I'll fish BIG winged ants as attractors almost all year. It's a great option a lot of people overlook. But when it's terrestrial season, the small ants are key, imo. This is a great small ant, and a great tie, thanks!
Nice Video, Dom! Looking forward to tying a few of these up! Also liked the way you touched on how to fish it, and using different adjustments with a Harvey Style leader.. Thank You!
Tied this pattern in 3 sizes a few days before fishing the Green River. Fished 5 hours and caught 16 trout, mostly browns, all with this ant pattern. Never tried a different pattern as this ant was the ticket. End of the day I was left with one (did give one away, hate to watch a grown man cry 😂). Since then I’ve reloaded. Thanks for the pattern it served me well. Cheers……
Another well done instructional video. Great pattern explained perfectly. Thank you for your continued guidance and making things easy to understand. I do miss the bloopers though. Be well.
A super simple ant pattern tied on a jig hook with an unfinished bead (two balls of black dubbing of your choice, using the bead as part of the second ball) make a killer subsurface ant pattern as well. I’ve found that fish hit this pattern with aggression that you don’t often find with nymphs. The takes are similar to a wet fly swing. Fish these on the banks like you would a dry ant. Fun stuff… I get the whole point is to fish a dry in the first place, but just another fun summer tactic. Fish easy Dom
Right on. Lots of great wet ant patterns as well. Two of my favorites are linked in the companion article for this. And here's a direct link. troutbitten.com/2016/08/24/the-perfect-parachute-ant/ Cheers
@@TroutbittenI used to tie them with hen hackle or cdc. But honestly my fishing and tying has evolved into offering a trout less to refuse, the simpler the better. I think that the non hackled wet ant with just dubbing balls better represents the ant silhouette and gives them less reason to refuse. Maybe try it sometime if you haven’t already. I’m a believer. I’ve fished the non hackled version on a rig with the hackled version and the non hackled version out fishes it. I’ve swapped positions on the leader to rule out depth. It’s all just circumstantial, but hell what isn’t.
Right on. Non hackled ants will catch trout, but the trouble is they won't float in most of my favorite water to target summertime trout. I rarely fish long pools, slow flats and glides. That water is too touchy in the summer, and trout are rarely feeding there anyway. I prefer the riffles and runs. The moving stuff. And for that, I need buoyancy. Lastly, as I mentioned in the video, I carry these with just a few hackle wraps. And they outperform "simpler" ants for me every year. the light hackle leaves an imprint in the water that (I assume) looks like legs, but the fly still rides very low in the film. Fish on.
@@Troutbittenright on man. I should have mentioned the non hackled version I’m talking about is the version I mentioned in the first comment that uses an unfinished tungsten bead. I fish it on a 16 jig with a 2.8 unfinished bead at depth. It’s a sunken ant pattern for use as a nymph, fished like a nymph.
It’s just another summer tactic, I fish parachute dry ants too. But I do fish a weighted ant like I describe all the time. Most wet ants or sunken ants I see used use hen hackled or cdc. I believe a non hackled sunken ant out performs the ones trying to imitate legs. Try it sometime.
Thanks. I rarely add a dropper to the ant. For me, the terrestrial game is about pinpoint accuracy. I like to be very close to structure pretty often. And adding a dropper takes that kind of accuracy away.
Thanks. I rarely add a dropper to the ant. For me, the terrestrial game is about pinpoint accuracy. I like to be very close to structure pretty often. And adding a dropper takes that kind of accuracy away.
YES. I linked to a video on forehand and backhand casting when I mentioned it in this video. Upper right corner. But there's a full article on these lagging curve casts that I wrote in 2020. I think you'll like this one. troutbitten.com/2020/08/02/dry-fly-fishing-the-forehand-and-backhand-curve/
Dom, can this fly work in any of the dry dropper methods from your skills series? If so can you give a little insight into which one and maybe how big/heavy of a nymph might work under it? RainX? !?! Mind blown. Thanks for the great video.
Hi there. No, I don't love this fly for a dry dropper rig. Two reasons for that: First, I try to put terrestrials very close to structure of some kind, often in soft bank water that borders faster water. And adding any dropper, of any length, limits the accuracy of both flies. It's just too hard to get the nymph to land in the same seam as the dry consistently and not affect the course of the dry in those kind of locations. Second: this ant does not support much weight. You might think that a size ten would hold up a decent sized nymph. But it doesn't because the antron bulbs hold water. That's great for splatting the pattern on the water, but it's not great for buoyancy. Make sense?
Hey Dom nice pattern. Quick question for you. I was fishing a big nw pa river for smallmouth the other day and was doing quite well with your full pint streamer. Then the dreaded log took the only one I had tied up. Quite honestly they are a pain to tie. Anyway, is there any place that sells your full pint streamer pattern or do I have to tie my own?
Hi there. I love the Full Pint too. But admittedly, they take a little longer to tie than a bugger. No. There's no source for my flies, but you could definitely work with a custom tyer. There's one place online that sells Full Pints, but they are horribly underdressed.
Well, more figure eight wraps, but also keep them very tight. That's just a general tying principle -- use heavy tension. Go to the limit of the thread. Use all of its strength. Also, don't worry about perfect figure eights. Wrap it this way and that. Use whatever wraps and angles necessary to get the post to sit. But I'll go back to what I said at first. You probably need even more wraps and more tension. Make sense?
while fishing upper pine , Late june, fish rising everywhere to BWO, well guess what fly box i left at the campground, reached in and saw my terrestrial box , figured oh well lets throw them something different , big carpenter ant , and BAAM, wow they loved it..........another terrestrial that great here in Pa.... caterpillar......easy to tie
You had me when you popped open the beer. 😂
How else are you gonna start?
Great tie. I appreciate the detailed discussion on presentation as well. Thanks Dom!
Thanks, Scott.
Time to twist and shout 🎉 …. With Your Pattern ….. in NW Michigan !!!!
Thank You Much !!!!!
✨ 🎣 💫
Hey now
The southern native brookies are loving this thing! Thanks for sharing Dom
NICE
I'll fish BIG winged ants as attractors almost all year. It's a great option a lot of people overlook. But when it's terrestrial season, the small ants are key, imo. This is a great small ant, and a great tie, thanks!
Nice
Rain X is genius. Thanks
Cheers
Never watched a more detailed tying video. Great work and please keep this series going. Its a keeper. What's the background song?
That's kind. Thank you. Not sure of the song. Josh put that in.
NIce clean tie! Couldn't help but smile at the tone of self-satisfaction as you completed the tie :) Now look at that...that is clean....
Ha. Right on.
Thanks Dom for this ant pattern and info about Harvey leader. Your videos are always professional and nice to watch. Keep going 👍
THANKS
Awesome video, can’t wait to tie it. Great job as usual.
Thank you
Well tied and definitely appreciate the details on tying and fishing tips. Thanks !!
Right on.
Nice Video, Dom! Looking forward to tying a few of these up! Also liked the way you touched on how to fish it, and using different adjustments with a Harvey Style leader.. Thank You!
Cheers
Indeed it´s perfect!
Hey now!
Very nice.
Thank you!
Gorgeous.
Thanks.
Tied this pattern in 3 sizes a few days before fishing the Green River. Fished 5 hours and caught 16 trout, mostly browns, all with this ant pattern. Never tried a different pattern as this ant was the ticket. End of the day I was left with one (did give one away, hate to watch a grown man cry 😂). Since then I’ve reloaded. Thanks for the pattern it served me well. Cheers……
Excellent
That's promising to hear that they are effective in my neck of the woods (Utah).
@@irideaduck939Right on.
I always wondered if you were going to share this pattern.. Thank you Dom for that and your tips! 🎣
Cheers. Thanks for watching.
Great video, thanks.
Cheers. Thanks for watching.
Excellent Dom!! Rainx.. crazy..
Gotta love it.
I really enjoy ants😉
Same
Another well done instructional video. Great pattern explained perfectly. Thank you for your continued guidance and making things easy to understand. I do miss the bloopers though. Be well.
Cheers
Can you do a vid on the Harvey leader?
Sure thing
Awesome video, cant wait to try it out. Any reason not to finish the post/hackle first, then dub the front/head and finish from there?
Thanks. I used to do it that way. I used to finish all parachutes that way. But once I started doing this, it all just seemed so much easier.
Nice video...I have been a huge advocate of ants in 10 out of 12 months a year....I feel seen🤣 Great tip on the Rainx will have to try this too!
Ha. Right on. Ants any time they'll eat a dry. I'm with ya.
A super simple ant pattern tied on a jig hook with an unfinished bead (two balls of black dubbing of your choice, using the bead as part of the second ball) make a killer subsurface ant pattern as well. I’ve found that fish hit this pattern with aggression that you don’t often find with nymphs. The takes are similar to a wet fly swing. Fish these on the banks like you would a dry ant. Fun stuff… I get the whole point is to fish a dry in the first place, but just another fun summer tactic. Fish easy Dom
Right on. Lots of great wet ant patterns as well. Two of my favorites are linked in the companion article for this. And here's a direct link.
troutbitten.com/2016/08/24/the-perfect-parachute-ant/
Cheers
@@TroutbittenI used to tie them with hen hackle or cdc. But honestly my fishing and tying has evolved into offering a trout less to refuse, the simpler the better. I think that the non hackled wet ant with just dubbing balls better represents the ant silhouette and gives them less reason to refuse. Maybe try it sometime if you haven’t already. I’m a believer. I’ve fished the non hackled version on a rig with the hackled version and the non hackled version out fishes it. I’ve swapped positions on the leader to rule out depth. It’s all just circumstantial, but hell what isn’t.
Right on. Non hackled ants will catch trout, but the trouble is they won't float in most of my favorite water to target summertime trout. I rarely fish long pools, slow flats and glides. That water is too touchy in the summer, and trout are rarely feeding there anyway. I prefer the riffles and runs. The moving stuff. And for that, I need buoyancy. Lastly, as I mentioned in the video, I carry these with just a few hackle wraps. And they outperform "simpler" ants for me every year. the light hackle leaves an imprint in the water that (I assume) looks like legs, but the fly still rides very low in the film. Fish on.
@@Troutbittenright on man. I should have mentioned the non hackled version I’m talking about is the version I mentioned in the first comment that uses an unfinished tungsten bead. I fish it on a 16 jig with a 2.8 unfinished bead at depth. It’s a sunken ant pattern for use as a nymph, fished like a nymph.
It’s just another summer tactic, I fish parachute dry ants too. But I do fish a weighted ant like I describe all the time. Most wet ants or sunken ants I see used use hen hackled or cdc. I believe a non hackled sunken ant out performs the ones trying to imitate legs. Try it sometime.
Thanks Dom, great video. I was wondering if you ever use a dropper with the ant ?
Thanks. I rarely add a dropper to the ant. For me, the terrestrial game is about pinpoint accuracy. I like to be very close to structure pretty often. And adding a dropper takes that kind of accuracy away.
Great point ! Thanks
Dom, do you ever fish a submerged ant? If so, do you what pattern do you like ? Thanks much
Thanks. I rarely add a dropper to the ant. For me, the terrestrial game is about pinpoint accuracy. I like to be very close to structure pretty often. And adding a dropper takes that kind of accuracy away.
I have always used Rain-x on my Dorsey indicators.
Same here.
Tying begins at 8:30
Yup
Could you point me in the right direction or have a link describing/showing the “lagging curve” cast? Thanks
YES. I linked to a video on forehand and backhand casting when I mentioned it in this video. Upper right corner.
But there's a full article on these lagging curve casts that I wrote in 2020. I think you'll like this one.
troutbitten.com/2020/08/02/dry-fly-fishing-the-forehand-and-backhand-curve/
What are the scissors you are using? I like the finger curve and the opening width for the fingers.
Hi there. That's what I like about these scissors too. I've been using the same scissors for a very long time. They are Dr. Slick 4.5" Bent Shaft.
Very nice! Do you tie it in #16 & #18 also?
Yes
Dom, can this fly work in any of the dry dropper methods from your skills series? If so can you give a little insight into which one and maybe how big/heavy of a nymph might work under it? RainX? !?! Mind blown. Thanks for the great video.
Hi there. No, I don't love this fly for a dry dropper rig. Two reasons for that:
First, I try to put terrestrials very close to structure of some kind, often in soft bank water that borders faster water. And adding any dropper, of any length, limits the accuracy of both flies. It's just too hard to get the nymph to land in the same seam as the dry consistently and not affect the course of the dry in those kind of locations.
Second: this ant does not support much weight. You might think that a size ten would hold up a decent sized nymph. But it doesn't because the antron bulbs hold water. That's great for splatting the pattern on the water, but it's not great for buoyancy.
Make sense?
Howdy from Texas! Can you tell me what kind of scissors you are using? Thanks so much!
Dr.Slick curved.
Hi Dom. Is the macrame yarn the same as what's in the Dorsey indicator pack?
Yes! And links are in the description and the companion article.
👍💪
Cheers
Hey Dom nice pattern. Quick question for you. I was fishing a big nw pa river for smallmouth the other day and was doing quite well with your full pint streamer. Then the dreaded log took the only one I had tied up. Quite honestly they are a pain to tie. Anyway, is there any place that sells your full pint streamer pattern or do I have to tie my own?
Hi there. I love the Full Pint too. But admittedly, they take a little longer to tie than a bugger. No. There's no source for my flies, but you could definitely work with a custom tyer. There's one place online that sells Full Pints, but they are horribly underdressed.
@@Troutbittenyeah I think I saw those thanks Dom . I guess it’ll give me something to do this winter.
Right on. Cheers.
Cool ant pattern, going to twist some up. Wow good tip rain x for pre-treating Drys. Does it have a odor to the fly ? Thanks love the show.
Good stuff. I don't think it adds much odor, no. Gotta let it dry before putting it in the box.
Cheers
No matter how many figure 8 wraps I do I can’t get my post to stop rotating. Any advice? Thanks again!
Well, more figure eight wraps, but also keep them very tight. That's just a general tying principle -- use heavy tension. Go to the limit of the thread. Use all of its strength. Also, don't worry about perfect figure eights. Wrap it this way and that. Use whatever wraps and angles necessary to get the post to sit. But I'll go back to what I said at first. You probably need even more wraps and more tension.
Make sense?
@@Troutbitten Makes sense. Thanks you very much, I’ll give it a shot!
while fishing upper pine , Late june, fish rising everywhere to BWO, well guess what fly box i left at the campground, reached in and saw my terrestrial box , figured oh well lets throw them something different , big carpenter ant , and BAAM, wow they loved it..........another terrestrial that great here in Pa.... caterpillar......easy to tie
Right on
The southern native brookies are loving this thing! Thanks for sharing Dom
Nice