Midge Fishing 101 - Photo 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

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.