BBefore breakfast that first morning, camped along the Twoheart River in the Upper Peninsula, Ernest Hemingway’s fictional character, Nick Adams, easily caught several dozen grasshoppers, still damp with dew, and dropped them into a bottle. He later used them to catch some trout.
It is well known that the author moved the Twoheart southwest to the Seney, either for the river’s more evocative name or to disguise the fact that he was writing about the Fox River, which he himself fished after returning from World War I in 1919.
Subterfuge aside, Hemingway’s depiction of Adams’s live bait tactics is spot on, right down to the funnels of “tobacco juice” they spit out when pricked on a hook. Attacks and tactics have evolved since then The Hemingway Story was published a hundred years ago, but trout still love grasshoppers and other terrestrial insects.
You can apply live grasshoppers as bait, as Adams did, but artificial ones will catch just as many trout and save you the trouble of catching them twice – once to put them in the bottle and again to remove them without losing them.
If you don’t tie your own, most fly shops carry a huge selection of terrestrial patterns, from realistic jumpers, crickets and ants to more fanciful and almost extraterrestrial forms such as the unsinkable Hippie Stomper.
Live grasshoppers come in all sizes, so it’s worth carrying an assortment from sizes 12 or 14, which imitate flightless adolescent leafhoppers, to sizes 6 or 8, which suit huge, burly fliers.
Hemingway most likely caught brown trout in the Fox River, but all species of trout catch leafhoppers and other terrestrial insects.
Unlike aquatic insects, which often hatch for low periods of time at specific air and water temperatures, terrestrial insects can enter the water at any time of the day. Windy days can provide more excitement as crawling insects are shaken off dangling limbs and flying insects are knocked off course.
RELATED OUTDOOR NEWS COVERAGE:
Trout Pilgrimage to Ernest Hemingway’s “The Great Two-Hearted River” (Part 1)
In Search of Good Water, Part 2: Quiet Idaho Streams Near Hemingway’s Resting Place Ketchum, Idaho
Fly fishing doesn’t have to be intimidating; where to start
Late summer is stocking time in any trout stream that flows through pasture or other grassland, from wide rivers like the Namekagon and White in the north to the narrow ribbons that wind through the Kettle Moraine and Driftless Region valleys.
In larger streams, trout forage on land in boulder flats, riffles and deep flat pools that provide cover from bird predators. In smaller streams, surprisingly huge trout often hunt leafhoppers under the cover of riparian vegetation.
Trout occasionally strike at jumpers and other land animals, catching one here and another there as they accidentally fall into the water. Cattle and sheep grazing along stream banks can excite grasshoppers and create a “hatch” to which opportunistic trout respond.
If farm animals tolerate your presence, you can sometimes apply them as cover.
Tread lightly near streams. Heavy footsteps cause vibrations that serve as a warning to trout. Stay low to avoid casting a shadow and, if possible, approach runs or pools from downstream.
Forget about the fragile presentations required with petite arid flies that imitate emerging aquatic insects. The splash of a grasshopper on the surface of a silent pool is as subtle as a cheeseburger falling from the sky. On narrow streams you can sometimes catch a catch by landing a jumper on overhanging grass and throwing it into the water.
Because landlubbers do not live in water, they often kick and writhe as they swim downstream. Spice up the dead drift with occasional twitches to make it look like it’s struggling.
Hoppers aren’t the only land-based option for summer trout. Also watch out for crickets, ants and petite caterpillars.
Early in the year, try June bug imitations in the evening or after gloomy when these huge bugs are hanging around. This year’s seasonal cicada hatches provided a protein feed for trout and a infrequent opportunity for anglers to cast huge worms at huge fish.
Adams (and probably Hemingway himself) carried a beer bottle filled with grasshoppers while fishing in the rivers of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. With a few extra terrestrial animals in your vest, you can be ready when any insects that crawl, hop, or fly cause a feeding frenzy in your favorite trout stream this summer.
