Body Semperfli Floating Poly Yarn, black (1 strand)
Wing Semperfli Predator Fibres (10-15 fibres)
Legs Whiting Farms Red Label dry fly hackle, golden brown (1 feather)
Head Semperfli Floating Poly Yarn, black (2-3 turns)
Glue Wapsi Z-ment (a smear)
How to tie it
Mount a size 12 Stealth Hook D series in the vice and lay a thread base down the back half of the shank, trimming out the tag end.
Pinch-wrap the Floating Poly Yarn in at that point, work the thread down to the bend and then take tight wraps back up, leaving the thread at the midpoint.
Palmer the yarn one turn round the bend of the hook and forward, pulling firm but not hard, crushing the fibres costs you floatation.
Wrap back over the rear portion and forward again to beef up the gaster, because a real ant is heavier at the back, then secure at your original tie-off point.
Fold the yarn forward, take a couple of wraps in front to lay down a little more thread, and trim the yarn out. You can leave it in and use the same piece for the head if you prefer.
Fold about 10 to 15 Semperfli Predator fibres in half around the thread and secure them so they sit slightly stepped down from the shank.
Figure-eight over the wings to split them, trim any strays, and cut them to roughly double the length from the bend, using the hook as your ruler.
Prep a Whiting Red Label golden brown hackle with the stem exposed, tie it in on the near side with securing wraps back to the wing, tidy the underbody and leave the thread just in front of the step.
Lay down a bead of Z-ment over the thorax and palmer the hackle through it while it is still wet, that is what stops the hackle working loose later.
Take dense touching turns of hackle for the legs and bugginess, pulling the fibres back with your free hand; keep it dense because that is what lands the fly upright and stops it wobbling side to side.
Trim the hackle off leaving a little stem exposed, then sweep all the fibres back with thread pressure to clear the head area.
Pinch-wrap the poly yarn back in and leave the thread in front of the eye, then wrap the yarn two or three turns, four is too much, a couple behind and a couple in front, repeating to make it secure.
Whip finish three turns without crowding the eye, then repeat for a double three-turn whip finish, and trim the yarn out; a small tag standing up only adds to the head.
Trim the hackle flush underneath so the fly lands flat and the remaining fibres read as legs to the sides.