Welcome to Copper Fly - Beginners guide to tying flies


The Black Ant Fly Fishing Fly

The Black Ant Terrestrial Fishing Fly A simple to tie version of a dry black ant. This short tutorial will give you a good idea on how to tie the fly. I try to use the black ant where there are some ants close to the shore, and there is a bit of flora overhanging to water. Replace the black dubbing with a rusty brown or rusty orange dubbing on the front section to imitate a termite coloration.

Ingredients for this fly:
  • Dry Fly Hook Size 12 - 20
  • Black antron dubbing
  • Black dry fly hackle
  • 6/0 or 8/0 Uni-thread black
Tie on the thread.

Tie on your thread, and run it to the bend of the hook.

Dubbing The fly

Wax your thread and apply a sparse amount of dubbing onto the thread. Using your fingers, twist the dubbing onto the thread. Wrap the thread forward to mid shank, and create a taper to the abdomen. You may need to add more dubbing to create the proper taper.

Tie in a hackle

Next tie in a black saddle hackle sized appropriately for your hook.

Wrap the hackle

Wrap the hackle about 3 times around the hook and tie it off and trim the excess hackle.

Stack and wrap

Wax and dub the thread again, and wrap the thorax of the fly. The thorax should be slightly smaller than the abdomen. Add a whip finish, and add a small amount of head cement to the head of the fly.