Chernobyl Ant - Umpqua Fly

Big, buggy and floats like a cork! Just how we like our big terrestrials.

The origins of the Chernobyl Ant can be traced back to Utah's Green River. In an article for American Angler, Scott Sanchez claims the fly was created by a group of guides in 1990. The crew was attempting to make a pattern to imitate the river's big black crickets.⁠

Sanchez recalls a story he heard from one of the Green River guides involved, Greg Gaddis, in which the guides were together one night, crushing a few too many beers and swapping stories from the water. One member of the group, Allan Woolley, had recently added rubber legs to the pattern the group had been working on. When asked what the name of his new variation would be, Woolley responded, "It doesn't need a fancy name. It's just a damn ant."⁠⁠⁠⁠

One of the other guides, Mark Bennion quickly replied, "But it's a f****** Chernobyl Ant!"⁠⁠

The moniker stuck immediately. And just like that, the Chernobyl Ant had earned its name.

Those Green River guides were really onto something - this fly is something special. The Chernobyl Ant is a big, gaudy terrestrial that is highly visible to both angler and fish. The visibility on this fly is especially impressive considering how low it rides in the water.⁠⁠

⁠⁠The Chernobyl Ant is a perfect example of a “dinner bell” fly. If you haven’t heard the expression, “ringing the dinner bell” refers to slapping the surface of the water with a big dry fly to get the attention of trout in the area. The goal is to get the fish to come investigate the fly and then either eat it, or catch sight of a more natural dropper suspended below the surface.

⁠⁠Use this pattern to imitate grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, beetles, and any other oversized crunchy critter that might take an unintentional swim during the summer months.