Central Alberta Fly Tying Club

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Up in Smoke Chironomid Variant and a Window Tint ASB Chironomid

Hi Everyone!

What a fantastic turnout last night. We talked about chironomids that have worked well in several of our local pot hole lakes. We also talked a lot about chironomid construction. Ralf from our club will be smiling because we used magic markers to make a residual hemoglobin tip and a hot spot orange collar (represents wing pads).

There is definitely a spot in your fly box for a dull chromie like chironomid. We have noticed a lot of throat samples showing chironomids that were not very shiny or "gassed up." Below is what we came up with. Take a look!

We also tied up a variation of a Window Tint Chironomid. Take a look! These are excellent chironomids to add to your chironomid box.

Oh yes, I bought my precut Antistatic bag from this person:

hbarby@telus.net

...also Bob Edens sells Buzzer Wrap in his shop!

We also spent time about how to approach a lake. Sometimes adjusting your location might be moving very short distances and of course playing with depth.

Next week is Part Two of Tying with Pheasant Tail. We will be tying two excellent dry fly patterns and a neat streamer that uses pheasant tail!

See you next week!

Up in Smoke Variant

Hook: Daiichi 1760-sizes 14-12

Thread: White UTC 70

Gills: Unistretch

Bead: nickle or black 3/32nd

Rib: Black wire, small

Body: Smoke Buzzer Wrap

You can add a hot spot collar with burnt orange thread or use an orange magic marker!

Red hemoglobin tip using a red marker and an orange collar using a marker

You can also use copper flashabou to create a collar!

Window Tint Chironomid Variant

Daiichi 1760-sizes 14-16

Bead: Brown or copper 3/32 nd

Gills: Unistretch

Thread: UTC 70 wine

Rib: Copper, small

Body: Window Tint (copper)

Chironomid Adults

Throat samples help point you in the right direction

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Roche Lake Special and The O'Keefe Special with Rick Miyauchi

11 tiers took in a fly tying presentation hosted by Rick Miyauchi.

Prior to the actual fly tying, Rick talked about the various methods to improve our success at getting a fish to hand. We all have experienced having the fish spit the hook leaving us wondering what went wrong. Rick suggested that a slight delay after the fish takes the fly to improve the hook set. Also, removing unnecessary stack in the fly line and keeping the rod tip low to the water.

Rick presented two winning fly patterns.

Thanks Rick and thanks Doug for the photos and summary!

Next fly tying is Monday February 23rd. We will be talking about fly fishing at Mitchell Lake. We will be tying some chironomids that really produced this past year! Bring white, olive and wine UTC 70 thread, a red, black and orange magic marker.

The O’Keefe Special

This is an old pattern dating back to the sixties first tied by Gordon Kilpatrick and Aubrey Wood. The fly has seen a few changes over the years but is still regarded as a killer fly.

Hook: 2x-3x long nymph or streamer hook, Size 6-16

Thread: UTC 70 Black

Tail: Brown hackle fibres

Body: Arizona Simi-Seal, Canadian Brown

Wing: Dark brown or black bear hair

Collar: Brown hen hackle

Roche Lake Special

This pattern was developed by Don Freschi and Brian Chan on Roche Lake located in central BC. Roche Lake is a very productive lake and receives a lot of fishing pressure.

Hook: Jig style hook, Size 10-14

Thread: UTC 70 Olive

Bead: 1/8” to 7/64” gold tungsten bead on sequin pin

Tail: Pearl/Blue Angel Hair or White Fire Star dubbing

Body: Olive Ice Dub or Light Olive Arizona Simi-Seal

Collar: Peacock Ice Dub

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Fly Fishing with Ants- Doug Pullan

Doug Pullan was our presenter tonight. Doug did a presentation on fly fishing with ants. It was an outstanding presentation. Below are Doug's notes and the the flies that we tied. Definitely take a look! Everyone should have these patterns in both their lake box and river box. Thanks Doug for a fantastic evening.

Next week, Rick Miyauchi will be our presenter. Rick is going to do a fly patterns from Britich Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I wonder what Rick is up to. It promises to be a fun evening!

Just a note that there is no fly tying on February 16th, Family Day.

Fishing with Ants

The ant pattern is the best fly you have never used.

This is true of many fly anglers. When it comes to fly fishing we have been conditioned to match the hatch focusing on midges, mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies and terrestrials. However, ants are always around during certain seasons.

There are about 14,000 ant species through-out the world with about 800 available in North America. Alberta has about 90 species. This makes ants an important terrestrial to us fly fishers.

Why do trout eat ants? Good question. Because ants are very acidic, maybe trout just like the taste of them. Trout’s predatory instincts are such that they will gorge themselves on ants often ignoring other food items that are present.

Ants normally live their lives in various places. We see them all the time. When the time is right, certain ants develop wings which take flight in order to create new colonies. Not all ant species hatch at the same time, therefore us fly fishermen can experience a flying ant hatch at different times when the conditions are prime.

The annual swarming event usually occurs in July and August and coincides with a period of hot humid weather. Flying ants can emerge over several weeks if conditions prevail but can vary from year to year.

The common ants that are available in Alberta are the Little Black Ant, New York Carpenter Ant, Western Harvester Ant, Western Black Carpenter Ant, and Western Thatching Ant.

Fly fishermen whether they focus on lakes or river/streams can have success using ants. A wind can blow ants over any part of the water’s surface but fishermen should focus on certain areas for the best success. Areas with overhanging vegetation and water that is fairly shallow (6-24 inches deep). Rivers and streams offer unique areas that should be explored such as foam lines, eddies and undercut banks.

Ants are only available to the trout when they fall from bank vegetation or the wind blows them into the water. When ants hit the water, there is no escape.

When ants fall on the water’s surface, they float for a while imprisoned in the surface film not on the surface film. After a short while they sink below the surface film and drown.

Black is considered the basic colour for any ant pattern, however, brown and red (cinnamon) shades should also be considered

There are many different ant patterns that have been developed for today’s fly fishermen. Some have realistic profiles while others are abstract imitations. Sizes range from 12-20, winged and non-winged versions. These patterns can be tied using various styles such as the Fur Ants, Wet Ants, Foam Ants, Parachute Ants, Flying Ants, and the Chernobyl Ants.

The objective is not to have every style, size and colour of ant pattern, but to have a few in different sizes and colours, winged and non-winged.

When fishing with ants, any dry fly setup will work, using a standard floating line with a 5x leader with about 18 inches of 5X or 6X tippet. You need a thin, light and flexible tippet so as not to influence the way the ant drifts drag free. You can also setup a dry-dropper rig or go with a full Euro-style nymphing rig. Drowned ants can be anywhere within the water column including the bottom.

Whether the trout are rising or not, ants can be a great searching fly pattern. Trout are always on the lookout for their next meal, ants above others are an important item in a trout’s diet. There will be days when nothing else works, but you will be glad you had some ants in your fly box.