Scott Sanchez's Mega Beetle Fly Pattern - Fly of the Month

by Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies: Find him on his YouTube channel at Savage Flies

Hook: #8-14 dry fly

Thread: Black

Underbody: Synthetic sparkle dubbing, dark colored

Body: 2mm black foam

Legs: Black rubber

Indicator: 2mm foam, any bright color

Hackle: Grizzly dyed brown, green or olive

Well it is officially terrestrial season. I was out mowing a field this past weekend, grasshoppers and crickets were all over the place. But this is not going to be another hopper pattern. I'm sure I’ll tie plenty more this summer but right now I've got plenty in my box. I'm going to tie a beetle pattern for you this month. But oddly enough, it's about as big as a hopper.

I got it from Scott Sanchez's “A New Generation of Trout Flies,” published in 2005. The pattern is called his Mega Beetle and he does tie these pretty big, hence the name. And there was one interesting quote in the chapter on this pattern:

“Fish don't have as much problem eating a size 10 Beetle as the angler has fishing it. Big beetles can attract fish from a distance.”

Scott does go on to say that this can be an effective pattern all season, but it can be particularly effective late in the season when the fish have pretty much seen every grasshopper pattern we have in our boxes.
 

Now this one, his Mega Beetle; it's not a difficult tie. No exotic materials or particularly tricky tactics. But it does use one tactic that you don't see used in a lot of beetle patterns and that's wrapping a hackle, parachute style.

And I think that makes this a pretty cool looking fly and certainly a fun one to tie.