Tech Ant: Terrestrial Dry Fly Tying Tutorial

Ants are still on the menu for some time, and trout are still keeping a keen eye open for them. The issue with many ant patterns is that they are overdressed and the body profile is much larger than the ant itself. We’ve all been in shops and seen xxl ant patterns and thought “that’s a little big for an ant”. While many of these patterns work great, they are often taken as a beetle, cricket, or just a general attractor.

The ant patterns that are small often are made of natural materials and lack buoyancy on the water long term. I knew I needed a very specific more buoyant ant pattern for an upcoming trip that still looked realistic, so I set out on picking the right hook.

It may not be intuitive, but the Ahrex Super Dry is a phenomenal choice for an ant pattern. Most ants are tied on a straight shank try fly hook, but the Super Dry allows the rear abdomen of this fly to be dropped into the water suggestive of a struggling insect. The body is segmented and slim like a real ant making the pattern very realistic and able to fool large, choosy trout.

This pattern has been crushing locally on our tributaries where I’ve been testing it. In addition to black, I’ve been tying it in brown as well. For local fishing a 12 is a great size; where I am going, it may demand a smaller ant, so I have been sizing it down as well. Tie some up and take em out to our high lakes as they wake back up, our valley tributaries, or tag it behind your searching dry fly!