In this week’s “How to Tie” video feature, Charlie Craven with Charlie’s Fly Box ties a simple yet deadly dry fly for blue line streams this summer, the Shimazaki Ant.
Learn About This Fly:
Difficulty: Easy
For anglers, the hot temperatures of summer should be making you think of one thing: small streams. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area with healthy mountain streams that stay cool through the dog days of summer, you should be taking full advantage. Bring your 3wt and a box of dry flies to the water and watch small trout go crazy, often times launching themselves out of the water in pursuit of a meal. The Shimazaki CDC Ant is an incredibly successful ant dry fly and should be a staple for every small stream or high-altitude lake angler, especially during August.
Tyers of every skill level will be able to master this pattern in timely fashion. Making sure profile is accurate for ants is important when trout become picky, but taking your time will eliminate that concern. Adding a touch of superglue to secure the CDC wing will add a bit of durability and longevity, especially when fishing for small brook trout with teeth that unravel flies with ease. Take a sign of relief when tying batches of the Shimazaki CDC Ant as not many dry flies are as quick and clean off the vise.
For targeting trout on most small streams, you can get away with a 3wt and 4x or 5x leader. Having a healthy selection of grasshoppers and beetles will add to your success on the water and make visible and explosive takes the norm. Even a six-inch trout will put a little bend in a 3wt and satisfy your tug-is-the-drug itch, with the occasional 10-incher feeling a blue line trophy. The Shimazaki CDC Ant is a pattern that will make your time on the water more enjoyable and exciting as you bring the surface of those small streams to life.
Ingredients:
- Hook: Tiemco 100 14-16
- Thread: UNI 6/0 Black
- Abdomen: Black Superfine Dubbing
- Thorax/Legs: Black Rooster Neck Hackle
- Wing: Dun and White CDC
- Head: Black Superfine Dubbing
Now you know how to tie the Shimazaki CDC Ant!
Video and ingredients courtesy of Charlie’s Fly Box.
