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Los Alamos Ant Tied by Jerry Caruso Originated by Harrison Steeves III |
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Hook: Mustad 94840 #10 Thread: White Danville 6/0 Body: White Embossed Foam Underbody: Pearl ice chenille Legs: White/silver Sili legs Misc.: Red fabric paint |
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Tying Instructions: 1. Secure thread to hook, wrap to end. 2. Tie in two pieces of leg material, pointed out over the back of the hook in a small "V". 3. Tie in the point of a steep triangle of foam, wide end pointed over hook eye, iridescent side up. Wrap thread to just behind eye. 4. Bring thread to rear. Tie in chenille, advance thread to foam. Wrap chenille forward, tie off and trim. Wrap thread through chenille to rear. 5. Pull foam back over point of hook, flat of triangle should extend just beyond bend of hook. Make 3 or 4 wraps of thread to secure foam. 6. Lay second triangle of foam, iridescent side up, on top of the bottom piece of foam. Point of triangle should line up with end of bottom foam or just past it. Make 3 wraps to secure in place. At this point you can either whip finish and cut thread, or make 3 or 4 wraps over the bottom foam to about 1/16th inch behind eye. 7. If you whip finished the rear wrap, tie in thread 1/16th inch behind eye. Pull foam forward . End of foam should be even with, or extend just past, hook eye. Secure with 3 or 4 wraps of thread. 8. Tie in 2 legs, Madam X style. Secure thread and finish. 9. Use fabric paint to dot two eyes on the front edge of top foam layer. Notes: I saw Harrison Steeves tie this pattern at a fly show in the early spring. I'm not sure what species the fly is intended to catch, but I kept seeing panfish and bass taking it. He was using Loco Foam, a craft foam with an iridescent surface thought up by Harrison and his partner. The swap Ants are not tied with "Loco Foam" but white craft foam with Mother of Pearl embossing applied. Drop me an e-mail if you'd like to know how I did it. The fly can be tied in various colors and sizes and done using just craft foam. I've been tying them on size 6-10 3XL dry hooks, I prefer straight-eyed hooks. Some other colors, black with either peacock herl or black ice chenille underbody, yellow w/white or yellow ice chenille, brown w/copper ice chenille, and chartreuse w/ chartreuse ice chenille. At last count, I had about 60 different colors of Sili Legs(spinner bait skirts), so it's not difficult to find legs to match. Fishing tips, nothing innovative. Dead drifted, steady retrieve or stop and start retrieve. |
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Jerry Caruso Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA Email: [email protected] |