TRUE TERRESTRIAL INSECTS

Terrestrial insects are insects that spend their whole life living above the surface of the water and the fact that they find themselves on or in the water is a mistake. They may be there because the fell of a plant overhanging the water, they may be blown there, they may be washed into the water by rain, waves or other water action or they may have simply just made a mistake stepping or flying in the wrong direction.

Once a terrestrial finds itself on the water it struggles making itself more obvious to hungry trout. If however it doesn’t get taken by a trout at that stage, and doesn’t make itself to safety it will die and eventually either wash up on the shore or simply sink. As insects sink they also move onto the trouts “shopping list” and this is particularly so in wind lanes where terrestrial insects may only be take once they have sunk.

Consequently its worth considering either tying the following types of insects in both floating or sinking versions or at least being able to sink a fly otherwise designed to float.

GRASSHOPPERS, LOCUST AND CRICKETS (ORDER ORTHOPTERA)

Whilst there are over 2000 species of Grasshoppers and Locust in Australia there are really only three "hoppers" that are of significance to fly fishers.

The first hopper of significance to fly fishers is of the sub-family Phaulacridium and commonly referred to as “Wingless Hoppers” even though the adult stages do have either sub-wings or fully developed wings. From a fly tiers point of view these hoppers are around 20 mm in length when mature and the dominant colour is a greyish brown with the ventral side of the abdomen tending toward a creamy straw colour. They have stout bodies (4:1) and strong hinged legs that may be tinged orange on the outside and / or yellow on the inside.  GO TO BULLET HEAD FOAM HOPPER
The second significant hoppers are from the sub-family Praxibulus and from a fly fishers point of view are best described as “Trouser–brace Hoppers”. The reason for this description is that all members of this sub-family exhibit a dark grey line along each side of the dorsal side of the abdomen. From a fly tiers point of view these hoppers are up to 30 mm in length and the dominant colour can range from green through to a greyish brown. The ventral side of the abdomen tends to be a creamy straw colour and as indicated above there is a dark grey line along each side of the dorsal side of the abdomen darker. They have stout bodies (4:1) and strong-hinged legs that are the same general colour as the body. Their wings are mere stubs.  GO TO SUMMERTIME HOPPER
The third hoppers, and generally the most significance to fly fishers are actually a Locust from the sub-family Gastrimargus and are commonly described as the “Yellow Winged Hoppers”. Whilst wingless hoppers and trouser-brace hoppers generally only hop/fly up to 4 meters at a time yellow winged hoppers can take to the wind and flights from 10-50 metres at a time are the norm. When they appear, like most locust, they are generally in large numbers. They are very large when mature being from 30-40 mm in length and whilst the dominant colour is green as they mature their colouring can lean toward browns and even charcoal. In flight large yellow wings banded by dark grey at the tips dominate them. From a fly tying point of view the ventral side of the abdomen tends to be a cream or buff in colour and they have wing casings extending beyond the body. They have stout bodies (5:1) and strong-hinged legs and the underside of the thighs range from pink to claret.  GO TO YELLOW WINGED HOPPER

HOPPER FLY PATTERNS
Hoppers and crickets are normally fished as dry flies but it is worth noting that as some hoppers drown and sink fishing a hopper pattern wet or drowned can result in some spectacular success.

General form and colour together with presentation and how you fish them will help you fool the fish. Whether fished dry or wet by in large all hopper patterns should be fished in the current with as little line drag as possible or with short jerking strips or twitches.

Good representations include

YELLOW WINGED HOPPER

BULLET HEAD FOAM HOPPER

SUMMERTIME HOPPER

DEER HAIR HOPPER
GLEN INNES HOPPER
NOELS NOBBY HOPPER
STIMULATOR
FOAM HOPPER
ELK HAIR CADDIS IN LARGER SIZES

CRICKET FLY PATTERNS
“Black Crickets” of the sub-family Teleogryllus move around freely at night and often find them self in trouble in the water. Like their hopper and locust cousins they are high in protein and sought after by trout. From a fly tiers point of view these crickets are up to 25mm in length when mature and they are black all over. They have stout bodies (4 to 5:1) and strong-hinged legs that normally present extended rather than bent as is often the case with hoppers. Depending on their stage in development wing casings can be mere stubs or the full length of the body.   “Crickets” should be fished in the current with as little line drag as possible or with short jerking strips or twitches.  It is worth noting that drowned hopper flies will also work because whilst most of the naturals are taken on the surface some do sink and are still taken by trout and other fish.

General form and colour together with presentation and how you fish them will help you fool the fish. Whilst there are quite a few cricket patterns out there it’s not really necessary to carry more than one representation in your fly box.

BLACK CRICKET
BLACK MUDDLER MINNOW
 

BEETLES (ORDER COLEOPTERA)

Many different types of beetles are fond in the vegetation around Lake Jindabyne and lake Eucumbene. There are those that live in forests, other that live in pastures and yet others peculiar to tussock ridden high country grasslands. Sizes and colour vary significantly as do the patterns that represent them. Because Beetles are blown onto the water rather than intending to be there it is common to find a number of different types of Beetles on the trout's “shopping list” at the one time.

Some of the more commonly encountered beetles include the Fiery Brown, various Gum beetles and even Ladybird beetles.
 

BEETLE FLY PATTERNS
“Beetles” should be fished in the current with as little line drag as possible or with a very short twitching action. A nondescript well-tied Beetle pattern if presented in the right way at the right time will be taken by the trout more often than and consequently no fly box would be complete without a selection of beetle patterns. Keep in mind also that the same flies can be fished wet to represent drowned beetles or some of the numerous true aquatic beetles. Good representations include:

RED TAG
HUMPY
COCK-Y-BONDDU
FOAM BEETLE

SPIDERS (ORDER ARACHNID)

It’s not uncommon to find spiders around water and like any other terrestrial insect they can find themselves in the water and on the trout's menu. Whilst you couldn’t say that its common to see spiders on the water around Lake Jindabyne or Lake Eucumbene I am sure they must be there. One of the most successful patterns I have used, as a Polaroiding fly over the years has been a simple Spider pattern dressed in Black & Peacock colours. Other spider representations include a similar fly tied with the addition of a bean bag egg sack.

ANTS & TERMITES (ORDER HYMENOPTERA)

Ants by nature are foragers. There are over 4,000 species of ant in Australia and those that are of interest to fly fishers fall into two basic forms.

The first are the wingless ants that live near the water. They forage on the ground amongst the vegetation and even in the trees. It’s no wonder that many fall, are swept, or are blown into the water and are scoffed down by trout. Whilst size may vary from 12mm to 20mm and colour may vary from black or red / brown or a combination of the both their structure is basically the same.

The second form is the flying ant. Flying ants swarm in warm weather generally toward the ends of the day to seek out new nesting sites. Because they are poor fliers they rely on thermal winds to assist their flight. The thermals abate as temperatures drop and so do many of the ants sometimes landing on water becoming food for waiting trout. There are many spider patterns but its best to keep it simple and just stick with one pattern that you have confidence in.

Whilst termites take several forms it is only the flying termite (or Termite alate) that is of interest to the fly fisher. Like flying ants they swam from their nests in suitable conditions to seek out new nesting sites. Because those sites are often close to bodies of water these poor fliers also often land on water becoming food for trout. Termites are nymphal in shape but have wings around twice the length of the body. Colours range from pale creams though to mid tone of brown and whilst ant patterns tied in the appropriate colour, with or without the addition of wings, work just fine there are also specific termite patterns that incorporate wings.

BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS (ORDER LEPIDOPTERA)

Whilst there are over 10,000 species of Butterflies and Moths present in Australia only the Bogong Moth is of any serious significance to fly fishers. As the weather heats up in Spring heralding the hotter days of summer to come Bogong Moths retreat from their pastoral lowland habitats to the relative cool of the high country. Once there, and depending on the numbers present, large numbers can find their way into the water and onto the trouts shopping list. The rest of the Butterflies and Moths are relatively good fliers and only a few wayward specimens find themselves filling a gap on the trout’s menu. The same goes for Caterpillars. Only a few fall into the water and the numbers are insufficient to justify their own imitative fly. A pale muddler minnow is about the only moth representation that I generally carry.

CICADAS & JASSIDS (ORDER HEMIPTERA)

Toward Christmas conversation is often drowned out by the noisy call of the cicadas. Cicadas feed in the trees and some in the grass and clumsily fly from feeding station to feeding station. Their erratic flights often come to grief causing them crash sometimes into the water where they are readily accepted by trout. They are also sought after by birds and their frantic escaping tactics may also cause them to come to grief in the water.  They are solid wedged shaped insects with stout bodies (3:1). They come in two basic sizes. The large ones like “Green Grocers”, “Black Princes”, “Brown Bombers” and “Yellow Moodys” and are around 40mm in length. From their names you will be able to guess the dominant colour of the big cicadas. They can be imitated with a fly but the size makes the fly difficult to cast.  You can however scale the size down a little making them much more enjoyable to fish and an overall size of around 30mm is a good compromise. At the smaller end there are the “Tom Thumbs” they are only about 25mm in length they are generally mottled brown / charcoal in colour and a good size for a fly.

Jassid are small wedged shaped insects of between 5mm and 7mm in length. Whilst they are well recognized in Tasmania it seems that small populations also populate sections of high country NSW and Victoria. Their wings are steely blue in colour and their bodies are scarlet to orange. They live and feed in gum trees where their sugary secretions are sought after by ants. Whilst they can fly they do fall onto the water, often in the company of ants, and are eagerly eaten by trout.

BEES & WASPS (SUPERFAMILY APOIDEA)

There are around 3,000 species of native bees and around 6,000 species of native wasps in Australia. All of them touch down on water to collect moisture. Some make mistakes and touch a little harder than expected and find themselves trapped in the surface film of the water. At that stage they become vulnerable to opportunistic trout rather than to trout looking for a drowned bee or wasp. Because of this low incidence of inclusion of bees and wasps in a trouts diet, size, form and colour variations in the various species, they are only of marginal interest to fly fishers. Most fly fishers settle for a fly imitating another insect, but of the right general size and colour, rather than trying to carry specific bee or wasp imitations.