And here is a related post about how to make Knotted Pheasant Tail Legs and how well Beetle patterns perform with them: https://www.tenkarausa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7009
I guess you have read Almy, Harry Steeves, and Ed Kock’s books on terrestrials. If you haven’t, try to get hold of these books. Harry Steeves also made a video that is excellent. He was a professor at VA Tech that taught Aquatic Biology, Aquatic Insects, and Stream Ecology. He recently retired and still lives in Blacksburg,VA I don’t use beetle as much as I should, maybe it’s time to have this old dog try some different tricks. Thanks Karl. Thank you for contributing to the site.
Thank you very much for the tips and the information; I will look into these things…Karl.
Hackle Spider or Beetle？
Beetle patterns・・・Soldier Beetle
Beetle patterns・・・Great Lake Beetle
Japanese Beetle patterns・・・「朱玉蜂頭」
Thank you so much for posting those pictures. You tie beautiful and highly functional flies. I am also a big fan of using terrestrial patterns tied with closed cell foam…Karl.
@Karl, you should also try Kreinik materials, they make an excellent addition to tying your beetle patterns. Dr. Harry Steeves, I believe, came up with this idea and it really works on fish.You Tube might show him tying some beetle patterns using Kreinik materials. They are simple to make and look really cool.
Here is the Kreinik channel on YouTube.
Don’t be deceived, they have a quite a few videos about fly tying.
This year, (Jan.2020), the owner of Kreinik came to the VA Fly Fishing and Wine Festival. He is a really nice guy. He was selling x-large zip lock bags full of his material. When the workers have left over material they collect it and add it to an enormous pile. The pile is about 4 ft. tall loaded with all types of material for fly tying. He gives you a baggie and you can fill it up until the baggie cannot be closed. I stuffed mine so much that the plastic started splitting on the sides. All he charged was $10. What a deal!!!