Midging - splashy rise + no bubble = pupa?

[TurbineBlade]

Hey -- I fished a very secret fishing hole twice over the weekend that sounds like "Funpowder".  We busted out the wets in a traditional North Country rig and got ONE fish (and a few bumps).  Slow -- not much success.  Then my waders leaked while I watched a few fish rise to midge pupa....

Splashy rise, no bubble + midge adults flying around = pupa??  Help me out here.  

Anyway, we quit after I couldn't get warm and started griping nonstop.  

The second day I repeated  (but with backup waders) the same success on wets, and said "nuts to this" and switched to the big, ugly flies I seldom throw for trout -- meat!  Amazingly, we instantly had action on those stupid things and caught fish.  I couldn't believe streamers actually catch trout -- who would've thought?  My palmered rabbit seems to get matted up pretty badly.  I need to add more rubber and hackle to the body I think.  We got the best success dragging those suckers literally on the bottom, so I assume they're taking them as sculpins, which are awesome fish.  I had to keep my hook sharpener in my front pocket for sure.  

I need to add more streamer fishing to my approach.  I really couldn't believe that I was enjoying myself with those on my line.   I've resisted it because I hate America's youth enough at this point that I'll only go to daytime movies.  

Midge fishing only produced 1 fish on a #24 pupa (7x) about 4" behind a small dry fly.  I know people used that ginked leader technique, but I like the duo rig.  Wandering up and down the stream it was easy to locate "midge" water.  Any midge people out there have any advice on hooking up with more fish that are eating midges?  And what's with the splashy rises?  Do midges move to the film that quickly?  The truck was covered in midges when we left.  

In the middle, I did sneak over to 4MR and had some fun.  There are a ton of small bass and yellow perch (and pumpkinseed) at the outfall and up-and-down the stream that will take small streamers like crazy.  Didn't see much else other than two mallards biting each other.  

Gene

[Misha Gill]

Gene, no doubt about it, midge hatches are tricky. The first thing to remember is to just take your time. Start with a properly tapered leader with at least 24" of 7x on the end of it. Tieing on the fly takes some additional time, and then you gotta observe the fish's rise pattern with regards to frequency and how far they are moving for their morsel. 

I like an Al's Rat for a midge pupa. It's very effective, and simple to tie. It's just a thread body and a tiny ball of white-ish dubbing for a head. Midge pupa trap an air bubble in order to rise to the surface and also to break through the surface tension of open water, hence the dubbing ball. You can deduce the speed of their ascent from that fact too. There are other midge imitations out there that are better for sight fishing on the surface. I like a tiny tiny adams, but any parachute pattern can be made to work as long as its small enough. There's an endless variety of midge imitations out there it seems to me. 

In terms of how I fish them, I seldom fish the greased leader setup unless I can clearly see the fish holding and rising. That's actually a situation I run into on GP more often than elsewhere though, so it's worth a try. The extended leader is essential on GP, as is figuring out the timing of the fish's rise. Again, patience is key! Don't just pick up and recast if the fish doesn't take your fly on a good drift, and especially don't recast a screw up until it's drifted well back. Midge fishing for trout is the epitome of the heron analogy for anglers. You gotta be deliberate, move slowly, and avoid sudden movements. 

[TurbineBlade]

Thanks Misha - I'll keep at it!

Gene

[Bob Smith]

 "I couldn't believe streamers actually catch trout -- who would've thought?"

Well, next time your getting skunked dig up some worms and work them down through a pool. You'll avoid having to use streamers and you will definitely catch trout.

[TurbineBlade]

Actually, that's not a bad idea (where legal).  If I see a father showing their child how to dig up worms for bait, I don't despair for the human race.  

Gene

[Bryan Lanier]

While fishing in Colorado last year my guide used a small indicator with San Juan Worm and trailing various nymphs. Mostly they went after the nymphs but did get a couple to slurp up the worm. 5wt, 11'6" rod is great for dead drifting.

Bryan

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