Tying the J.E.B.'s Ant O Matic

Earlier this year, my uncle Jack from Columbia, SC came up to Chicago for a visit. Like me, he is an avid fly fisher and enjoys sharing stories and tying patterns. After good conversation, he pulled out a small swatch of black drawer liner material. He spoke about how this material is great for tying a black ant pattern that he uses on the Davidson River in North Carolina. A few weeks go by and I receive a cylinder package in the mail from my uncle. I open it up and there are numerous sheets of this material for NIFT members to use to tie ants. A few months later I receive an email which has a copied article on how to tie this infamous ant pattern using this material.

Here is the article - "Tying the J.E.B's Ant O Matic" which was in the Davidson Fly Fishing Outfitters Newsletter 

Now that Memorial Day weekend has come and gone, it's time to start thinking about tying and fishing terrestrials.  Ants are the most abundant of all terrestrial insects found in the diets of Southern Appalachian trout, and are on the menu from April into October. 

While many ant patterns are hard to see in the water, others are hard to create at the vise.  The Ant O Matic is a simple solution to both problems.  Made from a sheet of foam drawer liner, the design isn't really an original.  However, it is simple to tie, easy to see, and very effective.

Recipe

Hook:  Size 14 Standard Dry Fly

Thread:  Veevus 10/0 Black

Body:  Foam Drawer Liner

Wing:  Sparkle Yarn

Hackle:  Whiting Dry Fly Grizzly

Step 1

Take the drawer liner sheet and cut out a single row six segments in length.  Then, remove the end segments by quickly pulling the foam apart.  This will create the head, and the tie in point for the abdomen.

Step 2

Tie onto the hook, and lay down a thread base wrapping toward the back of the hook shank.  Tie in the "antennae" on one end of the strip.

Step 3

Wrap 1/3 of the way toward the hook eye, fold the foam strip forward, and lash it down between the second and third segments to create the abdomen.

Step 4

Wrap another 1/3 forward and lash down the next joint between segments.  At this point you could probably whip finish and fish the fly as is, but it would be hard to see.

Step 5

Tie in a small bit of sparkle yarn, or poly yarn for a wing.  Be sure the wing is swept toward the back of the fly.

Step 6

Tie in a grizzly dry fly hackle and palmer approximately three turns.  The number of turns of hackle is left up to the tier.  More for higher float, less for low riding flies. Then, whip finish.

Step 7(optional)

Trim the hackle from the bottom of the fly.  This will cause the fly to ride upright in the water, and allow it to sit in the surface film. This also a good time to trim up the wing if it has an undesirable appearance.

Enjoy! 

Jim Gould (Flyfishnut)