Midge Fly Size

[Danoinark]

Nine times out of ten I will fish a size 18 midge, although I carry size 16 in the same patterns.

When you see midging occur what dictates what size you will start with? I have always heard that if a fish will take a size 16 it will also take a size 18, but not a 14 and on down the line. It certainly sounds logical. Any truth to that concept? Dano

[Luke]

This may be true a lot of the time, but fish don't follow rules very well. I typically use a size 18 midge also, but if they are biting and I'm not hooking, I will move to a size 16 to see if that helps. If I stop getting bites, I may move back to the 18 or to a 20 to see if they will bite it better.

[John Berry]

I carry midges in size 14 to 22. I have found that they hit the 14s when I am drift fishing in the river boat. When wading, I generally pump the stomaches of the first few fish I catch and then match the contents by size shape and color. I have found some really small stuff.

[Thom]

My last trip to Taney I started out on size 18 midges and was getting hook ups but pulling out after just a short time. I was not getting any to the boat. I switched to an exact fly on the same 2487 hook but in a 16 and had just as many strikes and didn't lose a fish.

I usually tie the 16 body near the same size on the 18 as I do on the 16 so only the hook is larger the actual profile in the water column is nearly the same and I think the tail and point of the hook mostly dissapers anyway.

I usually start with and use 18 size because most of the bigger fish I have caught have been on that size. Maybe it is a coincidence but almost every fish I have landed over 20" have been on smaller flys. It may be because I am more careful not to break off or pull out when I am going smaller.

[MTM]

Thum try bending the hook to the side to off set the gape. You will hook more fish this way. Just put the hook in a vise and push the shank to the side. Not to much as it dosen't take much. Ron

[Davy Wotton]

Midge fishing, and choice of hook size to use.

There is no doubt in my mind that midge fishing, or shall we say when the food base is small is overall the most demanding of fly fishing skills, at least for trout, and the reason it is is that there are so many variables that can apply here.

In the first place, as a rule the food base be it midge, mayfly, broadwings etc, will cause the fish to be looking within a very small window or zone of vision.

There may also be the choice by the fish to take that food base as emergers, or emerged, be they chironomids, sub imago, or other, which may also be terestrials such as ants, aphids etc.

You never know at times what the fish may do, they may well take a size 16, even if the natural food base is a 22, on the other hand they may not.

My way of thought, and l love midge fishing, is to watch the fish and see what they are doing as that will tell me what l need to know. The food base concerned and how they are taking it, from that point on l will determine how l will make up my system to catch those fish, and from what position l will wish to make my presentations, as that is, if not more important than the fly at times, one that many go way wrong with.

If you allow the fish to become aware of your presence you may never catch them, even though they still continue to feed, unless you do put them down or spook them off.

further to that, l also wish to fish very light fly lines, l will use a 3 or a 4wt with a 5wt rod, distance is not a consideration here, and a light line is way less adverse to spooking surface feeders here. And other reasons such as reduced effects of drag when fish are hooked and so on.

That avoids losses by hooks pulling out for one, it also allows for a more speedy hook set.

Longer leader/tippet configurations are overall a must and also fishing with 6 or 7, and at times 8x long tippet sections, as much as 4 to 6ft at times.

You may not think that this makes a difference, believe me it does, after more than 45 years fishing for trout around the world l have learned many things to my advantage.

Accepted that your fly choice is also is also important. One very good tip l will give you is this. If you frequent zones that are fished by many, the odds are many will be fishing the same fly, in the case of midge, typically zebra and stuff like that, aim to use other fly patterns as fish do become wised up.

The larger fish here at BSD are well wised up l can tell you at times, and the kind of flies that l use l know no one else has.

In the case of what size l will use, the answer to that one is years of experience, but as a rule look at it like this. If the fish are taking emerger midges flies less than 20 are the best bet, if they will take a pupa well below the surface 18 to 20s.

Avoid the urge to move the fly, overall the best results from fishing micro midges is to let the fish find the fly, which it will if you allow it to do so. Often as not these fish will cruise around in shallow calm water looking up ward, the can see a pin head, your fly presents no problem.

If you move it at the wrong time, you will often spook them.

write more on this subject later.

Davy Wotton.

World wide fly fishing.

www.davywotton.com.

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

Thanks for the info Davy. I'll have to try the longer tippets on my next trip. Hadn't thought about that.

John