Banded Midge

HOOK: Dai Riki 135, sizes 10-14 THREAD: Black BODY: Pearl or red Krystal Flash RIBBING: Fine black vinyl ribbing material (V-rib or Larva Lace) WING: Gray CDC THORAX: Black Haretron dubbing GILLS: White craft foam

Uses

Imitates a midge pupa. Jeff Morgan writes about this fly: "This fly started as a killer panfish pattern, but its effectiveness quickly promoted the pattern into my trout fly boxes. The banding effect this fly has is unusual and can attract fish that have seen it all. But the biggest reasaon for this pattern's effectiveness is the short CDC wing. It grabs a bubble of air and holds it, glimmering, along the body of the fly. While this fake wing is totally out of position compared to the wingpads of the natural, the effect of the bubble seems to remove all doubt from a fish's mind."

How to Fish

In lakes, use the static midge, deep midge, or slow retrieve presentations. On rivers, use the shallow nymph presentation.

After a couple of fish have inhaled this fly, treat the CDC with a desiccant to remove slime and dry it out. This allows the CDC to continue to trap air bubbles, which is the key to the fly's effectiveness.

Tying Directions

1. Tie in both Krystal Flash and ribbing material at the bend of the hook.

2. Wrap the Krystal flash, tie it, down and cut it off.

3. Wrap the black rib, making sure to allow plenty of the underbody to show through. Tie down and trim excess.

4. Tie in the short CDC wing. The wing should be extend from the thorax to about the point of the hook. Trim excess.

5. Tie in the foam. I like to tie it in as an underbody for the thorax, for it gives the fly a little extra buoyancy.

6. Dub a small black thorax.

7. Whip finish and trim the foam short.