I suppose a better way of saying “let’s get down to earth” might be to say, “it’s time to start thinking terrestrial.” What I mean is that even though a lot of our mayfly hatches are slowing down and coming to an end, now is the time to start turning to terrestrials or those bugs and insects that live on land but often end up in the water and on the dinner plate of a waiting fish.

As a dedicated fly fisherman for trout, I definitely relish those days when a good mayfly hatch is coming off, and the trout are eagerly taking them. Yes, there are still some fishable hatches like the blue-winged olives that can occur all summer, but now is also a good time to start working the surface with an artificial that imitates some earth-bound critter that accidentally ended up in the water. There’s no shortage of possibilities when it comes to terrestrials; grasshoppers, crickets, ants, caterpillars, bees, and any number of other land insects that walk, crawl or fly are good candidates.

I’m kind of partial to ants and crickets; they are easy to tie if you make your own flies, and they definitely bring strikes. Because the black is hard to see on the water’s surface, I like to add a little bit of colored material to the fly to make it more visible. A good old mop-fly will work for a caterpillar fished wet or in the surface film. One of my favorite ties is a bumblebee imitation tied with a black and yellow banded foam material that floats well. While this pattern would maybe even take trout on occasion, it is a killer on ponds when fishing for bluegills.

Don’t be concerned if you don’t tie your own flies since terrestrials are well represented in places where flies and fly-tying materials are sold. Locally Blue Heron in Milton is a good place to find a good selection of tying materials or a good selection of well-tied flies, including terrestrials. Speaking of tying your own flies, Muncy resident and fishing friend Doug Zehner ties his own patterns, and he is very creative in the process. Doug has already created what looks like a very effective pattern to imitate the cicadas.

The “cicadas,” you ask? That’s a big flying bug that only shows up every seventeen years, and yes, it is now hatching in southern and eastern Pennsylvania; if I understand it correctly, the hatch will show up here in the next year or so.

So how does the Brood X cicada fit into the fishing picture? Last week a friend of mine in southeastern Pennsylvania sent me some video of his private pond; bass and bluegills were gathered under trees and shrubs along the bank, waiting to devour every cicada that fell into the water. The video reminded me of the footage I’ve seen of piranhas in the Amazon devouring some unfortunate critter that fell into the river.

The cicada is a favorite of many fish; trout will readily take it, and it is a great food source for our river smallmouths and largemouths, and even panfish. You may want to stock up on some cicada patterns in the coming months. Obviously, the fly-fishing season is not over — it’s just changing.