Fishing foam beetle flies

Fishing beetle flies

One of the most important terrestrial foods for trout is beetles. In the south there are two species of beetles which are recognised by anglers as being seasonally important food sources for the trout. The brown beetle and the green beetle. There is a third type of fuzzy brown beetle which is also important to trout, for a longer period of the year than many people realise, but will not be discussed here.

The brown beetle hatches out from early November onwards and is particularly characteristic of lowland areas where there are improved pastures. Lowland streams come alive just on dusk as the brown beetles hatch out and, some accidentally crashing onto the water on dusk. The trout will come out from underneath undercut banks and from under neath trees to take the brown beetles buzzing on the surface in a frenzied panic. The trout’s rise lasts for up to an hour after dusk. Warm nights, especially with a north westerly breeze, provide the best conditions. Some large trout can be caught on beetle flies. I caught a seven pounder in the LII on dusk on Christmas eve a few years ago. The trout took 45 minutes to subdue, by which time the rise was over. The brown beetle hatch is most prolific around Christmas time and dies away by late January.

By early December the manuka trees start flowering and the green beetle hatches out in vast numbers. These small metallic green beetles fall onto the waters’ of high country lakes when a gentle breeze starts up. Sometimes it take the trout a while to cue onto these beetles, but once the rise starts, normally around 10am and it will go until mid-afternoon, by which time the trout have often filled themselves up on a bounty of beetles and cease feeding. Often the trouts’ rise to the green beetle is very subtle. Having a low profile beetle fly that sits in the surface film works well. Especially on cautious fish that shy away from high floating dry flies. Also on many high country lakes the trout will take a green beetle dry when there is no apparent surface rise. The trout will often discretely sip the beetles in.

I like to tie a green beetle pattern with a chestnut hackle under a small black foam body, which has a sheet of metallic green ribbon over the top. The fly flickers from the chestnut hackles on to the green when it turns on it’s side. The fly is quite discrete so it must be watched carefully . The green beetles fall on the water until mid-March (much latter in the season than many people realise) and offer a chance to catch trout in many of our high country lakes. The green beetle fly is also effective when fishing headwater rivers to well educated trout. At times when fishing to educated trout I will take the green back of the fly and fish a “black beetle“, which has worked well for me at locations such as Lake Marymere. The chestnut hackle is I believe a key trigger in both brown and green beetle patterns. Foam flies can be realistically shaped and are easy to tie. I use either a size 12-14 hook for beetle patterns.

So far I have referred to beetles as floating on the surface. Yet as time goes by the beetles slowly sink, so fishing a beetle imitation as a nymph, under the surface is also highly effective, yet over looked. The weighted beetle fly is fished underneath a large black dry fly, such as a Black Gnat, or underneath an indicator and allowed to drift along foam lines along the lakes’ shore. But that’s another story…