Griffith's Gnat

[flytire 0]

yes and it provided some very good fishing on the green river in utah using a slight variation of cream fur vs peacock herl

 

[Crackaig 0]

Since the Griffith's Gnat is basically a miniature Wooly Worm ... and many many people swear by wooly worms and buggers ... I'd guess the gnat is a great fly.

I never fish flies that small ... but then, I don't go after trout, either.

Mike, on the day those can be very large flies. I've had midges using my size 28 Griffith's Gnat to crawl through the surface film on and still been way oversize. So much so I caught not one fish.

Cheers,

C.

[TheCream 0]

It's my go-to pattern for low water spooky small stream trout in WV. When the flows slow to a trickle, those little brookies get skittish as all get out. Land a size 14 para Adams near them and it's like throwing a rock at them. They flee for the nearest rock to hide under. A #20 Griffith's Gnat lands soft enough and looks enough like a meal to usually get me strikes in difficult conditions. In the past, I have added a little spike of orange indicator material to the middle of the fly to add a speck of orange to aid in visibility. It helps, and the fish don't seem to mind.

[Dave G. 0]

 

Since the Griffith's Gnat is basically a miniature Wooly Worm ... and many many people swear by wooly worms and buggers ... I'd guess the gnat is a great fly.

I never fish flies that small ... but then, I don't go after trout, either.

Mike, on the day those can be very large flies. I've had midges using my size 28 Griffith's Gnat to crawl through the surface film on and still been way oversize. So much so I caught not one fish.

Cheers,

C.

 

My smallest hook is 24, I just won't fish if they are hitting smaller stuff than that, or go down on the bottom with some big fly and maybe actually catch a fish. We have these little blue and white flies, look like specs on the water and they must be size 40 if even that big, the trout go nuts for them in the spring. Forget it, I'm not competing with those little things, I just move on to another section of water where that isn't happening.

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

I've had fish rising to micro midges and since I can't see a size 26-28 on the water in those conditions I would tie on a size 14-16 Griffith's Gnat as an indicator with a trailing tiny midge pattern to match the hatch. On many occasions I have had the fish prefer the larger GG over what they were feeding on. Maybe the would be midge cluster looked like a better meal.

[Dave G. 0]

I've had fish rising to micro midges and since I can't see a size 26-28 on the water in those conditions I would tie on a size 14-16 Griffith's Gnat as an indicator with a trailing tiny midge pattern to match the hatch. On many occasions I have had the fish prefer the larger GG over what they were feeding on. Maybe the would be midge cluster looked like a better meal.

Yes that was ( by my understanding) the original idea of the Griffiths gnat, to represent adult midge clusters on the surface. So you put a ball of real midges together and i've seen a size 18 work or even a 16 sometimes. Our adult midges on these ponds are about a size 20 ( the Chironamids, there is an earlier hatch of a different midge and those are smaller).

[fishingbobnelson 0]

Well not hundreds, but quite a few. When I was a kid it was one of the first few flies I learned to tie.

[islander727 0]

Grayling.

 

(is that an acceptable answer?)

[mikechell 0]

Grayling.

 

(is that an acceptable answer?)

 

 

Isn't that almost as bad as bluegill !?!?!?

[rstaight 0]

 

Grayling.

 

(is that an acceptable answer?)

117 face circle surprisey 2.jpg

 

Isn't that almost as bad as <shiver> bluegill !?!?!?

 

What's wrong with gills? They are fabulous for breakfast.

[redietz 0]

 

I've had fish rising to micro midges and since I can't see a size 26-28 on the water in those conditions I would tie on a size 14-16 Griffith's Gnat as an indicator with a trailing tiny midge pattern to match the hatch. On many occasions I have had the fish prefer the larger GG over what they were feeding on. Maybe the would be midge cluster looked like a better meal.

Yes that was ( by my understanding) the original idea of the Griffiths gnat, to represent adult midge clusters on the surface. So you put a ball of real midges together and i've seen a size 18 work or even a 16 sometimes. Our adult midges on these ponds are about a size 20 ( the Chironamids, there is an earlier hatch of a different midge and those are smaller).

 

Griffith himself usually fished it in a size 14.

[mikechell 0]

 

Isn't that almost as bad as bluegill !?!?!?

What's wrong with gills? They are fabulous for breakfast.

 

Um, it was a joke. I figured everyone knew by now ... I am a Sunfish kind of guy.

 

 

I don't even have trout where I live.

[Dave G. 0]

More than once I thought I had come upon a healthy pocket of what I thought were trout feeding on midges, thrown a GN in there and come up with one Blue Gill after another. BGs like GNs. It was ok but I have to say it was a little let down after thinking maybe I might get a really nice trout, maybe one of a lifetime. But hey, that's why we call it fishing ! Well for one thing though, had I specifically been targeting BG, I'd have used a light rod and I didn't have that on the boat that day etc etc ( for instance)..

[Chris_NH 0]

The Griffith's Gnat is a great pattern with so many fun variations. I like them in bigger sizes like 14 and 16 so I can fish them in tandem with a small dropper. It can be a big midge cluster or I bet they even take them for lots of other bugs like mayflies and caddis. They just work. I guarantee you could tie some up on a #10 light streamer hook and plenty of fish would take it for a hopper or something else. Very buggy and versatile.

[flytire 0]

in that size its probably a "soldier palmer" or wooly bugger

 

probably where the griffiths gnat varied from in the beginning