Midge Season's here! Let's talk and share some knowledge.

[Justin Aldrich]

Hey everyone, my names Justin Aldrich, I’m an extremely passionate Fly Fishermen who loves everything about our sport. Besides my wife and new born twin boys…….Fly Fishing is LIFE! (<<<< just in case the wife ever sees this. Ha ha, just messing.) I’m 31 years old and I’m afraid to admit that I got into Fly Fishing later in life than most. But since I started a year or so ago I’ve quickly picked up the essentials and I’m forever learning more and more. I can’t help myself. Oddly enough I got into Fly TYING before I got into Fly FISHING. Lol. I love tying impressionistics and little #28 size Flies….on top of every other in season Fly. Lol. I live in North Georgia and fish every chance I get.

So, all that being said, it’s Winter time. “MIDGE SEASON!”
Has anyone else out there been running into some lows this season? Dry spells? I can tell you without a doubt that I HAVE! I can’t seem to key on anything there feeding on at the time I’m on the Stream. I might add that the Trout have been plenty active when I’m there too…..which just adds to the insult and frustration. Smh.

I’d love to hear from anyone out there willing to talk about Trout fishing in general, or fishing in the Winter time. If there not secrets, Lol, I’d love to talk about as many Midge or Winter patterns as possible that are working for you, or that you know from personal experience would work for ME here in North Georgia.

Thanks to everyone who stops by and takes some time to chat about what we love so much.
-Justin A.

[Zach Matthews]

Hey Justin –

Not a lot of midge activity these days for me, but when I fished the Little Red River in Arkansas I was pretty dedicated to it for a while.

My best results came from AK Best’s baggie midge in sizes from #20 down to #26. The smallest ones are hard to find because the feathers themselves are difficult to come by.

Generally speaking I would locate a pod of rising trout (not hard in the JFK Park area of the Little Red), wade cautiously to within 30 feet or so, and lay out a cast using 7X tippet on at least 12 feet of leader. Not easy to land one but this is kind of a specialized deal, and I never really targeted big fish.

Couple tips; be sure to false cast for drying purposes away from the rising trout. They feel the spray coming off the line if you cast over them even if you stay short. Second, grease your leader, not just the fly. I like the Japanese Tiemco Dry Magic Super Powder Fly Floatant, which sounds like a sushi recipe but is really, really good stuff. One tube has lasted me for years. Finally, you’re not going to see the take in all likelihood, so set *gently* on every rise that you see.

Good luck and thanks for the post!

Zach

[Justin Aldrich]

Zach,
Unreal how you’ve thought of little detail about spray coming off the line like that. Never gave that a thought before, but just thinking about it makes perfect sense. Especially with finicky Winter Trout. I’m not familiar with A.K.’s “Baggie” Midge. I’ll search it right when I’m through here. What Colors do you recommend? The weather here is roughly 32° in the morning and high 40°-55° in the afternoon. I’m fishing MOSTLY faster moving water, mostly.
Can’t thank you enough for your time and suggestions Zach.
– Justin

[Zach Matthews]

Justin in my experience with midges the trout actually do key on color, and the only way to know is to catch some. An easy way to do that is to go to Home Depot and buy a small section of window replacement screen and a pair of thin dowel rods. Staple the screen securely to the dowels, leaving a few inches exposed on the ends for handles. This will make a nice little seine net and let you capture the naturals for inspection. I typically carried black, tan, and gray options. It does make a difference in hookup rates. Roll your seine net up like a scroll from both ends and use a rubber band to keep it closed until you need it. It only needs to be 12″ square or so for midges, but it’s also fun to make a bigger one the size of an actual window and use it as a kick net. You set up downstream of a riffle and have a buddy do the San Juan Shuffle just upstream of you. You’ll be amazed at all the creepy crawlies you catch.

And the moral of that story is NEVER DRINK RIVER WATER hahahaha.

Zach

[Justin Aldrich]

Okay Zach, first I’ll try and be serious……GREAT IDEA!!! I’ve also had trouble finding insect activity in my river, and the seine net idea sounds perfect. Especially for the little Midge’s.

Okay, now, LOLOLOL! I laugh because of the “San Juan Shuffle” statement. Lol. I’ve never heard of it before. I get the idea of setting up the net in front of a riffle and whatnot, but don’t get what my buddies doing upstream??? LOLOL. Thanks again Zach………Smh lol

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