Midge · Emerger · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version
Fischer's Flies
Hook Fulling Mill FM5145 Tactical Midge, short curved shank, 20-22
Thread Brown body, black head 70D body, 50D head
Materials
Body thread Brown thread (Veevus 70D)
Rib Clear head cement (7x tippet)
Flash Opal mirage tinsel medium (small Mirage Tinsel)
Head thread Black thread (Semperfli NanoSilk 50D)
Wing Light dun wing bud (CDC feather)
Wing buds Clear head cement (thin strips cut from a fly tying material bag)
Resin Clear uv resin (Solarez Bone Dry UV resin)
How to tie it
Start the brown 70D at the 80% mark and wrap back to the start of the bend, tying in the 7x tippet and one strand of small opal tinsel as you go so both are anchored the full length of the abdomen.
Wrap the brown thread forward in flat, touching turns to the 70% mark, building the slimmest possible taper. Midge pupae are essentially thread-thin, so the whole illusion depends on not letting the body get fat.
Rib forward with the 7x tippet in five or six open turns for segmentation, then follow the same spiral with the opal tinsel so a thin flash line sits in each segment groove rather than sitting proud on the body.
Whip finish the brown thread and start the black NanoSilk at the 70% mark. Changing to a fine black thread here gives you a distinct dark head and thorax without adding the bulk that a single heavier thread would.
Tie in a light dun CDC tip as a short wing over the thorax, no longer than the hook gap, then add two thin strips cut from a scrap fly tying material bag splayed either side. The tyer repurposes his packaging for this, and the clear plastic reads as the emerging insect's wing pads.
Build a small black thread head, whip finish, and seal the abdomen and head with Bone Dry. Leaving the CDC dry keeps the wing working while the resin protects the thin ribbed body from small teeth.