MIDGES, Tame-Trashy

Those first few snow storms and the drop in temperatures as usual have me poking around my boxes trying to figure out which hole to plug first. Since I am never months or even weeks ahead I tend to start with what I need now and that is the Midge. I really enjoy tying midges, they are small so I feel like I get a lot accomplished and despite their size there is really a lot of room for creativity once you get used to proportions.

I fish and guide mostly freestones and midges are the most abundant food during the winter months. Unlike Tailwaters where Midges can be the preferred morsel all season, freestone trout switch over to these tiny bugs out of necessity. I have found that when the cold temps first set in and the trout have begun to concentrate on midges I can get away with a larger and flashier pattern. Maybe its the fact there is less food a drift, maybe they are conditioned to try and beef up for winter or maybe they just got done spawning and need to re-charge. Either way making a pattern stand out this time of year doesn't hurt like it might in January.

Here's a video the weather forced out of me all about some options for your early season Midge junk.