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Lucian.Vasies

Zebra midges - your favorite version?

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Here are my zebra midges that work quite ok, but working to improve my series.

 

zebra-midge-black.jpg

 

zebra-midge-olive.jpg

 

zebra-midge-red.jpg

 

 

Which is your most effective version? of course for those willing to share :)

 

Thanks!

Lucian

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Silver bead, silver wire. Copper bead, copper wire. Gold bead, gold wire. White bead, red wire. Etc. Usually forego the flash because I've never found it to produce any better than those without, although have been experimenting with one off the bottom of the fly and that seems to work at times. Have tried white wire ones like those above and they do work at times too. Have tried a lot of different body colors, but tend to fall back to black or red more often than not. Use glass beads often for the smaller sizes which make good droppers when using dries. Really the combinations are endless.

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Those are gorgeous, Lucian. Perfect spacing on the rib.

 

I didn't use metal beads on mine. Water's shallow and not flowing hard, so I don't want them to sink too quickly. I don't tie, or use, many, and I don't have any pictures on hand.

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The ones I used to tie for still water trout, called a small chironomid rather than midge , #22 Mustad dry fly hook, 5 turns of small lead at thorax area, silver wire tied in at half bend and spiraled forward over floss body, strongly tapered body of black or red floss from half bend to just behind eye, with a tuft of white floating yarn projecting forward over the hook eye ~3/32" said to represent gills

This would have been from a book or magazine in the late '70s, rather generic, I fished them in the film in the large ponds of southern New England, with good success.

I don't use midges where I fish now, it happens that I was going through some boxes a few days ago and found some, from back when.

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Oh, I forgot to tell you that I use them in Alpine lakes in Italy. Wild lakes , small with spooky fish. I use something with black and red too tied with catgut and a small white cdc near to hook eye. It was my productive fly used on the dropper.

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I find a dull orange thread works well on the peaty waters I fish. Occasionally with a white bead but normally with a matt green bead.

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Is thr "Brassie" a midge/choronomid pattern? Never knew what they represented, but I caught a good many fish of various species on them.

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I've had success using rust colored zebras. And I always use a tungsten bead.

 

A zebra midge is my go-to fly on any water I fish. Sometimes I'll tie an unweighted fly behind it and let the zebra bounce off the bottom.

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I find Pat Dorsey’s Mercury Midges to be more effective, on the waters I fish, than Zebra Midges.

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