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Richard Formato

Richard Formato is an avid catch-and-release fly-fisherman from Wytheville, Va. When not on the water, he operates a small business there. Formato loves to fly-fish in his native Southwest Virginia because of the great water and wonderful people. He also loves to fish the flats and shallows of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic whenever work and weather permit. He is on the Department of Conservation and Recreation's board of directors and is a trustee of the Shenandoah National Forest and Skyline Drive.

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• Talk fly-fishing

All you have to do is listen.

Late summer is the swan song for terrestrials.

You can tell the days are shortening now.

No more casting at 9 p.m. Soon enough, we will have our first frost with drifting leaves in the water.

Right now, the fields and forest and water are buzzing with life.

Beetles, ants and crickets are everywhere.

Anglers gravitate to these flies during late August, as we wait for more mayflies as the trout fishing becomes a race against the heat, and an ever sinking sun.

Crickets and grasshoppers are singing their song of summer, and although mainly unseen, you know they are there, and a walk thru the grass will confirm the existence of those big black and green giants.

The terrestrial that has the most staying power throughout the season though is the beetle.

Beetles are often mostly associated with late summer, but I have success fishing them all year long, including mild winter days.

There are more than 25,000 species of beetles in the United States with the result that one kind or another is found in most parts of the country.

Some beetles swim, others crawl, but most of them at one time or another fall into the water and meet their demise at the open mouth of a rising trout.

On suctioning a fish this time of year, any angler will find a sprinkling of beetles mixed with assorted flies, and nymphs.

The beetle is one of the diet staples of any Virginia trout species.

This one of the reasons the beetle has become one of the hottest patterns, and most widely heralded fly.

Because of fly-tyers like Southwest Virginia's own Harry Steeves, the word has spread and the Steeves’ beetles is widely sold, and is a must for any fly box.

Steeves is the master of the foam beetle. He is a world-class angler, conservationist and retired Virginia Tech professor who has years of experience on the water and at the bench tying his incredible inventions.

Tiger beetle fly

Bark beetle fly

Both Umpqua and Orvis distribute Steeve’s terrestrials. Harry’s book, "Tying with Flies Foam, Fur and Feathers" is a must have for any fly-fisherman.

Steeve’s patterns are relatively easy to tie, easy to fish, and easy to see by angler and fish.

As with any pattern, we all have "big one" story when it comes to fishing with terrestrials fly patterns.

Mine was two summers ago, at dusk when based on one small rise, I cast a UFO on long loop right off the back under a gigantic sycamore tree.

It wasn’t a gigantic strike… more of a sip, but a quick strip later, I realized my 5 weight had a big boy on the other end, as my rod tip bend and my drag clicked.

This time of year, I fish only 5 weights because it lessens the chance of lactic acid release that can kill a big trout.

This is not the time of year to under weight your rod for that long fight. It is not the time to play the fish, take a bunch of pictures, and study your catch.

The reason beetles and all terrestrials are effective is because of the warm temperatures, and because of this trout can be easily stressed in warm water.

Fishing beetles the right way is usually “the less is more” philosophy.

Beetles works best when dead drifted, with a mended line off the bank.

One of my many weaknesses is moving my fly too much. If you have a great drift, leave it alone. A “dead" beetle will soon be a “fed” trout.

Because of their numbers, prospecting and fishing with terrestrials will work on any of our area streams.

Often trout will selectively key in on beetles, and that is all they feed on. Two weeks ago, we were fishing rising trout with no luck until we tied on a Japanese Beetle, which took the biggest fish of the day.

Smaller beetle patterns may result in a sip, but the larger #16's usually results in a big strike with a bigger fish attached.

There have been many hot afternoons, when nothing is working, except black UFO, dead drifting a seam, for that monster hit, that after a release makes you break it down and head back to the house.