Zebra Midge Survey

[Renegade]

I know alot of you are big Zebra Midge fans, and I also know that there are different variations of the Zebra, so I got to wondering if any of you would be willing give up your favorite Zebra Midge pattern: color, size, type of hook, and materials used. I'll start it off.

Color- Red
Rib- Copper
Head- Peacock glass bead
Hook- Standard straight shank nymph hook
Size- 18-20

[Cary]

Hook: Tiemco #16 101
Body: Muskrat
Tail: Moose Body
Post: white kip tail
Hackle four wraps cree, parachute, forget the ginger/ grizzly bs.

Oops, wrong pattern, just cant keep from thinking about a parachute adams. Have a poster of one on my bedroom ceiling.


Zebra
TMC 200R # 22
Black or olive thread body
Fine silver wire rib
2 or 3 wraps peacock throrax
few zelon fibers for tail (siphon thingy?)and antennae

[Fred]

Antennae and tails?? Huh? It's supposed to imitate a midge larvea, right?

I like the 200r hook for the zebra midge.
I like to add a little copper beadhead and use olive floss (twisted) and copper wire. That one can work well on the Provo.

I also like the black and fine gold wire one. Sometimes with peacock or sometimes just a thread head.

[Cary]

I always considered it a pupae. But then again, I rarely fish it.

After all, Nymphs are for Wimps.

[Trout4x]

Is like what Cary mentioned. Can't go wrong with one.

[Jason B]

The zebra that i fished all winter was on a tiemco 200r size 18, black thread body with orange thread as the ribbing
easy but deadly pattern

[Renegade]

If I understand correctly, the 200r is a 3x long shank hook. Do you guys feel that the shank length and shape make a difference with this pattern?

[Jason B]

i tend to tie a lot of my patterns with the 200R. With emergers it looks a lot like when the emergers fold back right before emerging. With zebra's i don't know if it makes much difference. With sows the 200R has the curve that sows do, but not to much like scuds. They are my favorite choice when tying

[Renegade]

Jason,

Everything I've been told about midges is the smaller the better. However, my eyes are bad and I hate tying tiny flies, even the simple ones. Do you feel that the 3x long shank of the 200r catches more fish than a shorter shank? I sure would rather tie on a 3x long shank than a shorter one.

[Ouzel]

Typically I tie the standard Zebra with a bit of peacok herl at the head but tried your idea of using twisted olive floss for the body.
Looks good!
As far as using a slightly curved hook like the 200R or 80050BR you can also use a smaller hook and tie lower down the bend.
From my own sceining I have often found insects slightly curved but have read that many strecth out when drifting so they have a better opportunity to regrab the bottom again.
Confusing and may be a matter of 6's.

[Fred]

That's cool Ouzel. Hope you catch a bunch with it.

I also like the 200R hook. Another fly that I use with that hook is also a midge. A red disco with gray dubbing for the head. Sometimes, they will take that one.

[Jason B]

Renegade,
You can tie up some zebras in a size 20 3x long shank and it will fish as good. I don't know if it helps catch more fish but it doesn't hurt any. After the spawn, a size 18 zebra 3x long shank will catch fish. I have noticed that with zebras i have had better results with a thread rib than a wire one. Emergers bend there body in a banana shape to crack the back of there shell right before they emerge, that is one reason why i feel the 200R is a good hook for WD-40, crack backs, and other emergers

[Renegade]

Jason,

Do you fish any other colors of zebras? If so, what color of ribbing do you use? By the way, I really enjoy tying and fishing new patterns and appreciate your info very much!

[Jason B]

I tend to only fish the black zebra, i do use tan yong specials, and that is mainly what i stick with in cold months. Right now on the provo, Fred stated a good pattern. It looks like a wd-40 with red body, gray dubbing with no shell back.

[Renegade]

Thanks Jason!

[flyty]

Do you feel that the 3x long shank of the 200r catches more fish than a shorter shank? I sure would rather tie on a 3x long shank than a shorter one.

But, then you are tying a larger pattern. It seems what you're asking is: does a larger size pattern catch more fish than a smaller size pattern. In the end, there is no magic trick that allows you to tie on a longer hook and get a small pattern. I use 200R's if I want a curved shank, but I size down 1 size to get the equivalent tying area of a 3761 standard nymph hook.

The main reason I use the 200R's is because I like the larger effective hook gap compared to the equivalent length 3761. It seems to me the down eye on the 3761 blocks part of the hook gap, and in the smaller sizes there isn't much to hook a fish with in the first place. Maybe some of the more experienced people can comment on whether that is worth considering?

[Jason]

In other words, if you use the 200R hook and you want a size 20 fly, you have to use a size 22 200R to be equivalent. If you want a size 18 fly you'll have to use a size 20 200R and so on. The 200R is on of my favorite nymph hooks as well, especially for floating nymph and emerger type patterns. It's just a buggy looking hook for any pattern.