If you ever see trout in the heat of a bright summer day, sipping something on the surface while the sun shines bright & hard down onto the stream, take a close look & you'll probably see that they're taking ants. These ants fall into the stream & become trout food. They struggle on the water's surface, drawing the trout's attention. Once the trout have recognized them as food they'll hone in on them & you can do really well with a good ant dry fly.
I like to keep things simple & this ant pattern is just that. You need to make sure you match the size of your fly to the size of the real ants on the water. Fortunately, this fly is easy enough to tie that if you have to go down to, say, size 20 hook, it shouldn't be too bad at the vise. If you're like me, you get frustrated tying complicated, small patterns as my fingers just seem too big to handle those small hooks & feathers at the tying vise.
Thinking of summer makes me think of ants on the water. This is one fly you can use when nothing else will work on those hot days when the trout are being selective to the natural ants. In fact, this fly can save the day when those conditions are present. Give it a try & enjoy the great video below, showing how to tie it up!