Garden State Trout

Do any of you folks use terrestrial patterns on NJ streams with any regularity? Ants and hopper patterns are mainly what I am wondering about. It doesn't seem like our trout-fishing water temps timeline correspond very well with traditional late summer terrestrial activity.

Ants and beetles can be deadly, especially on windy days when water temps allow for fishing. They get blown off streamside vegetation and cause trout to rise to eat them. Flying ant hatches are another great time to have those flies in your box. And hoppers are always a crowd favorite, especially in areas where they are plentiful which isn't most of our NJ trout water areas.

I know a lot of fly anglers that when struggling with other flies, will toss a black ant over a rising trout and often fool that fish with the ant. I always have big, medium and small black and red ants in my terrestrials box at all times!

If you are fishing any of the major rivers, they are too hot, maybe early AM is good, but carry a thermometer...saw a few guys fishing(killing trout) yesterday in the Pequest and also the SBR..the Pequest was at 71.5 and the SBR in the gorge was 70.5....

if you want to the left side (facing downstream) of the river at the Pequest hatchery is fishable for about 75 yard from the spillway, up to the spillway it started at 59 and slowly went up to 70 by the bridge.....the trout readily take dry flies, but usually tiny ones, UNLESS ITS A PINK ANT!!!!

There are a couple of major streams in NJ that offer some good early morning fishing using ant, cricket, and other terrestrial patterns. If the water temps are good I will fish from dawn to about 8AM.

When the water gets slow and low, a tiny black ant pattern is a go to fly for me!