Midges can be imitated in three of their four stages of life. Trout will eat the adults, pupae and larvae. By far the most important is the pupa stage. Ideally you should carry a variety of sizes and colors of midge imitations.
Quite frankly, the midge flies that are available commercially are lacking. The bead heads will catch fish but not as well as the the added weight but not as effective as more realistic patterns. You should adjust the weight using split shot because you can a bead head pattern.
The following are our recommendations. You should have larva and pupa imitations in red, light green and tan. We have found these to be the principal colors of the midges in the park although they exist in some streams in almost every color there is. We suggest hook sizes from 20 and 22.
Larva:
Perfect Fly’s Cream Midge Larva:
20, 22
Perfect Fly’s Light Green Midge Larva:
20, 22
Perfect Fly’s Red Midge Larva:
20, 22
Shop Midge Larva on Perfectflystore.com
Pupa:
Perfect Fly’s Cream Midge Pupa:
20, 22
Perfect Fly’s Light Green Midge Pupa:
20, 22
Perfect Fly’s Red Pupa:
20, 22
Shop Midge Pupa on Perfectflystore.com
Adult:
Perfect Fly’s Cream Adult Midge:
20, 22
Perfect Fly’s Light Green Adult Midge:
20, 22
Perfect Fly’s Black Adult Midge:
20, 22
Shop Midge Adults on Perfectflystore.com
Copyright 2011 James Marsh
