Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 5, 1994 TAG: 9410190011
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Terrestrials are land-born insects - grasshoppers, crickets, ants, wasps, beetles, caterpillars, leafhoppers, cicadas - that hop, jump, fall or are blown into cold-water habitat where they can become the diet of a brown, brook or rainbow.
Even though terrestrials are an important part of a trout's food chain, especially midsummer through fall, they tend to be overlooked by many fly casters who stuff their vests with imitations of aquatic creatures, such as the caddis and mayfly.
"When the big hatches of the year are over, they almost quit fishing," said Steeves, a biology professor at Virginia Tech.
With that attitude, you are apt to miss some of the best sport of the year, especially along a stream like the Smith River in Henry County, said Steeves. His new book, succinctly called "Terrestrials," is co-written by Ed Koch and is designed to fill what Steeves sees as a major void in fly-angling literature and knowledge.
"For more and more of us,'' Steeves writes, "the ending of the major hatches heralds not the death of a season but the birth of the most exciting time of the year."
Like the other day, when Steeves, and his fishing partner, Paul Scott, walked down to the Smith along the edge of a cornfield and the fescue detonated with grasshoppers. The hard bodies of the insects erupted like pieces of shrapnel, powerful enough to sting your skin when they hit.
Steeves could recall his first real trout trip, as a youngster in 1949, when he and his dad traveled from their home in Alabama to North Carolina where he learned a couple important facts about life: "County ham sandwiches taste fine when they're wet" and "when it comes to grasshoppers, trout are nothing but suckers."
At the edge of the Smith, Steeves and Scott paused to look for rising trout. There were none, but what did plop to the surface was an inchworm, that had lost its grip on an overhanging branch.
It was as if someone suddenly had appeared along the river bearing a banner with the message, "It's the inchworm, stupid."
Steeves gathered the plump, chartreuse-colored creature onto the back of his hand and opened a fly box containing neat rows of terrestrials, including several that matched the inchworm, both in color and size.
But before leaving his pickup, Scott had tied on a beetle, normally a prudent choice, because in sheer numbers beetles are the king of the terrestrials.
Scott carefully waded into the river's clear water, careful not to challenge the wariness of the browns that Steeves guaranteed to be lurking in the the shadows. The beetle sailed across the stream, carried by skillful casts that sent it within inches of the far bank. The imitation fell softly beneath the branches of a beech tree, about where you'd expect a terrestrial to land and be swept downstream with the current.
It looked perfect to Steeves, who said as much, but the beetle failed to stir the interest of a brown.
So Scott, who lives at Smith Mountain Lake and works at the Orvis Store in Roanoke, tied on an inchworm.
A hefty brown sucked it in, then dashed for cover, bowing Scott's rod and zipping yellow line through his fingers.
"That's a good one!" said Steeves.
It was a bronze-colored fish, with a blunt nose and a deep body peppered with black and red spots. Scott released it, then caught and released a second brown, and a third.
Yes, matching the hatch can make a difference in terrestrial fishing, Steeves said.
He has been doing that for decades, tying traditional patterns and developing original ones, often with the new generation of synthetic materials. The patterns include Steeves' Japanese Beetle, Steeves' Sparkle Beetle, Steeves' Sinking Black Beetle, Steeves' Turbo Wasp, Steeves' Bee/Hornet, Steeves' Mini-Hopper, Steeves' Honey Bug and Steeves' Barking Spider.
"Probably his strongest point is his power of observation," said Scott. "He is a very talented observer, and he is a very creative tier. He uses new materials in a creative way. I think that is a deadly combination, to see what's happening - like seeing the inchworm - and using different materials to create what you see."
It was Steeves' skill at the tying bench that hooked him up with Koch, a noted Pennsylvania angler and author of several books on fly fishing, including "Terrestrial Fishing," one of just a couple on the subject. Steeves mailed Koch some terrestrial patterns, along with tying instructions and materials. Koch liked what he saw, but put off trying the offerings. When he finally did, at Steeves' urging, he got so excited that he talked about writing a magazine article about them.
"Why not a book?" asked Steeves.
Koch wanted nothing to do with another book, but Steeves persisted, writing three chapters and sending them to Koch. They were so good that Koch told Steeves to write the book himself.
Steeves insisted that Koch be a part of the project, because he was there when anglers like Charlie Fox and Vince Marinaro established many of the modern terrestrial patterns.
It isn't unusual for the authors of a book like this to take themselves too seriously, but Steeves has avoided that trap with a generous sprinkling of on-stream anecdotes. Most involve Virginia creeks and rivers and the anglers who roam them: Steve Hiner, Pete Bromley, Cliff Rexrode, Miller Williams.
"The book came real easily," Steeves said. "It was just like 45 years of thinking about something and you sit down and it just happens. I really don't even remember writing it."
"Terrestrials" is published by Stackpole Books, at $29.95, and is available from book stores and the Orvis Store in Roanoke. Steeves will be at Orvis, noon to 3 p.m., Sept. 23 for a book signing session.
by CNB