A proven dry fly pattern is terrestrial imitations for early summer to early fall.  Few fly anglers realize how plentiful and frequently these insects become fish food.  Whether a creek, river, pond or a lake you’ll find these insects crawling or flying around.

So how do these land-based insects find their way onto the water?

The wind will shake crawling insects from vegetation and knock flying insects onto the water.  A good summer rain will flush these insects onto the water.

 
I will target my terrestrial presentations to drift under over-hanging tree limbs, next to logs and vegetation along the shoreline.  The disturbance of the fly landing and drifting on the water will draw the attention of the fish – the strike will come from a reflex mode.  One or two casts and I move to the next promising lie.  Fish located along the shoreline and in shallow are usually skittish, so move slowly and quietly into casting position – if possible, avoid entering the water.  This is a “Go to Pattern” in between hatches.
 

Productive terrestrial patterns are the ant, beetle, cricket and grasshopper.
 

Ants

Ants are common everywhere from creeks to lakes and produce good results throughout the day during the summer.  The downside of ants is drawing the fish at a distance – their lack of size, disturbance and audible splat when landing on the water.  I tie my ant patterns is size 14 and 16.

Beetles

A beetle pattern offers a larger profile and increase audible splat when landing on the water than ant pattern.  I’m usually casting a Black Foam Beetle / size 14; this has been a solid producer throughout the summer from sunrise to dusk.
 

Black Foam Beetle

Hook:  Standard dry fly / Light wire

Sizes:  12 and 14

Thread:  Black

Body:  Peacock herl and black closed-cell foam

Legs:  Black round rubber or tinsel material

Crickets

Cricket activity increases during low light conditions (overcast sky, dawn, dusk) – the black cricket provides a bold silhouette.  An aggressive presentation works well – their audible splat, disturbance, size and silhouette are plus during low light conditions.

Grasshopper

My experience has been grasshopper pattern produce best during mid-summer to early fall and from late morning to early evening.  On those hot days, you’ll need target cooler water.  Target broken water and shaded structure (undercut bank, vegetation) – also, these areas are also ambush points for fish and presentation should be aggressive.