Or going one step farther, If I could only have one fly........ You got it.... Yes, it would be an ant! In order of frequency used my personal choices are; parachute, large black, medium red & black, tiny cinnamon, and lacquered to fish wet. Each is very important in their own time and place.

I have a few personal rules that I apply to ant fishing. Seeing is believing, so choose your pattern for the water you are fishing. If the water is heavy or fast, I pick a larger ant in a parachute pattern, fur bodied with a white calves tail post. I usually use #14 or even #12 (There is also a commercial pattern out now called "quick sight ant." This is a foam ant with a white tip on the foam cylinder. These come in black and brown and are very easy to tie. Just place them on a hook with two wraps of hackle.)

If the water is flat or a gentle run pick a smaller ant #18 or #16, which can be deer hair, foam, or dubbed fur in a variety of colors. If black then use dun or brown hackle. If the area is dry and sandy I often try red and black ants hackled brown, or just the foam "quick sight" brown ant. Depending on the time of day and the light you may need a few of these tied in the parachute pattern with a very short post. Just enough so you can see it, but the fish can't.

For the days, or often the evenings, that are windless and deadly calm, and the fish are sipping invisible "nothings or something" off the mirror like surface, try a tiny cinnamon ant in a very small #20 or even a #22. These small sizes often fish well in very bright colors which helps their visibility. Hot pink and fluorescent orange are often great. As a general rule of thumb, I try to match the size of the ant to conditions of the water.

The lacquered or hard bodied ant is just one more presentation that fits in a little niche' of its own. There are probably many ways to fish this pattern, but I have found my own favorite. I fish it on a dropper under a large dry fly that will serve as a strike indicator. Using this set up in very calm water where fish are cruising seems to have become my own personal favorite use of this set up. I'm sure I will investigate others.

The other rule of thumb is to match the size of the ant to the size of the flies that you see or that you know are being taken. Often you cannot exactly match the hatch, and an ant can save the day. There have been many articles written over the years about, "anting the hatch." Believe it! Maybe it goes back to the chocolate theory. After so many plain 'ol mayflies, what self respecting trout won't gobble up a tasty little ant to make the meal more interesting. Or is it maybe desert?

Many times when you think the time and place are just right for fishing an ant the problem arises that you just can't see it. Trust yourself. Put the ant out there. Keep an eye on the area you think the fly is floating, and strike if you see any sign of a fish taking a fly. It will probably be yours. This was one of the most difficult things for me to do when I first began fishing ants. The more you fish the more adept you will get at striking the flash of movement rather than seeing your fly disappear. You will only get better at it by trial and error. So get started. You will not be disappointed in the results. You will become a better fisherman and a more confident one, by adding ants to your bag of tricks. (Or should that be, adding chocolate to the trout's diet?)