Chernobyl Ant
Made entirely of foam, this fly makes a great option to use as the hopper in a hopper dropper setup, but also works great when used alone. A thicker thread should be used to prevent cutting the foam while taking wraps. Don’t be afraid to try this pattern using different colors of foam and legging materials.
- Source: Tightline Productions
- Submitted By: Fly Tying Guide
Materials
1
Prepare the tan and black foam by cutting off strips equal to the hook gap in width and slightly longer than the overall hook length. Prepare two small piece of orange foam for the high vis indicators, a hole punch works well or cut a small length slightly thinner than the hook gap width.
2
Place the hook in the vise and secure the thread at the start of the bend.
3
Tie in a short length of red antron yarn at the start of the bend. Trim even with the end of the hook. Advance the thread to just behind the eye.
4
Position the tan foam so it extends slightly past the hook eye and secure it with tight wraps.
5
Lift the foam and advance the thread down the hook shank a short ways and catch in the foam with tight wraps. Repeat the process to create a segmented underbody to the bend of the hook.
6
Take a length of rubber legs four times the length of the hook, fold it in half and tie in on top of the foam at the bend of the hook.
7
Adjust the legs so they are even and then snip the loop so there are two equal length legs on either side of the hook.
8
Align the black foam so that it is even with the tan, and tie in with tight wraps at the bend of the hook.
9
Tie in an indicator at the hook bend with tight wraps and trim the foam if necessary.
10
Lift the black foam and advance the thread to the segment just behind the hook eye. Do this by crossing over the top of the tan foam to the next segment, taking a wrap and then advancing to the next segment.
11
Tie in rubber legs using the same process as before.
12
Secure the black foam with tight wraps to complete the body.
13
Tie in the remaining indicator with tight wraps and trim if necessary.
14
Lifting the tan foam, advance the thread to just behind the hook eye, whip finish and apply head cement.
15
Trim the tan and black foam to even up the ends and remove the sharp corners. Trim the legs if desired.