Japanese Beetle
Fly of the Month 05.13
Japanese Beetle
In May, the aquatic insect hatch is at it’s peak and you should already have a good supply of mayfly, caddis and stonefly dry fly patterns in full use. At least through mid-June, duns and caddis dry fly patterns are a must. However, at this point in your tying schedule you need to be getting ready for the summer months and tying flies that will serve you well from June through September. One of the insects that dominates the Southern Appalachians is the invasive Japanese Beetle. Like it or not, the Japanese Beetle is now a long-time permanent resident and is highly successful because it has few natural enemies here in the United States. That’s bad news for flowering plants as this beetle can deleaf a small shrub in a matter of a few weeks. The plants look terrible yet they do seem to survive the ordeal.
Japanese Beetle
The good news is that Japanese Beetles are available in huge numbers anywhere flowering plants are near the stream. This beetle, like most beetles is clumsy in flight and landing. This beetle very often ends up in the stream rather than on the plant when it tries to fly around. Also, windy days reak havock for the Japanese Beetle in flight. So, for the angler, the Japanese Beetle is an ideal insect to imitate. Even before the terrestrial season, the Japanese Beetle is working the flowing plants and falling in the stream. It’s as if you encounter a beetle hatch. This beetle is found throughout the Southern Appalachians and available for a longer period than most other native beetles. With few natural enemies, the numbers are often of a scale that trout seem to readily identify and pounce on the Japanese Beetle whenever they fall into the stream.
Although the Japanese Beetle is a more recent addition to the food supply for our trout, the Japanese Beetle fly patterns may be found in most fly shops and produced by all major fly pattern suppliers world-wide. The local tradition of using the Japanese Beetle can be traced back 30-40 years in the Southern Appalachians. One of the first successful fly pattern imitations is Roger Lowes’ Japanese Beetle.
This is a fairly easy fly pattern with a simple materials list. Peacock sword herl provides a near perfect color and texture for the body. Japanese Beetles generally are found in huge numbers with all of them the same size 14 or maybe size 16 depending on the brand of hook utlized.
To fish the Japanese Beetle, the presentation needs to be a kur-plunk! Beetles fall off plants, beetles fall out of flight. Beetles are bulky and make an announced splash that a trout will recognize even from a distance. That kur-plunk sound travels quickly and loudly in water.
When fly fishing any bulky terrestrial, the kur-plunk is followed by a natural drift with gentle twitching that gives the impression of a stuggle. Since the beetle is bulky, all a natural beetle can do is create some movement with it’s legs. The wings are rendered somewhat motionless due to the bulky wing covers that normally shield the wings when fully folded and put away.
A beetle eventually sinks over a distance as their bulkiness is heavier than water, thus if the dry fly Japanese Beetle pattern sinks along the drift, let it sink! However, let it continue to sink without any drag until you have completed your full drift downstream and ready to retrieve the fly for another pass. After several drifts you will need to re-apply floatant to achieve an initial float prior to each sink.
On thing to keep in mind, trout in the Southern Appalachians are opportunistic and will likely hit a Japanese Beetle fly pattern from June to September even if there is no evidence of a flowering plant nearby with Japanese Beetles falling into the water. The Japanese Beetle is a great
terrestrial pattern to begin the summertime terrestrial fly fishing early and often. Also note, the Hot Creek Special we presented last month is of a similar color due to the peacock herl and it is designed to attract trout on the hottest days of the year. No wonder the Japanese Beetle fly pattern works so well.
Fly of the Month 05.13 Japanese Beetle
(Japanese Beetle per Roger Lowe)
Hook: Wet Fly, Tiemco 5212 or equivalent, Size: 10, 12, 14, 16,
Thread: 8/0 Uni or equivalent in Rusty Brown
Body: Peacock Herl
Abdomen Case and Thorax Shield: Swiss Straw in Brown and Olive, respectively
Legs: Peacock Herl
Directions:
1) Debarb, mount the hook and tie in the thread three eyelengths from the eye. Wrap in tight, touching wraps to above where the barb was and move with tight wraps to the two thirds mark (toward the eye). Let the bobbin hang.
2) Cut a three inch piece of brown Swiss straw and trim one end to a point. Tie in by the point at about the two thirds mark to cover the abdomen. By lifting the straw as you tie toward the hook bend you can maintain its position on top of the hook shank. Wrap to the barb location and push the straw away, toward the hook bend. Let the bobbin hang.
3) Select four to six herl strands and tie in just in front of the straw. This time, tie the herl in at their base, instead of the tips. This will be stronger and bulkier for the body segments. After securing and advancing the thread in firm wraps to the two thirds mark, let the bobbin hang. Grasp the herl and spin into a rope. Wrap the herl rope forward and back and then forward again to from the abdomen. The shape should be pretty bulky. This is a beetle, not a mayfly. Secure the herl with thread and trim away the excess and tidy up the ends. Let the bobbin hang in front of the abdomen.
4) Take the straw with your fingers and bring forward, pulling deliberately while maintaining the position on top of the hook shank. Use the thread to bind in the straw immediately and tight to the herl abdomen. Secure with several wraps and position it to within a few turns of the eye (do not crowd the eye). By wrapping the brown straw on top of the shank you have added some bulk and kept the thickness of the material on the hook even. Trim the waste and bring the thread back to between the abdomen and thorax.
5) Cut a three in piece of olive Swiss straw and tie in tight to the abdomen, keeping the material on top of the hook shank. Trim away excess.
6) Select a peacock herl and fold in half. Tie in immediately forward of the abdomen. They should form sort of an "X" look.
7. Select three or four peacock herls and tie in like you did for the abdomen. Make a rope and wrap. Do not crowd the eye.
8. Bring the straw forward over the legs and thorax to form the shield. Tie in, trim the waste and form a thread head.
9. Whip finish and cement.
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker
Japanese Beetle
In May, the aquatic insect hatch is at it’s peak and you should already have a good supply of mayfly, caddis and stonefly dry fly patterns in full use. At least through mid-June, duns and caddis dry fly patterns are a must. However, at this point in your tying schedule you need to be getting ready for the summer months and tying flies that will serve you well from June through September. One of the insects that dominates the Southern Appalachians is the invasive Japanese Beetle. Like it or not, the Japanese Beetle is now a long-time permanent resident and is highly successful because it has few natural enemies here in the United States. That’s bad news for flowering plants as this beetle can deleaf a small shrub in a matter of a few weeks. The plants look terrible yet they do seem to survive the ordeal.
Japanese Beetle
The good news is that Japanese Beetles are available in huge numbers anywhere flowering plants are near the stream. This beetle, like most beetles is clumsy in flight and landing. This beetle very often ends up in the stream rather than on the plant when it tries to fly around. Also, windy days reak havock for the Japanese Beetle in flight. So, for the angler, the Japanese Beetle is an ideal insect to imitate. Even before the terrestrial season, the Japanese Beetle is working the flowing plants and falling in the stream. It’s as if you encounter a beetle hatch. This beetle is found throughout the Southern Appalachians and available for a longer period than most other native beetles. With few natural enemies, the numbers are often of a scale that trout seem to readily identify and pounce on the Japanese Beetle whenever they fall into the stream.
Although the Japanese Beetle is a more recent addition to the food supply for our trout, the Japanese Beetle fly patterns may be found in most fly shops and produced by all major fly pattern suppliers world-wide. The local tradition of using the Japanese Beetle can be traced back 30-40 years in the Southern Appalachians. One of the first successful fly pattern imitations is Roger Lowes’ Japanese Beetle.
This is a fairly easy fly pattern with a simple materials list. Peacock sword herl provides a near perfect color and texture for the body. Japanese Beetles generally are found in huge numbers with all of them the same size 14 or maybe size 16 depending on the brand of hook utlized.
To fish the Japanese Beetle, the presentation needs to be a kur-plunk! Beetles fall off plants, beetles fall out of flight. Beetles are bulky and make an announced splash that a trout will recognize even from a distance. That kur-plunk sound travels quickly and loudly in water.
When fly fishing any bulky terrestrial, the kur-plunk is followed by a natural drift with gentle twitching that gives the impression of a stuggle. Since the beetle is bulky, all a natural beetle can do is create some movement with it’s legs. The wings are rendered somewhat motionless due to the bulky wing covers that normally shield the wings when fully folded and put away.
A beetle eventually sinks over a distance as their bulkiness is heavier than water, thus if the dry fly Japanese Beetle pattern sinks along the drift, let it sink! However, let it continue to sink without any drag until you have completed your full drift downstream and ready to retrieve the fly for another pass. After several drifts you will need to re-apply floatant to achieve an initial float prior to each sink.
On thing to keep in mind, trout in the Southern Appalachians are opportunistic and will likely hit a Japanese Beetle fly pattern from June to September even if there is no evidence of a flowering plant nearby with Japanese Beetles falling into the water. The Japanese Beetle is a great
terrestrial pattern to begin the summertime terrestrial fly fishing early and often. Also note, the Hot Creek Special we presented last month is of a similar color due to the peacock herl and it is designed to attract trout on the hottest days of the year. No wonder the Japanese Beetle fly pattern works so well.
Fly of the Month 05.13 Japanese Beetle
(Japanese Beetle per Roger Lowe)
Hook: Wet Fly, Tiemco 5212 or equivalent, Size: 10, 12, 14, 16,
Thread: 8/0 Uni or equivalent in Rusty Brown
Body: Peacock Herl
Abdomen Case and Thorax Shield: Swiss Straw in Brown and Olive, respectively
Legs: Peacock Herl
Directions:
1) Debarb, mount the hook and tie in the thread three eyelengths from the eye. Wrap in tight, touching wraps to above where the barb was and move with tight wraps to the two thirds mark (toward the eye). Let the bobbin hang.
2) Cut a three inch piece of brown Swiss straw and trim one end to a point. Tie in by the point at about the two thirds mark to cover the abdomen. By lifting the straw as you tie toward the hook bend you can maintain its position on top of the hook shank. Wrap to the barb location and push the straw away, toward the hook bend. Let the bobbin hang.
3) Select four to six herl strands and tie in just in front of the straw. This time, tie the herl in at their base, instead of the tips. This will be stronger and bulkier for the body segments. After securing and advancing the thread in firm wraps to the two thirds mark, let the bobbin hang. Grasp the herl and spin into a rope. Wrap the herl rope forward and back and then forward again to from the abdomen. The shape should be pretty bulky. This is a beetle, not a mayfly. Secure the herl with thread and trim away the excess and tidy up the ends. Let the bobbin hang in front of the abdomen.
4) Take the straw with your fingers and bring forward, pulling deliberately while maintaining the position on top of the hook shank. Use the thread to bind in the straw immediately and tight to the herl abdomen. Secure with several wraps and position it to within a few turns of the eye (do not crowd the eye). By wrapping the brown straw on top of the shank you have added some bulk and kept the thickness of the material on the hook even. Trim the waste and bring the thread back to between the abdomen and thorax.
5) Cut a three in piece of olive Swiss straw and tie in tight to the abdomen, keeping the material on top of the hook shank. Trim away excess.
6) Select a peacock herl and fold in half. Tie in immediately forward of the abdomen. They should form sort of an "X" look.
7. Select three or four peacock herls and tie in like you did for the abdomen. Make a rope and wrap. Do not crowd the eye.
8. Bring the straw forward over the legs and thorax to form the shield. Tie in, trim the waste and form a thread head.
9. Whip finish and cement.
- Tom Adams, Alen Baker