Knoxville Fly Shop The Creel Chernobyl Ant Tying Instructions

Tying The Chernobyl Ant

Start by cutting the foam for the body. Both pieces of fly foam should should be sized to reach from front of the hook eye, to the end of the hook bend. Refer to the large photograph at bottom-left.

Next select a piece of brown hackle. Don't worry too much about sizing the hackle, as it will be trimmed later. You may use either a saddle hackle, or a neck hackle.

Now, dress the hook as you normally would. Then tie in the hackle, behind the eye as illustrated. Now wrap your thread to the rear of the hook shank, and let the bobbin hang.

Next, palmer the hackle toward the rear of the hook shank, and tie it off just ahead of the bend. Try and keep it fairly sparse. The hackle will help keep the fly from spinning on the hook.

Now, tie in both foam pieces, where the hackle ends. Make a few thread wraps to hold the foam in place. Then, tie in the rubber legs on each side of the of the body. Tying down only the tan foam, palmer the thread forward. This is how the the segmented under-body is created. Stop far enough behind the hook eye, so that the head of the fly foam is roughly the same size as the rear. Next, tie the over-body down. Attach legs on either side of the body again, and trim the hackle. Complete the fly with a whip finish. For neatness, you may also glue the foam together at the ends.

Remeber, past fly tying instructions are archived at the bottom of this page. You can view those patterns by clicking the links which are named for the fly.



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Fly Tying Tutorials Brought to You By Tennessee's Fly Shop, The Creel
	This month's pattern is the famous Chernobyl Ant. This trout fly is a good one during the dog days of summer here in the greater East Tennessee area. Fished under overhanging foliage, this fly can bring up some large trout. It also makes for a great strike indicator. The Chernobyl Ant is perfect for the old hopper and dropper set-up. Equally effective on summer-time trout in both tailwaters and small streams, Chernobyl Ants should be in every Tennessee fly box. The fly pattern will also take bass and brim effectively. The colors of the materials can also be changed, as this fly is effective in many variations. A solid black body with black or orange legs is effective on the Watauga and South Holston Rivers. Chernobyl ants are even tied with red or green under bodies in some areas. Bass and Brim love them with a yellow underbody. Regardless of how you decide to tie your Chernobyl, stop by The Creel to pick up any tying materials that you may need. The knowledgeable staff, at Knoxville's oldest fly shop, will be eager to assist you in choosing the proper materials for whatever you are tying. Materials List: TMC 5212 #8 6/0 or 8/0 thread Brown hackle, neck or saddle Round rubber legs (white) Fly Foam (black, tan & white)	Tying The Chernobyl Ant Start by cutting the foam for the body. Both pieces of fly foam should should be sized to reach from front of the hook eye, to the end of the hook bend. Refer to the large photograph at bottom-left. Next select a piece of brown hackle. Don't worry too much about sizing the hackle, as it will be trimmed later. You may use either a saddle hackle, or a neck hackle. Now, dress the hook as you normally would. Then tie in the hackle, behind the eye as illustrated. Now wrap your thread to the rear of the hook shank, and let the bobbin hang. Next, palmer the hackle toward the rear of the hook shank, and tie it off just ahead of the bend. Try and keep it fairly sparse. The hackle will help keep the fly from spinning on the hook. Now, tie in both foam pieces, where the hackle ends. Make a few thread wraps to hold the foam in place. Then, tie in the rubber legs on each side of the of the body. Tying down only the tan foam, palmer the thread forward. This is how the the segmented under-body is created. Stop far enough behind the hook eye, so that the head of the fly foam is roughly the same size as the rear. Next, tie the over-body down. Attach legs on either side of the body again, and trim the hackle. Complete the fly with a whip finish. For neatness, you may also glue the foam together at the ends. Remeber, past fly tying instructions are archived at the bottom of this page. You can view those patterns by clicking the links which are named for the fly.
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Fly Tying Tutorials Brought to You By Tennessee's Fly Shop, The Creel