A must read is Larry Wegmann’s article, Midges.   Larry has been growing midges in his home and his wife has not thrown him out yet.  But in his study, he noticed that some of his midges were green which I tied in my last video.  Most of the times the midges had the same color that Russ’ favorite fly the Harvester midge.  Russ’ Favorite shown below.

So this is my Harvester Gilled Tubing Midge.  I have added an air bubble because that air bubble carries them to the surface and the trout are used to seeing it.

Materials:

  1. Hook: Tiemco TMC2499BL
  2. Hook size: 16, 18, 20, 22
  3. Glass Bead: Killer Caddis MDG Diamond (cc) color core
  4. Gills: Glamour Madeira No. 8 Prism White
  5. (or materials of your choice)
  6. Thread: UTC 70 White and UNI-Thread Rusty Brown 8/0
  7. Head: Brass Bead Black Nickel 1.5mm or 2.0mm
  8. Body: Stretch Tubing – Medium Copper

Tying Steps

 

Cut the Madeira thread leaving one side shorter than the other side.  This is important when finishing the fly to have the gills on the side.

 

Build a thread dam behind the bead to keep the bead forward.  Add a section of stretch tubing.  This was cut a little less than a ¼” but after doing 12 or 24 flies; you will know what length works best.

Tie down the back of the tubing with your thread.  Then spin your bobbin clock wise.  This will tighten all the thread fibers and now use the thread as ribbing.  Whip finish.

Separate the Gill thread fibers.  This will be easy because one side is longer than the other.

Pull the thread fibers to the sides and trim.  The gills should not be larger than the thorax and can be a little smaller.

Fishing Instructions:  In Larry’s article, he said, “she was high sticking and watching the contact of the leader with the water surface while at the same time watching for the erratic swimming motion or white mouth to set the hook.”   For details on midge fishing, see Dave Tucker’s article Midge Fishing Techniques.  You can also dead drift on a strike indicator.

If you would like a pdf file with the above tying instructions downloaded to your phone or computer, click on the link below:

Harvester Gilled Tubing Midge

If you would like to read Larry Wegmann’s article, Midge Life History and Fly Fishing, click this link below:

https://www.mtfa-springfield.org/resources/library/pdf-downloads/midges-larry-wegmann/

If you would like to read Dave Tucker’s article, Midge Fishing Techniques, click this link below;

https://www.mtfa-springfield.org/resources/library/pdf-downloads/midge-fishing-techniques-dave-tucker/

If you would like to see the YouTube video, click the link below.