Dry FliesConnemara Black Variant
The Connemara Black Variant is a dry fly pattern designed by Elmer Meiler. This effective pattern combines traditional materials with proven techniques for consistent results in a variety of water conditions.
Spring, Summer, Fall
Advanced
Trout
Feb 2026
Overview
Elmer Meiler's Connemara Black Variant is an Irish pattern that uses dark hackle and body materials to create a versatile searching fly. The variant-style hackle provides excellent flotation and visibility while suggesting a range of dark-bodied insects. This pattern draws from traditional Irish wet fly techniques adapted for dry fly fishing, making it particularly effective on windswept waters and during low light.
Materials
Hook: Kamasan 175B #12-14
Thread: Black
Tail: G.P. crest
Butt: Orange fluorescent thread
Rib: Silver wire
Body: Black yarn
1st hackle: Black hen
2nd hackle: Blue jay or grey partridge dyed blue
Wing: Slips of bronze mallard shoulder
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Ants drop onto the surface from overhanging vegetation or during nuptial flights, floating motionless with legs extended and wings flat against the film. Trapped terrestrials drift helplessly in current.
Where Trout Eat It: Fish patrol near-surface zones tight to bank edges, undercuts, and grass edges where ants naturally fall.
How to Fish It: Dead drift along banks and vegetation lines with drag-free floats, occasionally adding subtle twitches.
Best Water: Focus on bank edges, undercuts, grass edges, and foam lines in streams with overhanging vegetation.
Strike Type: Confident rises with visible takes as fish commit to the substantial terrestrial profile.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Use a 9-12 foot leader tapering to 5X tippet for delicate presentations. Apply floatant to the body and hackle.
Seasonal Timing: Most effective during peak feeding periods at dawn and dusk. Water temperatures between 45-65°F typically produce best results.
Pro Tips: The variant hackle provides flotation while keeping the low silhouette that terrestrials create. Focus casts tight to banks where ants and beetles naturally fall into the water.
Entomology
Winged ants swarm during nuptial flights on warm humid days, with exhausted or unsuccessful individuals dropping onto the water surface where they float motionless with wings spread flat. Fish gorge opportunistically on these dense terrestrial fallouts that deliver exceptional nutritional value during brief annual events.
- Order
- Hymenoptera
- Family
- Formicidae
- Common Name
- Ant
- Organism Type
- terrestrial
- Life Stage
- adult