Chile’s Cantaria Beetle Hatch

THIS TIME NEXT YEAR…

…the Cantaria Beetle will dominate our dinner conversations.

Our Jan 24-Feb 13 dates line up perfectly for the eagerly awaited Cantaria Beetle hatch.

In certain parts of Chile and for a short period, Rainbow and Brown Trout gorge on these monster, freakish insects.  Enlarged trout bellies become hard and bumpy, making you wonder why they continue to eat such a disagreeable meal. Helpless on the water surface, Cantarias are an easy and big protein grab. When removing your #6 black foam pattern, it’s quite common to find beetle parts protruding from the mouth and anus of your catch.  Fishing this hatch is much like mousing for trout, where twitching and popping your fly is the name of the game.  Targets include under tree branches, beside logs and into eddies and foam lines where drifting beetle congregate. In these coastal gin clear rivers, watching the trout approach before the eat is what fly anglers live for.

Also known as Darwin’s Beetle, these prehistoric looking, yet harmless arthropods are the largest beetle in southern Chile. During the summer mating season, the females congregate in upper tree branches and the males must climb high to find them. During the accent, males combat with other males, using their enormous mandibles to wrestle the competitor out of their way. Each attempts the same technique- reach your jaws over your opponent first, then grasp, lift and hurl the other to the forest floor or river below in an Olympic effort to claim the Girl.  After mating, he uses his jaws once more to toss her to the ground, exactly where she needs to be to lay her eggs. Darwin’s Beetle is a classic example of natural selection and Chile’s wild, opportunistic trout are keenly aware of them.

See how these critters often end up as trout food.

Fishing the Cantaria Beetle hatch is nothing short of extraordinary.
Experience them with us next winter.

See Details and our Full Schedule Here.