Letort Cricket

The Letort Cricket is a legendary terrestrial dry fly pattern created by Ed Shenk in the 1950s, a pioneering angler and fly tier from Pennsylvania's limestone-rich Letort Spring Run. Known for its finicky trout and challenging conditions, the Letort demanded flies that could accurately imitate land-based insects like crickets and hoppers. Shenk, who worked alongside the likes of Vince Marinaro and Charlie Fox, developed the Letort series—Cricket, Hopper, and Ant—to fool the highly selective trout of these spring creeks.

The Letort Cricket features a slender, low-riding profile made from natural deer hair, giving it excellent floatation while maintaining a subtle, realistic silhouette. Unlike bulkier modern foam patterns, this fly imitates a drowned or struggling cricket with a quieter footprint, making it highly effective in calm, clear water. Its minimalist design reflects the Letort fishing philosophy: match the silhouette, avoid splash, and let the trout come to you.

Grease Selectively: Apply floatant only to the deer hair body and leave the tail and hook bend untreated. This causes the fly to sit lower in the surface film, mimicking a struggling or waterlogged cricket—a deadly trigger for wary fish.