Your Order
Posts Tagged ‘black ant’
Lower Gospel Lake 8/27
|
It’s a big huckleberry year, so I convinced Peach and Mudd that it was picking time; but before we could start on that endeavor, I would have to drop in the canyon and fish Lower Gospel Lake. They took the bait, and I found myself on the two mile trail that falls off into the lake.
I had fished the lake a couple of years ago, and the cutthroats were all about 8-11 inches long. If the lake took its natural progression, the fish should be larger this year. I was wrong—the fish were just about the same. There are too many fish in the lake, and the food source isn’t supplying the nutrients to grow larger fish. Looking at the outlet, I could see at least a dozen fish, and they looked exactly as I remembered. Regardless, I had a fishing rod in my hand, so my choices were to fish or to fish. I elected to fish.
The cutties were cruising the shorelines cleaning up the small midges and occasional caddis that had hatched during the night before. I began targeting the fish out ahead of me along the edge with nice sift casts, landing the Flying Black Any out ahead of the fish then putting a little movement on the bug. The fish would see the ant at surprisingly long distance and bolt to the surface. Even with small fish, it’s still exciting to watch “the take.” In fact, there is no excitement in all of sport like “the take.” I have been addicted to it for 50 years, and it never grows old.
So I fished the shoreline for 150 yards, caught and released about 25 gorgeous cutties, hiked out of the canyon, and huckleberried the rest of the day. Life is good!!
Flies that caught fish:
Black Flying Ant; #16
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Adams Caddis – Green; #18
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Twenty Mile Lakes (Day 3) – 8/17
|
|
Up a steep mountain chute, through a saddle, and across a ridge top, and we found ourselves at the upper lake in the chain (East Lake) to start Day 3. We fished around the lake and saw a few feeding fish beyond casting range. I caught one fish then moved down to the center lake (South Lake). Again this lake was being fished, so the obvious choice was to revisit Long Lake where the fishing was fantastic the day before.
Steve started in the southeast corner of the lake and immediately hooked and landed a beautiful 14-inch cuttie. I started about center on the southern side of the lake and on the second cast, I hooked and landed the largest fish of the trip. It was a beautiful 17+ inch rainbow. From there, we both continued to hook fish of all sizes: 8 inches to 14-inch fish. We pulled off the lake in mid-afternoon and decided to chase fish at our home lake the rest of the day.
Steve landed two nice cutties, and I landed one to finish off the day. All told, it was an awesome backpacking trip to Twenty Mile Lakes. Great scenery, ice-cold spring 40 yards from camp, and lots of rainbows and cutties. Life is good!!
Flies that caught fish:
Adams Stimulator; #16 & #14
Adams Stimulator
$1.95
Emperor Caddis – Black; #20 & #18
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Flying Black Ant, #16 & #14
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Beetle, #14
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
Green Sedge, #14 (Tester Fly)
Adams Caddis, #16
Adams Caddis
A gorgeous high-floating fly tied in body colors gray and dark olive with the classic grizzly and brown collar. Fish him in fast water and very aggressively. He floats like a cork and catches fish like a worm.
$1.95
- Color:
- Gray, Green.
Warren Dredge Ponds 7/15 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
|
|
One of Idaho’s great hidden gems is the Warren Dredge Ponds located about 40 miles north of McCall on Warren Wagon Road. The Dredge Ponds are 2 miles outside of the town of Warren, which used to be a thriving metropolis back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The whole valley was once a lush meadow with a gorgeous stream (Warren Creek) running through the center of it. The early pioneers discovered gold and silver in the valley and this is how the dredge ponds came into existence. In the middle of the valley lies remnants of an old dredger that created a unique fishery in the state of Idaho. The ponds are stocked to the gills (no pun intended) with little eastern brooks that are prime for the taking if you have the right fly.
I had the distinct pleasure of fishing with one of the best fly fishermen I have ever fished with; my brother Nathan. Nathan resides in Nashville Tennessee, and he only fly fishes when he comes home, but he never seems to lose his touch. We started off fishing at one of the several ponds and we both had tied on an Emperor Caddis Black #20 (dry fly fish Idaho). We separated and both took a different side of the pond so we could divide and conquer. Like clockwork, Nathan’s first cast resulted in a nice 7” brookie; and from that point on, I was playing catch up to keep up with his catch numbers. After about 25 fish, Nathan’s Emperor Caddis Black (dry fly fish Idaho) had seen better days, so he tied on a new fly, one that he thought was an Emperor Caddis. It turns out he had tied on a goose biot mayfly and suddenly he was getting no bites or any false takes. At this point we were separated and I had no idea why he was not catching any fish because I was routinely catching fish on the Emperor Caddis Black (dry fly fish Idaho). We finished fishing that pond and we met back up and I looked at his fly and realized he was using the wrong fly for the job. Whenever you are fishing a heavily fished area there is no substitute for the right fly.
So the day went on fishing miscellaneous ponds catching small brookies, so we decided to fish Warren Creek to see if bigger fish resided in it. We started on the lower section and we picked up a couple, but the fish were small so we headed up river to find bigger fish. I decided to tie on a Beetle #16 (dry fly fish Idaho) and started fishing upside down for the fish. I would cast down river and skate my beetle across holding waters and out of nowhere fish would strike the beetle like a bolt of lightening. Anytime you are faced with crystal clear water and fish that spook easy, the upside down technique is a great way to pick up fish that otherwise you would’ve scared before you got a hook in front of them. We fished on for a few more hours, picking up some nice brookies and wild native rainbows.
My brother and I finished up the day on one more pond, and we decided to use new flies and experiment a little bit. I had tied on a Black Ant #14 (dry fly fish Idaho) and Nathan tied on a Little Morman Girl #16 (dry fly fish Idaho). We fished on picking up a few more fish before we called it a day and headed back to camp. On the day we caught lots of fish, we had some good gut laughs and waded through some very cold stretches of river. The flies we used on the day were:
Emperor Caddis Black #20 & #18
Beetle #16
Black Ant #14
Emperor Caddis Gray #18
Little Mormon Girl #16
Emperor Series
Our #1 fishing fly for 2009 was the “Emperor” caddis series. We fished this series of flies at all elevations, from May through September and they are truly super flies. We featured the “Emperor” black caddis in a video we shot in the Idaho Wilderness called “Fishing the High Country,” and it took the place of our Black Flying Ant as the #1 fly for alpine lakes. Every place we fished, these flies it put on a show!!!!
$1.90
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.
$1.80
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Little Mormon Girl
$1.85
- Size:
- 16 14
Red and Black Ant- Dry Fly Fish Idaho
|
|
Since we have been writing about our fly catalog we have spoke a lot about universal flies that you can use at all elevations and on any types of waters. The Red and Black Ant is the absolute epitome of the universal fly. You can dry fly fish Idaho at all mountain elevations and you can slid into any low elevation river, like the South Fork of the Boise River, with the Red and Black Ant and be successful. I have spent all my life dry fly fishing Idaho high mountain ranges and the number one tie on fly I always choose is the Red and Black Ant. It is the most deadly fly for high mountain trout because most of their diet consists of terrestrials such as the Red and Black Ant, beetles, and black ants. The beauty of this fly is you do not have to be in tight on the edges or under vegetation, you can effectively dry fly fish anywhere on the water and trout will come to the red and Black Ant. Another important aspect of this fly is it can be fished dry or slightly wet under the waters film. I admit it is a lot more fun when the fly is big and dry sitting on the water, but most of my success with a Red and Black Ant has come from not using any gink and letting it sink just below the waters surface. If you are dry fly fishing this way you will need to watch for any rings or dimples at the surface because the fish will not break the water when they take, their movements will create only a dapple at your hook. If you see this, set the hook because you are going to have a fish on.
Dry Fly Innovations ties the Red and Black Ant in two sizes (#18 and #16). When dry fly fishing Idaho in the high mountain elevations this is a great fly to use because it is one size smaller than the flying black ant and sometimes high mountain trout have a tendency to eat smaller bugs and flies. You can effectively dry fly fish Idaho on all stretches of water and it will catch all species of trout. I cannot tell you how many commercial ants I have purchased over my lifetime (before I started tying my own) and they all ended up the same way. After two fish it is a ball of dubbing that does not even look like a bug. Dry Fly Innovations ties the Red and Black Ant to have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won’t fray or break. We take great pride in making top notch dry flies and the Red and Black Ant is no exception, you will break it off in a fish’s mouth or on a tree before you wear out a Dry Fly Innovations Red and Black Ant. This summer get out of the city and all the monotony and dry fly fish Idaho mountain lakes with a Red and Black Ant, you will have a fishing trip of a lifetime.
Red & Black Ant
Virtually identical to the other ants, the Red & Black Ant is slightly smaller than the others. It is available in #18 and #16 hook.
$1.80
Black Ant – Dry Fly Fish Idaho
|
|
The black ant is one of the most lethal flies an angler can tie onto his tippet. When fishing high mountain lakes, streams, or rivers the black ant can be devastating on trout. When you are walking around a lake or river what is the most prevalent bug you see? The answer of course is a black ant.
The beauty of the black ant is that you can fish it in your own local waters (South Fork of the Boise River, and the Owyhee River) or anywhere in the world. It could be one of the most universal flies that an angler can pack in their fly box. When tied correctly it should have a tapered body with defined body segments. If you remember back in your elementary science days we were taught that bugs have a head, body, and thorax. When tying a black ant all of its anatomy needs to be correct when presenting it to a fish. They have tiny heads with perfectly tapered oblong bodies. To finish it off you need to have wings because, believe it or not, black ants have wings.
When I mention the versatility of the black ant I am specifically speaking about when and where you can use it effectively. All throughout the summer seasons I would not hit a lake or a stream without having a black ant in my fly box. In the early spring when hatches have not come off yet or when fish are not keying on the surface you can very easily tie on a black ant and you can get trout to trigger on it. You can fish this fly in the early fall before all the hatches have gone away (stay tuned for the late seasons flies). This particular fly is not affected by elevations or weather. The black ant is food that trout will predominantly feed on when available, and they are not usually going to pass up a beautifully tied black ant. The next time you are in the high mountains of Idaho or anywhere else in the planet tie on a black ant and let the fight begin!!!
Ants
An enormous percentage of a trout's diet above 6,000 feet is ants. Fish cruise the edges under the canopy in search of these crunchy, high-octane morsels. The four ant patterns displayed are the ultimate weapons in the most prevalent color selections. They have tightly wound oblong body segments, beautifully crafted wings, and present themselves exactly like the natural. They have no deer hair shells over the tail so they are tough and won't fray or break like many commercial flies. You will catch more fish with less refusals using DFI ants!
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Cinnamon, Red.
Enos Day 3 August 14 2009
|
View Larger Map |
Our final day at Enos started off cold, real cold, but thankfully dry. We decided to beat the rest of the crowd to the water and left early to try and capitalize on the rainless morning. The plan was to fish Enos, and if we had no luck there, hit another satellite lake and film it instead. Well, we fished along the bank until the trail took off to the upper lake and didn’t catch a thing. Denied. It was as if no fish had ever lived in the giant lake that was Enos! But we at DFI are resilient and we roll with the punches and moved up to that upper lake.
After a short while at the upper lake we were into fish, but they would only take once in a while. We hiked along the edge and caught a few more fish but it was over a period of time. We fished that lake for most of the day and once we hit all the fishy spots, we decided to hit big Enos again. By our thinking, it had to have woken up by then.
The short of it is that it didn’t. The temperature drop and pressure change had sent all the fish down into the deep middle, and in the big lake, the fish had no reason to cruise the banks. Crestfallen but not defeated we returned to our little lake we were camping at and took a break. We fished that small guy a while and actually did quite well, but unfortunately the camera was already stowed, so no footage was shot.
Enos was a good hard hike and a fun fishing trip. The weather in which we camped was less then ideal, with a good stiff wind swirling constantly. During normal August conditions, fishing can be phenomenal but as it has been DFI’s luck all summer, we arrived during deviate weather. I say oh well because we still did well and personally, I had a lot of fun.
Red Mountain 7/4 (Dry Fly Fish Idaho)
|
View Larger Map |
As is tradition, we at Dry Fly Innovations have always made a fourth of July trip to Red Mountain and all the lakes under its peak. The trailhead is about 20 miles from the town of Lowman, Idaho and from Boise it takes about 3 hours to reach. We arrived at the Red Mountain trailhead bright and early at 8AM. If you ever plan to hike into the lakes there it is essential to leave in the morning while the air is still cool and the sun still lower. The five mile hike is fairly short, but let me be the first to tell you that it is all up hill…ALL up hill, especially the first 2 miles.
We made it up the mountain in good time and set up camp on the highest of Red Mountains lakes. The campsite, situated next to one of the most pristine springs of all the world, looked as if it had just thawed from the winter snows. Even so, we were there and we weren’t going to leave; besides the lake was brimming with rainbows and cutthroats.
As I filmed, Geoff and Nate started catching 10-12 inch cutthroats and slightly smaller rainbows. We moved about the sides of the lake watching for cruisers and cast specifically to them. These fish are on feeding mode and ‘cruise’ the sides of the lake in search of food. We would serve up black ant, beetle, or mountain emerger, all on #16-18 hooks, and they would take them, one after another.
We caught enough for dinner, let some go, and accidentally dropped a few more back into the water! It was a good time, and as far as I was concerned, as long as I didn’t go hungry I would be happy.
At all of our campsites, not just Red Mountain, we use a unique fire box to cook our fish. Made out of the same materials most use for a fire pit, we have engineered the perfect method for cooking on an open bed of coals. Look for the video we filmed on how to construct such a useful contraption. (See How To’s on our web page).
The second day I fell ill. Being sick in the high mountains is not something I would ever recommend, but we were there and we fished on anyway. Second day fishing is much tougher than the first, which can almost be considered a rule. The fish are wary and much more reluctant to commit to a fly. We fished all day and only picked up just enough for dinner. It took an extreme amount of patience and a bit of luck to get the trout to go for the fly. We would lay in waiting behind trees and shrubs waiting to ambush the wary cruiser as he made his way around the lake. If they saw you they were as good as gone, and in the clear waters of the mountains, that happens often.
Once again, the black ant proved to be the most successful fly and because of it, we did not starve. We cooked and ate our fill and shoved off to bed. The third day we hiked out early and headed home. Red Mountain is a bit of a buttkicker when it comes to walks, but the fishing is always fun and worth the effort.
Product Not Found
Sorry! The product you requested is not found in our catalog!
Mountain Emergers
$1.80
- Color:
- Black, Gray
Beetle
The most realistic beetle pattern available. It has a peacock belly, a sculptured body, and exactly 6 moose hair legs. DFI beetles are killer flies in almost all waters.