Shenk's LeTort Cricket

By Ed Shenk, 1950s, Pennsylvania, submitted by Mike Cline.

Description

The Letort Cricket is a legendary terrestrial dry fly pattern developed by Ed Shenk, a pioneering fly angler and tier from Pennsylvania. Shenk designed this pattern specifically for the selective trout of Letort Spring Run, a limestone-rich stream known for its finicky fish. The fly is an all-black variation of Shenk’s Letort Hopper, crafted to imitate the common field cricket, a key summer food source for trout. Its slender, low-riding profile, made from natural deer hair, allows it to float subtly on calm, clear water, mimicking a struggling or drowned cricket.

Materials

• Body: Dry Fly Dubbing or Kapok
• Head: Spun and clipped deer hair
• Thread: Utc 70 black
• Wing: Deer body hair
• Wing: Duck or Goose wing fiber underwing

Hooks

• Firehole 718 #14

Target species: Trout

Fly types: Terrestrial