How To Make And Fish The Brunsell Ant
Have you ever wished for a fly pattern that was easy to tie, required no hard-to-get materials and would consistently take fish from early spring to late fall?
I have been using one for some time that comes closer to meeting these criteria than any other I know of and works well either sunken or floating, to boot.
It is an imitation ant, made a little differently and simpler than any one else's. Now, I know that natural ants have a waxy varnish-like covering that is supposed to mkae them unsinkable. I guess there really is no rationale for fishing them sub-surface except they catch a lot of trout that way. It would seem that the natural presentation for a sunken ant wuld be dead drift but I have had fish take one on a retrieve often enough so as to be no fluke and also on the swing after a downstream drift. This is with brown trout, mid you, that fish that is supposed to be the most critical of an unnatural presentation. Perhaps, just the fact that they seldom see a sunken ant prevents their realizing that one swimming across or upstream isn't quite kosher. I think, that to be successful, a fly must emphasize, or even exaggerate, some characteristics of the natural that fish will recognize instantly. On ants this is the thin elongated waist. Easy enough to do on size 14 and larger hooks but often difficult on smaller ones because of insufficient shank length. The classic ant pattern is constructed by wrapping two humps of thread, floss, yarn, chenille or similar material on a hook with a waist of hackle between. Sounds easy doesn't it? Believe me, it isn't. Building humps of such material without it slipping one way or another and looseningisn't simple, and ending up with a recognizable narrowing between is often impossible. With my ant, the waist can be as long or short as desired and the humps stay put. Constructing it is simple and quick.To make one you will need a piece of string, yarn (crotchet cotton works nicely), or perhaps for larger sizes, chenille of the proper color long enough so you can tie two knots in it the length of the ant's waist apart, a hook and hackle feather, plus tying thread and fly head cement. Clear finger nail polish will work for cement.
Clamp the hook in a tying vise, coat the shank with cement, spiral thread on it for a base, half-hitch and let the thread hang and give the winding a coat of cement
Next, pick up the piece of yarn, if this is what you are using for the body, and tie an overhand knot in it. This will simulate the ant's abdomen (entomologists call it "gaster"). I usually bring the end through twice, similar to a surgeon's knot, because this is normally the larger of the two humps on the natural.
Pull it tight and tie another for the head, this one a simple overhand knot, in the same piece of material. Work it into the desired position, usually about a quarter of an inch from the first, then tighten it. Put a drop of cement on each to lock them and cut off the tag ends.
You now have an ant, less the legs, ready to be secured to the hook. Do this by holding it on top of the hook, wrapping two or three turns of tying thread around it and the hook just back of the front hump, half-hitch and cement the thread.
Stroke the hackle feather to spread its fibers, trim the fuzzy ones from the butt, tie on and make two or three winds of hackle around the waist, fasten with a turn or two of thread and a half-hitch. Cut off the excess feather and advance the thread ahead of the front hump and tie off with a whip-finish tight against the hook eye. Cement these knots and cut the thread. Your ant is done.
Usually there is a size and color that works best so carrying a few to try isn't a bad idea. Black in size 16 or 18 usually produces so this is what I try first. Browns ranging from ginger to coachman work better at times, however. They are usually larger than black ones.
Any water that holds fish is a good place to try ants. Shorelines are always good. In streams they produce anywhere, but if you find ant hills along a bank, this is almost sure to be a good place.
Winged ants produce welI in mid and late summer. To make one, simply add hackle tip wings, laid back for a wet fly or upright and divided for a dry.
Natural ants usually float in, not on, the surface film, so keep hackle sparse, even for dries. Use a good flotant and light wire hooks if you fish dry.
I sometimes like them riding two or three inches under and put fly flotant on the leader a short distance back from the fly to maintain this depth. Watching that part of the leader makes a good early warning system for detecting strikes.
Black ants fished in this manner along lake edges work wonderfully well for early spring bluegills when the shallows warm from the sun and for bog lake bluegills all season long. Throw the imitations upon shore line grass and carefully work them off into the water.
Small hooks seldom hang up doing this. Where you are apt to get into trouble is with lures heavy enough to wrap themselves around grass stems or bushes. Weighted flies are an abomination here.
Varnishing the humps will give your ant the glossy sheen many naturals have, but will add weight to make floating more difficult.
Anglers have long speculated about the tastiness of ants. At any rate, fish, and especially trout, have a definite fondness for them. Imitations of ants are probably as close to being universally productive as any flies that we have.
When trout are feeding selectively and you can't seem to come close enough to the hatch to interest them, having a few ants along will often mean the difference between having some action or none at all.
They are active from early April until late fall and thawing winter days will find them out and about. If you fly fish Southwest Wisconsin's streams during the winter trout season, better get some ready. I know some anglers who swear by them then.
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