The following recipe for a foam/latex ant is adapted from one developed by Jeff Clark and first published on FLYFISH@, the flyfishing listserv on the Internet.
Hook: Mustad 94859 or any fine wire dry fly hook, #14-20
Note: For this technique you want to select a hook that is one size
smaller than you would for an equivalent fur ant, e.g. for a #14 size
body you use a #16 hook.
Thread: Same color as the ant body
Head/Abdomen: Rainey's or other float foam, trimmed to shape and covered
with colored liquid latex
Legs: Hackle, deer hair, mono, or rubber legging material in color to match
body
TYING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Tie an overhand knot into one end of a 1' to 2' piece of heavy thread or
mono and thread it into a needle from the opposite end so that you have a
single strand of thread held in place on the needle by the knot on the end.
Trim off the excess thread beyond the knot.
2. Cut pieces of foam for the head and abdomen of the ants in the size and
shape that you need for your flies. You are going to be making a number of
ant bodies at once to speed up the tying process. If you want all of your
ants to be one size then cut all the foam pieces the same size or you can
make different size ant bodies all at the same time. You are cutting one
piece of foam for the head and another larger one for the abdomen. The
two pieces together should be about the length of the hook shank. The
two pieces should be roughly rounded on the sides. Don't worry if they look
rough, chunky and angular, the latex will take care of that later.
3. Use the needle to thread an ant head onto your length of thread and
slide the foam to near the end of the thread. Then thread an abdomen onto
the thread leaving about 1/2" space between it and the head. Repeat this
until you have all of the heads and abdomen lined up on the thread with
about 1/2" space between them.
4. Secure the needle in your vise or stick it into something that will hold
it securely and then tie the other end of the thread to something else solid
so that the thread is held taunt and is over the top of a surface that you
don't mind dripping liquid latex onto.
5. Apply a drop of Cyanoacrylate glue to the thread just beyond the first
head and then slide the head over the glue. Apply another drop of CA
glue about 1/2 hook shank length behind that head and then slide the
abodomen behind it to a point about 1/4 hook shank length behind the
head. You should end up with an ant body that is about full hook length
with about 1/4 hook shank length between the head and abdomen. Continue
this process until you have all of the heads and abdomen assembled on the
thread into full ant bodies with spaces of thread between each body. CA glue
is available at model hobby stores that specialize in model airplanes, cars,
boats, etc. At these stores you will be able to find it in a variety of
consistencies: thin, medium and thick. The medium consistency works best
for this technique. Thin consistency such as Super Glue or Krazy Glue tends
to soak into the thread too much and thick consistency such as Zap-A-Gap
tends to bead up as you slide the ant bodies around creating glops of glue
on the end of the bodies rather than securing them firmly to the thread.
6. Now you are ready to work with the liquid latex. Liquid latex is
available at most hobby/craft stores and at stores that carry theatrical
make-up. Brands such as Rub-R-Mold, for example, are sold for making
miniature scenery for model train set ups. You are also going to need some
permanent markers and/or acrylic paint. The permanent markers can be used
to color the liquid latex after it dries. The acrylic paint can also be
used to paint the liquid latex after it dries or can be mixed with the latex
to create a body that has the color throughout. Mixing the acrylic paint
with the latex also speeds up the finishing time since you only have to wait
for one drying process.
7. Apply the liquid latex or latex mixed with acrylic paint to the ant
bodies with a fine artist's brush. The idea is to cover the foam chunks
with a layer of liquid latex creating a smooth rounded body. This is where
you cover all of the dings, edges, etc. that were created in cutting the
foam chunks. With a little bit of practice you will soon be creating smooth,
shiny and highly realistic looking ant bodies. Apply the liquid latex to
all of the foam bodies on the thread and let them all dry. After the bodies
have completely dried color them with permanent markers or acrylic paint if
necessary.
8. Cut off one complete ant body from the thread (head and abdomen plus
the space in between)just behind the rear of the abdomen leaving a little
thread at the front end of the head. Place the hook in your vise and start
your tying thread just behind the eye of the hook.
9. Position the head of the ant body just behind the eye of the hook and
take a couple of wraps of thread over the thread sticking out of the front
of the head. Whip finish to secure in place. Cut off your tying thread.
Trim the excess thread sticking out over the eye of the hook. Apply a
little CA glue to the whip finish to secure it firmly in place and let the
glue dry.
10. Restart your tying thread over the thread just in front of the abdomen
and around both that thread and the hook. Take a couple of wraps to secure
it in place and whip finish. Cut off your tying thread. Apply a little CA
glue to the whip finish to secure it firmly in place and let the glue dry.
11. An alternate method of securing the ant body to the hook is to carefully
work the hook through both the head and abdomen of the ant body before
securing the hook in the vise. Then take a couple of wraps of thread in
front of the head, whip finish and trim. Take a couple of wraps of thread
just in front of the abodmen, whip finish and trim. A little CA glue then
applied in both places and just behind the back of the abdomen where the
hook comes out will firmly anchor the whole thing in place. Note that if
you use this method the hook should exit from the abdomen not at the end of
the abdomen, but just slightly (1/4 hook shank length) in front of the end
on the underside of the abdomen. If you have trouble getting the hook
through the ant body with this method try reducing the amount of CA glue
that you were using to secure the bodies to the thread in the body
construction part of the technique. This method of securing the body to the
hook results in a more durable ant, but is a bit more difficult than the
first method.
12. Restart the thread just behind the head of the ant and add a couple of
turns of hackle, 3 strands of deer hair, or other legging material. Whip
finish and trim thread and deer hair or legging material. It is usually not
a good idea to use CA glue to secure these in place as it will tend to
stiffen up the legs unless applied VERY carefully. Head cement is usually
better for this part of the process.
The end product is a foam/latex ant that is highly realistic, extremely durable and can be easily produced in large quantities. The latex/foam body also results in a body that is very realistic in feel to the fish and can increase your hookup rate.
