by Scott Blackhurst

The red zebra midge is a term to describe many different small winged insects. There are thousands of individual species of midges. The midge represents the pupal stage of a midge which is a small aquatic insect that is a primary food source for Trout and shoreline birds. They are prevalent in Tail Waters and are a Rockstar to trout anglers. Midges are classified as Diptera, Greek for “two wings,” which is a family of flies known as True Flies. They have one pair of wings with balancing organs called halteres located just behind the base of the wing. There are biting and non-biting midges with most midges being aquatic being highly beneficial and desirable organisms in the ecosystem. They consume and recycle organic debris. They have 4 complete life stages: egg, larvae, pupa and adult. The complete life cycle can occur in as short a time as 2-7 weeks during fall and winter, depending on water temperatures. This combined abundance and frequency makes them a primary food. General colors are green, red and black.

1 – Use whatever hook you have as long as it’s not over…never mind. I usually don’t tie my patterns under s20 as I just can’t see to tie them on! Use sizes 18-24. The sizes above are a s18 scud hook

2 – The color of the midge you’re making. The small the fly, the smaller the thread should be to make the fly easier. The 2 above, I used 70 denier.

3 – Head – use an appropriate bead size for the hook you are using. Usually silver for red, gold for black, and usually, I use black for green midges.

4 – Start your thread just behind the bead and build a slight dam to keep the head at the hook eye. At around ¼ of the way down, tie in the rib you are going to use. Use touching turns of thread going down to the bend of the hook and remember to unwind your thread so the body is nice and flat. I usually go into the bend of the hook.

5 – Now you’ll want to make a nice, tapered body, keeping the thread unwound to make it nice and flat. Some people make the thorax area, just behind the bead, the same thickness as the bead. I don’t as it seems to me, makes the body a little fatter than it should be.

6 – Once you have the body you want, wind the ribbing material up to just behind the bead. Tie the rib in completely…this is one of the reasons I don’t initially build the area behind the bead up, as you usually add in enough thread tying in the rib, that it can get a little, out of control.

7 – Depending if you are going to use UV resin or not, make sure to finish off the fly just behind the bead. The picture I have of the 2 flies. The right side I used a flat, flash tinsel, that I marked with a black marker (on the side that sits against the body) and I used a UV resin. The left side I used a BR size black wire for the rib with no UV resin. I usually use resin to help protect the threaded body so the fly lasts longer.