Eric's Midge Hi-Vis

Eric's Midge is an amazing dry fly with great profile and buoyancy. Hackle and foam back help keep the fly riding high, and the high-vis yarn comes in handy at distance.

None of my personal flies have a name unless Umpqua picks them up and names them.  I do not like having my name on a fly.  Too many tiers and too many tying shows so one never knows where “your” idea came from.

 I have always wondered about a better dry midge imitation.  I see midges hatching in January.  It was on the San Juan River in New Mexico that I got the idea for the “Eric’s Midge” in about 1976 and began working on my idea.  The abbreviated tail is to balance the fly on the water.  The closed cell foam makes the fly almost unsinkable.  The burnt orange indicator is to help an “old man’s eyes” see the fly on the water.  For the young folks I tell them you can skip the indicator.  I use a size 28 or 30 as a dropper tied exactly the same.  It is such a simple pattern it is easy to tie in any size.

-Eric Pettine