season of abundance. Sixteen-hour days, prolific hatches, aggressive fish, and the full spectrum from mountain trout to saltwater flats. This is your playbook for making the most of the warmest, longest, most generous months of the fishing year.
hatch guide
Terrestrial insects — hoppers, ants, beetles, and crickets — are not aquatic hatches, but they drive some of the most exciting and productive dry-fly fishing of the year. From midsummer hopper banks to fall ant flights, this is your guide to fishing the land-based food sources that trout cannot resist.
TerrestrialbeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #18
Foam ant pattern with a visible indicator post. Two-tone foam body segments with rubber legs. Floats all day.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout
TerrestrialbeginnerRocky Mountain West
#8 - #14
Foam-bodied attractor dry. Indicator fly for dropper rigs. Floats anything you hang below it.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
TerrestrialbeginnerRocky Mountain West
#6 - #12
Dave Whitlock's grasshopper imitation. Turkey wing, deer hair collar, yellow body. The definitive hopper pattern since the 1970s.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
TerrestrialbeginnerRocky Mountain West
#8 - #14
Ed Shenk's classic cricket imitation. Black deer hair body, dark turkey wing. Originated on Pennsylvania's Letort Spring Run but deadly on western waters.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
Dry FlybeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #22
Tied by Andy Carlson
The universal dry fly. Grizzly hackle, white post, dubbed body. If you cannot identify the hatch, tie on an Adams.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout · Mountain Whitefish
Dry FlybeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #18
Tied by Chris Krueger
Al Troth's iconic caddis imitation. Elk hair wing, palmered hackle. Floats like a cork in fast water.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout