Beetlemania

By request here is a photo and recipe for the Crowe beetle. This is one of the best terrestrial patterns ever for eastern trout fishing and has caught plenty of western trout, too.

Hook: Daiichi 1310 or 1130, #12-#18

Thread: Black 6/0 or Uni 70

Body: Black deer hair

Trim section of deer hair at the hide (around 1/8" in diameter for #14 hook) and clean out all the fuzz. Tie the hair in by the butt ends about 1/3 of the shank length back from the hook eye. Wrap back over the hair, binding it down around the hook shank, to the bend of the hook. Move the thread back to where you tied the hair in. Put a bit of head cement over the body and pull the hair over the top of the hook shank forming a shell back. Coat the shell back with a bit of cement. Adding the cement helps to strengthen the deer hair. Pull 4-6 hairs on each side of the head to the side and do a cross wrap over them, then tie off thread and cut. Trim the hair still sticking out front and trim the legs to about the length of the body. You can also add a small tuft of yarn to the top of the body for increased visibility on the water.