Winter Trout Fishing - Top 10 Midges

Midge, a fly that we all use, pretty much year round. If you live near a tailwater, I can bet you have an entire box dedicated to just midges. In this post I just want to share with everyone, my top 10 midge patterns for the Tully, along with just about any other fishery that has a healthy midge population. About a moth ago I took my Tully box apart and separated all the midges, dedicating one whole box to just midges, I have been filling it with every bit of free time I get. When the caddis stop flying and the air temps drop, you can bet that the fish start keying in on microscopic midge larva, and tiny flies floating down on the surface.

The number one midge should be no surprise, its the Zebra Midge, it is a fly that can mimic just about any midge larva out there. Just change the size and color and you are good to go.

The DP Midge has to be my number two favorite winter midge pattern. It has fooled plenty of fish on all the spring creeks around the area.

This one is a very simple variation of a zebra midge, with a glass bead on the top, making it look like an emerger. This is a great one for the dead of the winter.

The red Mercury Midge is an awesome Tully pattern, I think it works better in the early spring, but has always produced fish when paired up with any other midge pattern. 

The Purple Poison Tung is probably my most fished winter time midge, its just a little out there and off the beaten path. 

Zebra midge emerger, this guy has a puff of tan Antron coming off the back, this is a great fly for picky fish, in the winter.

The Fingerling Midge is a little on the flashy side, and works very well in cloudy water. The little bit of flash gives is a glimmer in the water.

Miracle midge, is a great little pattern then there are lots of small tan midges on the water.

The Desert Storm midge is just a bright and fun fly to fish.

Rough Fishers Serendipitous Midge. This one is a great dead of winter flashy fly. I normally use this one as my point fly, and a smaller basic midge off the back of it. 

Tully Report - It's Getting Cold

Well, it might not officially be winter yet, but it's certainly starting to feel like it out there. The Tully is flowing at an awesome flow right now 188 cfs, this is perfect for throwing an indicator or slowly swinging a streamer in front of those hungry trout. I have been out there a good bit the past two weeks, and I can say that fishing small nymphs under and indicator has been the most productive. Small size 18 to 22 or even 24 midges of all colors have been working well. On clear sunny days the smaller stuff seems to work a bit better, and with cloudy or higher water the larger and bringer stuff is working just as good. Smaller pheasant tails, and hares ears have been by go to flies for getting the even smaller stuff down in the zone. On top of that, the fresh fingerlings have been very active, eating just about anything that comes their way. I have even seen little pods of them rising to small midges on her surface. So look for some sun and get out there, the mornings have been slow until the water warms up a bit, but mid day into the evening have been awesome!!!

Featured Fly - Poison Tung

This is not one of my creations, in fact it has been around for a very long time, and is many tailwater fisher's favorite winter midge. It is a very simple fly with many different color combinations, with the most popular color combo being, silver and blue. I will be showing you how to tie this fly in my personal favorite color combo, purple and blue. I was going to do a steelhead fly this go around, however I have been fishing the Tully a lot lately, and I have midges on the brain. Look for another steelhead fly to come next, but for now, enjoy this awesome little midge.

Materials:

Hook: TMC 2457 sz. 18 - 22

Thread: UNI Thread 8/0 - Purple 

Bead: Tungsten Bomb Bead - Black

Rib: Ultra Wire - Small - Blue 

Collar: Ice Dub - UV Purple

Step 1: Make a small thread base behind the bead.

Step 2: Tie in the ultra wire behind the bead, and continue your thread base to the bend of the hook.

Step 3: Tightly wrap the thread forward, finishing the body.

Step 4: Wrap the ultra wire forward, forming an even rib.

Step 5: Make a collar of ice dub right behind the bead. Whip Finish and cut thread away.

Finished Fly:

The Purple Variation

The Original Color Combo