Green River midge dries

[kingfisher]

Ok, I'm going to the green on Thursday and I want to be covered as far as midge dries. Fishing to those pods of risers with a tiny dry is about as cool as it gets for me. So what are some of your most deadly midge dries. I have heard about the Gorge Burger midge but I am not quite sure how to tie it.

[Curtis Fry]

Sproat midge, palomino, griffiths, yong (fished in the film).

I have kind of developed a few variations of midge emergers cuz you don't want to count on too many fish on true dries. They're more than likely taking emergers-- not adults. From what I understand, the gorge burger midge is really an emerger and it's similar to a pattern I use for those dimpling trout. I call mine the Ice Emerger and it's kind of evolved mostly from midging the Green over the past few years. Last week on the Provo I had a ball with it for those midging fish.

[Crosby]

What I have been fishing lately just under and on top is a
quill body- gray biot as a laid down wing and a grizzley hackle .
It has been working swinging it thru the riffles and as a true dry.
extremely simple to tie and at least to the north it has been working very well. Using porcupine hair not quill for the body.
the hair isn't hollow like the quill and lets you pull in just under the film when needed. Also just about the same configuration as the dry but in a nymphal stage with a clear bead in the thorax
has been picking them up when there are a ton on the surface but they are picking up that emerger.

[Fred]

Crosby, what hook are you using and what size?

The trailing shuck midge is also a neat pattern. There is a picture of one in the fly tying section.

[Crosby]

The Tiemco short shank wide gap in a #18 and 20#- like the gap- like the eye------ can't remember the exact hook number- picked up some Sat at Sportsman and used them Sunday. Al's is the only place in Cache Valley that I have seen them.

[Fred]

Crosby, thanks. I'll have to try something like that.

Curtis Fry, how do you tie your ice emerger fly?

[Jason]

King, you've gotta get some sex midge patterns (double midge) with a white or pink parachute indicator. They're basically just a variation of the Griffith's Gnat but with a white post used as an indicator. They're expecially nice when the sun has gone done over the hill and the canyon becomes darker. That white or pink post make it easier to see.

[Jason B]

If the fish are taking midges off top a killer pattern is a mating midge. The way i was shown was wrap grizzly hackle about 1/3 down shank then tie off, wrap shank with thread another 1/3 and then grizzly again the rest. Its produced fish for me on both the Provo and the Green.

[Jason]

Jason B is right on. The mating midge is what I call the sex midge. Same thing, better name. ;)

[Curtis Fry]

Ice Emerger: #24 or #26 TMC 2487
Black thread wrapped along body of hook.
Then take VERY small v-rib (flat side down) and wrap it over the thread. Then for the head, I tie a piece of gray or black foam. Treat the foam with floatant from time to time.

The foam floats the fly vertically in the water. The v-rib gives a great impression of the fly trying to shimmy out of it's shuck. Plus it gives a good impression of air bubbles trapped. After a LOT of experimenting and messing around with this pattern, I think it's a pretty good one. I've had it outfish my buddy's conventional dries and emergers by about 10 to 1 in some cases.

I've done very well with it on both the Green and the Provo.

I just slapped a picture of it on a web page so you can take a gander:

http://home1.gte.net/fry/fish/flies.htm

[Fred]

Thanks Mr. Fry!

Interesting looking pattern. Kind of weird looking. But, I'm sure it works. What kind of foam to you like to use on those small flies?

[Curtis Fry]

I like the open cell foam. Floats better than closed cell, at least in my testing. The only thing is you have to make sure to dry and treat the foam after fishing the fly for a while.

[Kevin Conlin]

As an alternative to foam, I use a tuft of marabou projecting forward in the style of a Quiggley Cripple, plus some dry fly dubbing on the thorax.

[Jerritt]

BWO, if you do get some risers. i like the bwo size 20-22, tied with a thread body.

[Light Cahill]

Try this recipe. It's a fly I've developed, in an effort to eliminate expensive hackle from my box:

Hook: #16-22 Dry Fly Hook
Thread: Sulphur, Cream or Olive
Tail: Polywing
Body: Fine Olive, Sulphur or Cream Dub
Wing: Mallard fibers (front) and Polywing (behind)

Instructions:
1. Tie in a small tuft of polywing into the tail.
2. Tie in a generous portion of mallard flank fibers facing forward on the hook.
3. Tie a generous tuft of polywing material on the hook facing forward, over the mallard fibers.
4. Tie in the body dubbing to the thorax.
5. Pull the mallard fibers and polywing upright, pinch them so they fan out, and throw several wraps of thread ahead of the mallard fibers to keep the wing upright and fanned out.
6. Wrap a little more dubbing ahead of the wing, and tie the head off.

The mallard and polywing comparadun is easy to tie compared to deerwing comparaduns, and the materials are inexpensive. I use the Mallard and PolyWing Comparadun with color variations to cover BWO, PMD and midge species.

[Crosby]

OK- I get up in the morning and had that voice in the back of my head " today is the day go fishing" thinking it is the Great Wahinni talking to me again- I take his advice an go. I am the only guy on the river- fishing is good to say the least- at about 2 I decide to head up river- get to a prime hole and look down- there are no less than 50 fish rising at any one time- a midge hatch on so thick that if they were bigger I could have walked on them- certainly as thick as a good day on the Green.- I pull out the 3 wt and have at it- first two casts fish on- Hell I have this figured out to the T---- Then though they are still rising I can't buy a hit- my dog is making noises that sounded like " you really suck". I switch to differnt midge patterns- no luck- mating midges-sex midges- hell I tried the 7 ways of the kamasutra midge- no go-- then I drill 3 in a row- alrighty now-- but alas another 20 minutes and no go- I'm fishing dries and emergers- hell I threw the oppsite flies on and no go- nymphs- streamers- no go- then 2 in a row- then again nothing- I even threatened the ones that were rising at my feet with " I'm going to get my pellet gun out of the truck- that didn't work- I am beginning to think that none actually went for any of my offerings- it was just so many with their mouths open that I was dragging my fly into their mouths. tried spent wing , emergers - you name it- no consisitency- fish are rising with their mouths open to dries- back showing going for emergers- just about everything possible was happening at once. Sat down with a fine wine and had a glass just watching- and thats pretty much how I ended the day- frustrated, totally humbled- but none the less having to smile and give them a toast for kicking my butt just about as good as it has been kicked since my brother got tired of doing it.
Any suggestions- besides I should of had some smoke fish with the wine???????

[Curtis Fry]

So now Crosby where were you fishing?

[Crosby]

Jumping the fence again- north of the border

[kingfisher]

How do you tie on the foam on your ice emerger? Do you double it over or something? I have tried similar flies with foam heads and they don't hold up after I tap them a few times in a bowl of water. Does it just take a crap load of floatant to hold them up?

[Curtis Fry]

I cut the foam into very small strips and then tie in the strip just below the eye of the hook. I then cut it to size and the foam usually kind of fans out. No folding or doubling.

As far as floatability, I did quite a few little experiments in a bowl with water with different types of foam. The style and type of foam I use on the ice emerger (and my palomino-type patterns) seems to float better than any I've tried. That's without any floatant (in the bowl). In fact, at times, I could entirely dunk the fly and it would pop up to the surface and float like a champ. When I'm out on the water, I usually have to re-apply floatant after 10 minutes or so. Or at least squeeze the excess water out of the foam.

I guess I'd be open for alternatives on getting it to float better. I've tried CDC, hackle and hair, but foam seems to be the best I've experienced.

[Curtis Fry]

The only thing I can think of is that you're not tying the foam big enough. Look back at that picture I posted to get an idea of the size. I even tie in foam bigger than that sometimes, if I'm trailing flies off of the foam fly.

Also what type of foam are you using? I also use the 2487 hooks which are a finer wire. I'll also substitute a micro-chenille tail for the v-rib wrapped body depending on my mood.

[Fred]

There is an article on the VFS site right now that talks all about foam.