Terrestrials are land insects that end up in the water and wish they hadn’t.

Consider fishing terrestrials in the wind, or when the water rises. Terrestrial drift can provide a great deal of food for a fish in a day. Terrestrial drift is largely a surface phenomenon but it can also trigger subsurface feeding.

Be aware of Grasshoppers and Crickets in areas of high grass. (Lots of nutrition for the trout’s effort.) Willow Beetles, Japanese Beetles, Jassids and Inchworms find themselves in the water and become trout food. 

During Fran Goughs insect study he placed nets in a riffle and checked them every hour on the hour periodically for 4 months. We noticed substantial numbers of Ants in the drift during the early morning hours.

I believe ants have a flavor that fish relish and are one of a trout’s favorite foods.

I’ve seen cautious, energy efficiently feeding trout turn themselves inside out to get an ant. They love em. I don’t think the color is important as long as the silhouette is right. Fish them dead drift on top, bottom or in tandem

From my eBook, Reflections, Observations, and Advice from a Trout Bum
Copyright 2016, Rodney Glenn Rohrbach, Jr., All Rights Reserved