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Why you should fish Midges?
By: Louis Cahill
There’s no doubt there are times when big flies are the
ticket to catching and targeting big trout, but when you
find yourself fly fishing technical trout water, in many
cases, it will pay big dividends to put up those big
gaudy fly patterns, and break out your midge box.
Particularly when you’re fishing to spooky trout on
clear spring creeks or educated trout on popular
tailwaters. As we move into the fall and winter months
our larger bug hatches will start to fade out, and trout
will transition into feeding more heavily on all three
life stages of the midge life cycle (larvae, pupa,
adult). midges are available year round to trout, but
they really seem to become a big factor in a trout’s
diet during the colder months of the year. Fly Fishermen
wanting to consistently catch trout during these frosty
days better have a well rounded fly box stocked with
different midge patterns imitating the entire life cycle
of the midge.
Diptera “Midges” comprise of the largest piece of the
pie of aquatic insects generally found on many
tailwaters, and with more than one hundred species in
North America, there’s a good chance you can find them
on your trout water 365 days a year. Midge fishing can
be technical for fly anglers, demanding very accurate
presentations with tiny fly patterns. Since midges are
so small, trout often are not willing to move very far
to eat midges because of their small size. In many
cases, it will take many casts to achieve the perfect
drift into the trout feeding lane. Keep in mind as well,
there are usually man more midges floating down the
river than you think, and it can be difficult sometimes
for your tiny midge pattern to be noticed by the trout
among all the naturals. Here, persistence will be your
savior. If your sight-fishing, understand accuracy down
to inches is the key to success.
Midge Fishing with the Right Patterns at the
Right Time
There’s no doubt there are times when big flies are the
ticket to catching and targeting big trout, but when you
find yourself fly fishing technical trout water, in many
cases, it will pay big dividends to put up those big
gaudy fly patterns, and break out your midge box.
Particularly when you’re fishing to spooky trout on
clear spring creeks or educated trout on popular
tailwaters. As we move into the fall and winter months
our larger bug hatches will start to fade out, and trout
will transition into feeding more heavily on all three
life stages of the midge life cycle (larvae, pupa,
adult). midges are available year round to trout, but
they really seem to become a big factor in a trout’s
diet during the colder months of the year. Fly Fishermen
wanting to consistently catch trout during these frosty
days better have a well rounded fly box stocked with
different midge patterns imitating the entire life cycle
of the midge.
Diptera “Midges” comprise of the largest piece of the
pie of aquatic insects generally found on many
tailwaters, and with more than one hundred species in
North America, there’s a good chance you can find them
on your trout water 365 days a year. Midge fishing can
be technical for fly anglers, demanding very accurate
presentations with tiny fly patterns. Since midges are
so small, trout often are not willing to move very far
to eat midges because of their small size. In many
cases, it will take many casts to achieve the perfect
drift into the trout feeding lane. Keep in mind as well,
there are usually man more midges floating down the
river than you think, and it can be difficult sometimes
for your tiny midge pattern to be noticed by the trout
among all the naturals. Here, persistence will be your
savior. If your sight-fishing, understand accuracy down
to inches is the key to success.
Midge Fishing with the Right Patterns at the
Right Time
A veteran midge fisherman can observe the trout feeding
and determine the right life stage and midge fly pattern
to use for optimum success. It can be confusing at times
when you find more than one species of midge hatching at
once. Generally the trout will be keying in on one or
the other more frequently. an aquatic insect net or
seign can allow you to sample the midge species on the
water real-time and allow you to dial into the correct
pattern much quicker. You may pick the hot midge pattern
right off the bat and start catching trout, only to find
your hook-ups halt shortly after. This could be the sign
of the trout keying in on another species of midge
emerging or hatching. In this case, don’t hesitate to
change the life stage or color of your midge pattern.
Use visual clues to your advantage. If you see trout
noses coming up eating off the surface this usually
means the trout are feeding on adult midges on the
surface. Here you would want to be fishing an adult
pattern like a Griffith’s Gnat. On the contrary, if you
see trout coming out of the water they may be targeting
the emerging midge pupa just below the surface film.
Here you should drop a midge emerger off the back of the
adult dry fly. If you find rising fish are non-existent
you’ll probably find success fishing a midge larva off
the back of a small nymph. Keep your midge fly patterns
small. Most midge species found on tailwaters are size
#20 or smaller. Because of this I have midge patterns in
my fly box down to a size #28.
Midge Larvae
Midge larvae are very small, long, and slender. They
generally range in size from #28-18. I like to tie my
larvae patterns on Tiemco 200R style hooks. Make sure
your patterns are simple, not bulky, and are
streamlined. Some of the best midge larva patterns
solely consist of thread or wire. Fish your midge larva
patterns close to the bottom. this is where the majority
of trout feed on them. Other times you might try
trailing a larva pattern off the back of a pupa pattern.
Midge Pupa
Midge pupa generally are a little shorter than midge
larva and have a pronounced thorax that holds inside the
adult’s wings. In many cases midge pupa will start to
have indications of protruding wings during their
emergence and this can be an important characteristic
that the trout key in on. Make sure to incorporate this
into your pupa fly patterns. Midge pupa patterns work
great on a dry dropper rig floating in the surface film.
Midge Adults
The size of your adult midge pattern is generally the
most important factor. A lot of anglers for some reason
seem to think the tiny larva and pupa become much larger
once they hatch into the adults, and in turn, use dries
much too big. In some cases the adults might actually be
a little smaller than its other life stages. Make sure
you have small enough patterns to fool finicky trout.
The proper color of your adult fly pattern can be very
important to fooling trout as well. When trout are keyed
in on a particular species it is very important to
choose a fly pattern by size first and then by color.
Your fly patterns should be sparse as well. Some of the
best adult midge patterns consist of a thread body and a
couple turns of midge hackle.
Midge Tactics
Many fly fishermen don’t fish with midges because they
find them very hard to see on the water. Don’t use this
excuse for not fishing them. Instead, drop a midge
pattern off the back of a dry fly you can see, like an
Elk Hair Caddis or Parachute Adams. I do this quite
often for my clients. It allows them to keep track of
where their flies are while keeping a drag free drift.
Another good tip for midge fishing is to slowly swing
your flies towards the end of your drift. Make sure your
rod tip is on the water and you don’t have any slack in
your line. Many times you’ll be able to feel the trout
taking your fly. When you set the hook make sure it is a
smooth extended hook set. These small flies will rip out
of a trout’s mouth very easy with too strong of a hook
set, and the small hook gap won’t grab if you set the
hook too quickly. Since you’ll be fishing very fine
tippet with these rigs you’ll also break off much less
with a smooth sweeping hook set. Make sure to have 6X to
8X tippet for your midge fishing. You’ll find it much
easier to thread the hook, but more importantly your
flies will have a more natural drift. The sooner you
become comfortable fishing midge patterns the sooner
you’ll find yourself consistently hooking up with smart
spooky trout throughout the year. Just remember trout
feed on midges 365 days a year, so don’t hesitate to
fish midge patterns when you’re out on the water.
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