In this lesson we are going to tie two different forms of the same basic pattern fly, the Black Ant. One is a nymph form, the other a spent wing type. Both the nymph and the spent wing forms are very good and they may go well together. I have seen times when it is possible to successfully use the nymph form of the fly, with the body made of tying silk, in the early morning; and, then, after the sun has been up for a few hours, when the fish are feeding on the Surface, to change to the spent wing form with equal success. Black ants are found almost anywhere you go, and they are active during a large part of the fishing season. I have observed that mosquitoes, black gnats, black ants, and some of the quills and drakes are the most abundant of the insects upon which fish feed. This holds true generally, although it may not be the case in any one particular locality. In a particular locality there may, for example, be very few mosquito hatches, with many, large hatches of the other type of insects. But in general the insects mentioned are the predominant and most visible ones.

PART I

BLACK ANT NYMPH. I suggest using a No. 8 Sproat hook. Wrap the tying silk to the bend of the hook, being sure that you wrap it to the point where the shank of the hook starts to curve into the bend. Attach the silk there with a half-hitch.

The body of this nymph is made with the black tying silk. Before you start to make the body you should picture in your mind the size and shape of a black ant, and try to visualize the diameter of the body of an ant the length of which is the same as the length of the shank of the hook upon which the fly is being tied. If you remember the shape of an ant you will recall that its body is quite large at the rear, that the body is about ¾ths of the whole length of the ant and that it has a small head. The first step is to form the body of the ant. Beginning at the bend of the hook wrap the tying silk around the shank of the hook, laying each turn very close to the preceding one. Wrap a single layer up to a point a little more than half way from the bend to the eye of the hook. Now, wrap back over the first layer, again placing each turn very close to the preceding one. Wrap this second layer back to a point just short of the bend of the hook, where the first layer began. Now wrap forward over the second layer to a point just short of the point at which you stopped in wrapping on the first layer of silk. Continue to wrap on successive layers until you have the required size of the ant body. By shortening the distance that you wrap the successive layers of silk you can form a properly tapered body. At the back the body tapers down to the bare shank of the hook; at the front it tapers the same way; in the center the body will be much thicker, about 3/l6ths of an inch in diameter on a No. 8 hook. As to the amount of taper, this may help: if an egg were rounded the same at both ends, the shape of the egg and the shape of an ant body would be the same, except, of course, that the ant body is in miniature. The diagrams will also help you to get the proper shape and proportions for the body of this fly.

In front of the body of an ant there is a short, thin portion. For a distance of approximately 1/16th of an inch in front of the body wrap the silk so that the thickness of this portion is but slightly more than the shank of the hook. In front of this thin portion build another small bump, in the same manner that you built up the body segment at the back. This bump at the front should be almost round, but not completely so; the front side of it should taper just a little so that the tying silk will not slip down on the shank of the hook toward the eye. Build this bump so that its diameter is slightly less than 1/8th of an inch. The front of the bump should not be more than 1/8th of an inch from the eye of the hook. Upon completion of the bump fasten the tying silk to the shank of the hook, immediately in front of the bump, with a half-hitch. You now have on the hook a large oval portion, a gully and a small ball which represents the body, neck and head of an ant. Dip the end of a round toothpick in the fly head lacquer and apply it to the body and head. If all of the body and head is not covered with the first drop, keep putting on more until the body and head are completely coated with the lacquer. The coating of lacquer not only prevents the tying silk from slipping but also coats it and makes it heavier so the nymph will drop below the surface of the water more readily.

When the lacquer coating has dried select a black hackle feather and take 6 or 8 fibres of quite stiff hackle from it. These are to be placed on the hook to imitate the legs of the ant. Tie these fibres on in front of the head of the ant, on the underside of the hook. If you have trouble tying the fibres on the underside of the hook, you may turn the hook upside down in the vise. Tie the hackle fibres on with 4 or 5 turns of the tying silk and a half-hitch. Then, taper, but only slightly, the portion in front of the legs and complete with a whip finish. Place a drop of lacquer just in back of the eye of the hook, to completely seal down the tying silk.

BLACK ANT NYMPH (Wet)

Hook:               No. 8 - No. 10
Body:               Black tying silk
Head:               Black tying silk
Legs:                Black hackle fibres, 6 - 8

PART II

SPENT-WING BLACK ANT. I have had good results with flies of the spent wing variety. Actually, this is a lazy fly to use. You cast the fly into the quiet waters of a pool or along the shore of a lake and let the fly sit on the water for a minute to a minute and a half, holding your rod very still. After a minute or so twitch your rod slightly, moving the fly just a little to form a ripple around it. The chances are that there is a fish watching that fly of yours. The fish may take the fly and, then, he may not; but with a slight ripple around the fly the fish may think there is life in the bug and that there is a chance of it getting away. If the fish is in a feeding mood this is enough, in a high percentage of cases, to cause it to strike. But, again, he may not take the fly due to some minor detail which keeps it from striking at that time. Although the results cannot be guaranteed, many times a fish will dart to the surface and take this type of fly when it is handled in this manner.

For this pattern you may use either a No. 10 or a No. 12 hook, or even a No. 12 long shank hook. Use a hook made of light wire, to increase the chances of the fly staying on top of the water. Use 0000, or 4/0, tying silk; wax it and wrap it to the bend of the hook and attach it there with a half-hitch.

Select 1 strand or black ostrich herl with which to make the butt of this fly. After pulling the strand of herl from the quill of the feather cut a little off at the base of the herl and tie the base end of it on at the bend of the hook. Wrap the single strand of herl around the hook 5 or 6 turns, making a butt section which is about 1/8th of an inch in width. Cross over the herl with the tying silk, making 2 or 3 turns and a half-hitch. Cut off the remainder of the herl.
 
Cut off 6 or 8 inches of black floss from the spool and tie on one end of the double-strand floss just in front of the butt, taking 3 or 4 turns around it with the tying silk and, then, a half-hitch. Spiral the tying silk to the spot 3/l6ths of an inch from the eye of the hook and attach it there with a half-hitch. Wrap the black floss around the hook in very even spirals which completely cover the shank of the hook up to the spot where the tying silk is tied. Bring the floss forward a little, cross over the floss with the tying silk, wrap 3 or 4 turns and make a half-hitch. Cut off the remainder of the floss.

For the wings of the fly select a good matched pair of black hackle feathers. The feathers selected should be l¼ to l½ inches in length, perhaps a little longer; it does not make much difference, just so they are not over 2 inches in length. The feathers should be matched so that the tip sizes and the lengths of the fibres of the two feathers are alike. Place the selected feathers back to back with the concave sides—the dull sides—of the hackle on the outside. Hold the hackle feathers in the fingers of your right hand over the body of the fly to measure the wings for length. The proper length for the wing is the length of the body of the fly. After getting the measurement, grasp the hackle feathers, held back to back, between the thumb and forefinger of your left hand and hold them in position on top of the hook. Tie them on immediately in front of the body, bringing the tying silk up between the ball of your thumb and the shank of the hook an down between the ball of your forefinger and the hook, just as you did in tying on the primaries and other types of wings in the earlier lessons. Make 4 or 5 wraps with the tying silk, up and down between your fingers and the hook, cinching the hackle feathers down tight, and ending the wrap with a half-hitch.

The two hackle feathers are now attached to the hook in streamer fashion on top of the shank of the hook with the hackles extending over the top of the body. The feathers are on edge, slightly separated. With the thumb and forefinger of your right hand take hold of the tips of the two hackle wings, move them forward into a vertical, upright position, and hold them there. With your left hand wrap the tying silk around the hook in back of the hackle wings. Wrap the silk 5 or 6 times around, closely in back of the wings, to provide a good support for them at the back. You will find this will hold the wings in a practically upright position when you release your hold on the tips.

Now, continuing to hold a tension on the tying silk with your left hand, use the fingers of your right hand to separate the two wing segments. Spread the wings as flat as possible, extending one out on each side of the shank of the hook. As you finish spreading out the wings the tying silk is still held in back of the wings. Now, wrap the tying silk, clockwise, over the space, in the center, between the two wings and make 1 turn around the hook in front of the wings. Cross back over the center space between the wings, to the back of the wings again. This will form an "X" or a figure "8," as many people say, with the tying silk. I prefer to call it an "X" because as you look at the top of the fly you will see that an "X" has been made with the tying silk. The first portion of the "X" is from the back to the front of the wings, and the second portion is from the front to the back of the wings. A single "X" of the tying silk should be sufficient to hold the wings in the spent position, because you will also wrap the hackle in a way to assist in holding them in this position. But, if the quill of the wings happens to be especially stiff you may have to again cross over from the back to the front, forming the first portion of a second "X" with the tying silk, or even make a second complete "X," to hold the wings in the spent position. The need for more than one "X" with the tying silk, however, is unusual. When the "X" wrap has been made, wrap the tying silk twice around the shank of the hook in back of the wings, then once around in front of the wings and a half-hitch. Then, with your sharp pointed scissors cut off the excess portion of the feathers used to form the wings, snipping them off as closely as possible to the last half-hitch. This is the portion extending over the eye of the hook.

For the hackle of the fly select a black neck hackle or a black saddle hackle, the fibres of which are free of web, just as dry as possible. Be sure that the fibres of the hackle you select are the proper length for the fly; measure the hackle as explained in the first two lessons. Place the hackle with the concave, or dull side facing you and tie it on the hook in front of the wings. Tie the hackle on with 3 or 4 wraps of the tying silk and a half-hitch, and cut off the surplus portion of the hackle feather. Grasp the tip of the hackle in the jaws of the hackle pliers and, with the dull side of the hackle facing forward, make 1 turn in front of the wings; then cross over the space at the top of the hook between the wings, as you did with the tying silk, to the back of the wings and make 2 turns of the hackle in back of the wings. Then, cross over the center space to the front and make 2 turns of the hackle in front of the wings. Tie off the hackle with 4 or 5 turns of the tying silk and a half-hitch. Cut off the surplus tip of the hackle feather, taper the head ending with a half-hitch and whip finish.

With the wrapping of the fly completed you can see that the wings are "spent," standing out straight from the shank of the hook so that the wings will be parallel with the surface of the water when the fly is used. Place a drop of fly head lacquer on the the head of the fly. Besides sealing the tying silk this helps to hold the wings in the desired position. To further assist in holding the wings in the spent position you may, just before the lacquer on the head is completely dry, adjust the wings to the exact position desired—flat or straight out—and apply another drop of lacquer at the base of the wings.

When you are fishing watch for the hatches and the active black ants which are found in most localities. Match your Black Ant fly with the size of the ants you see there. If, to match the size of the ants which you see, you have to use hooks smaller in size than the ones mentioned in the pattern, do not let that bother you. Make your flies in the size that the fish are likely to strike. Fish are generally interested only in the size of bug or insect which is on the water, or in it, at the time. Only on rare occasions will they hit anything else. So, do not be surprised if the fish smoothly pass up an imitation four sizes larger than the insects on the water at the time. I often smile to myself when talking to fly fishermen who say, "I've cut down my assortment of flies to only four or five patterns in one or two sizes; and I catch more and larger fish than my friends." To save argument all that I say to them is, "Could be." But I think to myself, "Yes, but what about the days you try every one of those few patterns and sizes and come home with, maybe, a couple of fighting six inchers? What do you think you would have caught those days if you had carried a better assortment of patterns and sizes and been able to match the size of the insects which were on the water at that time?"

BLACK ANT, SPENT WING (Dry)

Hook:               No. 10 - No. 12
Butt:                 Black ostrich herl
Body:               Black floss, thin body
Wings:              Black hackle tips, tied spent Hackle: Black, tied dry

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