I realize that as we move into late summer, trout fishing is far from a top priority for most fishermen; instead, most of us are focusing our attention on bass, panfish, and other warm-water species. I’ll put my share of time in on all those warm-water fish as well, but I’m a bit of a diehard trout fisherman, and I know trout can still provide some great action. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve talked with a few other trout enthusiasts, and they have updated me on some fine trout excursions on several area streams as well.

Our smaller mountain trout streams will often produce some decent trout fishing throughout the summer and even into fall, but we generally don’t see that same scenario in our average and larger sized streams. Normally by late summer many of our average and larger sized streams tend to be very low, slow-moving streams with higher water temperatures not conducive to good trout activity. Over the past two summers, however, frequent rains have kept stream flows at good levels and probably helped to hold water temperatures down a bit.

Last week after spotting a few trout raising in one of our local mid-sized streams, I couldn’t help but run home and gather my fly-fishing gear and head out for a couple of hours in hopes of connecting on one or two trout. Conditions were hardly ideal; it was a bright sunny day with temperatures in the mid-eighties. The water levels were good for this time of year and fairly clear, but there were no hatches of any kind-not unusual for this time of year. I waded in, flyrod ready but my confidence was admittedly low until I spotted what was undoubtedly a trout snatching something from the surface.

As I studied the situation, it soon became apparent what was happening; no insect hatches, but there was obviously various insect critters falling from the overhanging trees and vegetation. In fact, now is a good time to dig into that fly collection and start tying on some sort of terrestrial pattern.

My first choice was a number 14 black ant, and a few casts later I was into my first trout.

After a couple of missed strikes, I tied on a grasshopper imitation and was soon into another trout.

After a couple of hours and three rainbows and two browns, I was on my way home — a little surprised, but very pleased with the results.

One of the factors that helped make the outing a success was the fact that the trout were feeding under the overhanging trees on the shaded side of the bank. Shaded side — that’s important since I saw no trout feeding in the sun-drenched areas of the stream. Many of my casts were within a foot of the stream bank; also an undercut bank with tree roots providing shade and protection for the trout. In addition, the overhanging trees were no doubt full of terrestrials of all sorts that would fall into the water — in a sense, the trout were feeding on a “hatch.”

There are several good patterns to have on hand for this time of year. As I mentioned, I started with an ant pattern. I use a simple dark gray or black material, a half-inch long foam tube with a touch of white or bright orange paint on the one end-this makes the fly easier to see, and it doesn’t seem to bother the trout. Simply tie the foam on the hook at the center and add a black hackle and you are ready to go. Other patterns that may come in handy are grasshopper and cricket imitations as well as crickets and beetles. Caterpillar imitations in green or other colors may also work well. Don’t overlook some dry flies too.

You might want to squeeze in a trout trip between bass outings.