By Steve Smith
Rivers Wild Flies

You’ve got to be kidding me!  Fish don’t eat ants.
Lots of beginning fishermen have this opinion, but it doesn’t take very long fishing ants to find out just how much fish like them – they love ants!
If there is an aquatic insect hatch in progress, match it, but if there isn’t one, use terrestrials.  Late summer and early fall is the prime time to fish with terrestrial patterns.  Most of the midge, mayfly, caddis and stonefly hatches are over for the year and with them the large mature nymphs which trout are used to feeding on.  In their place you’ll find fish feeding on ants, beetles, crickets and grasshoppers.  These large, land dwelling insects must look like a Thanksgiving turkey to fish which are used to eating small aquatic ‘bugs’.  Terrestrial patterns are most effective during the heat of the day, after the sun has warmed up the bugs and they are moving around.   
In addition to being attractive to trout, terrestrial patterns are fun to fish.  When there is no visible surface feeding activity, tie on a beetle pattern with an ant pattern as a dropper, then cast it fairly close to a grass or willow lined bank.  Odds are, you’ll wake up a fish and it’ll take one or the other.  If you can see fish, rigging up an ant, then sight casting to that particular fish will not only produce results, but will totally captivate you with the experience.  Ant patterns are also ideal droppers off of larger dry flies, such as a cricket or grasshopper.
Fish terrestrials with no drag.  Once a terrestrial insect falls in the water, it cannot escape.  Fish know this, so their take will usually be gentle, although sometimes they’ll smash it to get it before it drifts away.   Fishing ants as a dry fly is great sport, but fish will also take a sunken ant.  To let out a secret:  crimp a small split shot a foot above an ant, then drift it along undercut banks or deep holes – brace your feet!
One of the advantages of the ant to the fly tier is there are so many varieties, it isn’t necessary to be extremely precise with the patterns.  Ants are among the most plentiful of all creatures (both in numbers and species) and can be found in nearly every climate.  They come in many different colors, sizes and configurations, although all have three body sections and six legs.  Just about any pattern which shows this segmentation and is near the right size will work.  When you tie some up, add some wings since many ant “hatches” occur when colonies send out winged adults and the wing is very noticeable.
Give ants a try this summer.  You’ll see fish really do love them.