Brown Beetle Fly Tying Instructions

The brown beetle is an extremely productive, easy-to-tie, terrestrial dry fly pattern that works well during the hot summer months when fished near the banks or shores of rivers and reservoirs. Its profile, color and size make it a delectable bite for even the weariest of trout.

  1. Initial Steps

    • Clamp your favorite dry fly hook, in sizes 12 through 18, into your vise. Tie on your 70-denier brown thread just behind the eye of the hook and wrap a layer of thread rearward over the hook shank until directly over the barb of the hook.

    Tying the Body

    • Cut an 1/8-inch wide strip of brown closed-cell foam, trim one end to a point and tie the foam strip in, extending rearward, by the point directly above the hook barb. Next, twist a small amount of brown dry fly dubbing onto your thread and wrap a small, plump body toward the eye of the hook, making sure to leave enough room to tie off the body and add a couple of legs and create a head. Next, with your body formed, create four legs, two on each side, by folding a small brown rubber leg around your thread and wrapping it down, thus creating two legs from one strand, and trimming them to equal the length of the body. Repeat this process for the other two legs on the other side.

    Finishing Touches

    • With your foam tied in, body dubbed and legs added, pull the strip of foam tight over the body of the fly and wrap it down directly in front of the legs and behind the eye of the hook. Trim the foam so that a small portion of it extends over the hook eye to create a head that is equal in length to roughly one-third the size of the body. Wrap your thread off of the foam and back onto the hook directly behind the eye and add a couple of half-hitch knots to secure the thread. Cut off your thread, add a drop of head cement for extra durability, and go fishing!