How to tie "The Mating Midge?"

[FlySmyth]

I have heard this pattern mentioned enough to want to try tying a few up.

Can someone please give me a recipe? I can't find one anywhere.

Thanks.

Ken.

[Larry S.]

Basically it is tied on a dry fly hook with a black thread body with a fore and aft grizzly hackle. You can make a thread ball at the bend of the hook representing a head, then hackle, a slim thread body, more hackle and a head whip finish. If you want you can give it more visibility by adding a parachute post wing behind the front hackle. Sizes normally what you would tie any midge.

[carpman]

Ken there are two versions I'm aware of:

#1 Ultra chenille extended body. Much like the palomino you like to tie. Hackle at back of shank. Dubbing to suit. Then hackle to match at eye.

#2 Thread body, color to suit. Parachute wing in middle of hook shank. Hackle front and rear like a Renegade (as Larry mentioned)


Stop in with any questions, I'll tie you one of each..........

[Ouzel]

was designed to imitate a midge cluster.

[Jason]

Like Larry said, it's much like a Renegade but all you use is grizzly hackle on both ends and tie it sparse and slim. It's a good cluster midge pattern when the midges get thick. Carpman suggested another good one that has some ultra small chenille tied off the back end. This fly is best fished when the midges are thick and when they cluster up on the surface. I've done well with this pattern, especially on the Green River. Here's another version that I tie.

http://www.utahonthefly.com/flytying/flyimages/humpymidge.jpg
http://www.utahonthefly.com/flytying/flyimages/humpymidge2.jpg

I tie in a little bit of black foam across the top creating a little hump in the middle to help keep it floating longer.

Size 18 is a good size to use.

[Larry S.]

You are taking some superb pics now with your new toy!

[Fred]

I bought some flies from Andy Kim and his midge patterns are like the mating midge. He has one with the hackle in the front and back. He has one with just one in the middle. It was on a size 24 hook I think. Maybe smaller. Anyway, I was fishing to a bunch of feeding fish and could only pick up one or two fish using my midge patterns. I put one of his on with the hackle in the middle. Dude. It was lights out. I don't know why it was different, but the fish went bonkers over it.

[jdubya]

Thread body, hackle in the middle?

[Fred]

Yes, that's it.

I was just curiuos what his dries looked like because of his reputation. I was shocked to see that I had actually spent money for a single midge that could not find a mate. It reminded me of one of my buddies in high school. Maybe the fish were hitting it out of sympathy--put it out of its misery type thing.

Just guessing here.

[FlySmyth]

You guys are a wealth of information.

BTW isn't Andy Kim the fellow that sang Rock Me Gently in 1974?

Ken.

[Curtis Fry]

carpman, you work at fishtech or something? and your name is...?

Jason, what camera do you have? I'm thinking about picking up a Canon G3, but taking fly photos is important and I'm not sure how that would work.

[carpman]

Curtis............
I do work at Fish Tech, and my name is Lance Egan.

[FlySmyth]

Lance may be his name but he prefers when you call him "Fishing God!"

[carpman]

Only Ken calls me "fishing God". Obviously as a joke. Right KENNETH, the snowball in the face guy.................

lol..............

[FlySmyth]

Man you still remember that?

[carpman]

I'll never forget.....