Successful fly patterns aren't necessarily intricate or hard to tie. In fact some of the most productive are the least complicated.

The "Black Beetle" is such a fly. It's so effective that every fly fisher should have at least a few along, and it's one of the simplest to construct. Add to this the fact that it's a mighty impressive looking fly to both fisherman and fish and you've got a winner.

You will need a few tools. A fly tying vise, small sharp scissors, hackle pliers and a bobbin to hold the thread will make the job easier.

Add to these some hooks, a black or dark gray goose wing quill, a few small black rooster hackle feathers, fly head cement and some back tying thread and you're in business.

These flies on size 14 hooks are a good bet on Wisconsin waters all season long although during June bug time you can go as large as number eight. It is easy enough to tie so that even a beginner can do a creditable job on hooks as smalI as 20 or 22 for those times when trout are taking midges exclusively.

We wilI start by securing a size 14, regular length, regular weight hook in the vise. Clamp it by the bend with shank and point exposed. Using a toothpick or dubbing needle, apply head cement liberally to the hook shank.

Then, starting close to the hook eye and winding over and away from you, spiral tying thread over its own end and back along the shank to a point directly across the hook gap from the barb and half-hitch it. Leave the thread hang temporarily.

Let the bobbin hang with the thread so as to keep tension on it but don't allow it to spin. Coat the winding and the shank with cement.

Next, cut a fiber section about three eighths of an inch wide from the goose quill. Take this from the wide side and towards the butt where the feather is softer. The fibers near the tip tend to be stiff and hard to work with.

Hold this on top of the hook, parallel to the shank with the tips of the fibers towards the hook eye. Take two or three wraps of thread around it and the hook shank, pull straight down to tighten, then half-hitch directly on top of the first half-hitch.

Let the bobbin hang to keep tension on the thread and cement the half-hitch.

Next, select a black rooster neck feather with fibers about one and one half to two times as long as the hook gap. Prepare this by stroking the fibers toward the butt to make them stand out from the stem.

Hold this on top of the hook with the tip towards the eye and fasten it on in the same place as the quill section with two thread wraps and a half-hitch.

Securing this feather with the concave side away from the hook will make it wind with the fibers, or legs, slanting frontwards, tying it with the concave side towards the hook will make the legs slant back.

Now spiral the thread forward on the hook shank to a place about two thirds of the way to the eye and half-hitch. Let the bobbin hang to keep tension on the thread and cement both half-hitches.

Both the rooster neck feather and the goose quill section should now be fastened by their tips to the rear of the hook shank and extending out back of the hook.

Make all winds over and away from you and cement all half-hitches.

Using the hackle pliers, grasp the rooster neck feather by the butt and palmer (spiral) it closely along the hook to where the thread is half-hitched. Make two or three thread wraps over the feather tip and hook and half-hitch. Cutoff the excess feather tip and cement this half-hitch. Be sure you are still about a third of the way back from the eye with this knot.

Lay a toothpick across the hook at right angles to the hook shank. Fold the quill section forward over the toothpick and make two or three wraps around it and the hook where the thread was half-hitched last time and pull straight down to tighten. Try to keep the toothpick level and square with the hook shank while doing this. Now carefully slide the toothpick out and half-hitch the thread. Cement this knot.

Folding the quill section forward over the toothpick helps make a nice wide shellback. Keeping the toothpick square and level makes the shellback project about the same distance on each side of the hook.

Now, with a sharp scissors, trim off, except for the two outside strands, the excess quill ahead of the half-hitch and back of the hook eye. The two strands you left are the beetle's antennae. Trim them to the desired length and finish the fly head with more thread winds and a whip finish or several half-hitches.

Saturate the head with cement and at this time, if you desire, the antennae can be stiffened with cement.

In the spring, fish this fly along boggy shore lines for bluegills. It's good around brush and overhanging grass on lake edges.

In streams, drift it along overhanging banks, tree roots, in and around down trees and other snags.

It's a dandy for fish you see working in feeding runs where the stream flows around obstructions or turns a corner. It produces equally well floating or sunken.

If you want to fish it floating, tie it on a 2X fine wire hook and treat it with dry fly oil.