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Parachute Ant
Parachute Ant
Tying Instructions
1. Lay a thread foundation covering the shank from the 1/3 position behind the eye to the bend of the hook.
2. Apply the dubbing to the thread. Angora Goat has long fibers, so I’ll lock a few of them with the thread against the shank and twist the fibers around the thread to create a loose rope.
3. Dub a rear abdominal segment covering about 1/3 the shank length. The segment should look like a hairy football.
4. Even up the tips of a clump of calf body hair.
5. Measure the wingpost to be about the length as the hook shank.
6. Attach the clump on the top of the shank at the midpoint of the front thoracic segment. The post should be about the same length as the shank.
7. Trim the butts of the calf hair and secure with thread wraps.
8. Secure the butt ends of the calf hair with tight thread wraps to the base of the first segment.
9. Stand the post up with a few thread wraps.
10. Wrap around the the base of the post to prepare it for the hackle.
11. I find it easier to have the wingpost horizontal when wrapping the thread. Wrap the base so that it is just above the height of the dubbed body segment.
12. Size a hackle to the hook and remove the basal fibers to give you a clean quill stem. Tie in the hackle to the side of the shank in front of the wingpost and wrap the stem up the post to where your first hackle wrap will start and then wrap the thread back down to the bottom of the post.
13. Dub the thread tightly.
5. Wrap in front and in back of the post to form the front thoracic bulge of the ant. You should have left enough space so that there is a small space between the front and rear segments to form the segmented ant shape. Don’t let the front segment get larger than the rear segment.
15. Wrap the hackle around the post several times and tie off. Do not overdo the parachute hackle. It’s ok if the ant sinks into the film as long as you can see the white post. Again, I like to do this with the wingpost horizontal. A few wraps between the hackle and the tag end will lock the hackle.
16. Clip off the tag end.
17. Whip finish around the base of the hackle taking care to not trap any fibers.
18. The finished Parachute Ant. Also known as a Fur Ant with no synthetic materials.
| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | TMC 921 #14-18 or TMC 900BL #14-16 |
| Thread | Uni-thread Black 8/0 |
| Body | Black Angora Goat |
| Wingpost | White Calf Body Hair |
| Hackle | Grizzly Hackle |
Ed Schroeder
Parachute Ant
The Parachute Ant developed by Ed Schroeder in the early 1970’s has withstood the test of time and continues to be one of the top ant patterns for the last fifty years. Ed’s pattern used Calf Body hair for the wingpost but most patterns today utilize Hi-Viz Poly floating yarn.
The body was Angora Goat which gave the fly pattern the name as a “Fur Ant” but is often changed to a synthetic dubbing such as Superfine. Colorations of black are the best but also try brown and rusty brown.
Life Cycle
Best time to use this fly is the late Summer and Fall from August through November when the water is low and you need a small ant to gently fall to the water surface. The Eastern Sierra is particularly good for this fly. Ants can arrive into the water either by falling in or when the ants sprout wings and fly during the mating time. Once the ant hits the water, they have no chance of escape and the trout know this. Ants contain a lot of formic acid so most small animals will not eat these insects but trout love them and will gorge themselves.
Presentation
Cast to foam lines on the stream and let it drift. Minimize any mending since movement of the ant on the water surface will spook the fish. Also cast the pattern along the shore, particularly undercut banks.
Variations
Barry Ord Clark has an interesting variation of this pattern using Black Ostrich Herl for the body which provide some additional floatation. Martin Westbeek of the Netherlands also has a nice variation where he uses the wingpost material as a back over the rear dubbed body. It is marked black. The TMC 102Y is also an excellent hook for the ant pattern with it’s black finish, wide gape, and fine wire.
Variations
Barry Ord Clark’s Parachute Ant
| Hook | Firehole 316 #12-18 |
| Thread | Veevus Black 12/0 |
| Body | Black Ostrich Herl |
| Wingpost | White Poly Pro Floating Yarn |
| Hackle | Grizzly Hackle |
Hi-Vis Parachute Ant
| Hook | TMC 921 #14-18 |
| Thread | Uni-thread Black 8/0 |
| Body | Black Superfine |
| Wingpost | Yellow Poly Pro Floating Yarn |
| Hackle | Grizzly Hackle |
Westbeek Parachute Ant
| Hook | TMC 102Y #13-19 |
| Thread | Veevus Black 10/0 |
| Body | Black Superfine |
| Thorax | PMD Superfine |
| Shell | White Poly Pro Floating Yarncolored Black |
| Wingpost | White Poly Pro Floating Yarn |
| Hackle | Grizzly Hackle |