FLY BOX: Top Secret Midge
IMAGE: Weekender Media
Intro
How many of you know an angler that gets stoked about fishing midges? Like, have you ever heard a dude say something like "wow I can't wait to fish a few size 26's in super technical water?" Probably not. Scratch that; you definitely haven't. Midges aren't sexy. They're tiny, hard to tie on, easy to snag on a glove or pack, and difficult to bury into the jaws of a big trout. So why even fish them?
Midges are a means to an end. They're the only insect you can count on seeing 365 days a year. From the coldest winter days to the dog days of summer, you can count on seeing midges. This is especially true on Colorado tailwaters. If you want to catch picky trout on the South Platte, the Arkansas (below Pueblo Reservoir), the Taylor, Williams Fork, the Fryingpan, or the Blue during the winter months, getting your midge game dialed in is a necessity. Hell, forget Colorado; figuring out how to effectively fish midges is the key to conquering a good portion of the fisheries all across the West.
So let's talk about a pattern that has been especially clutch for us during tailwater season: the Top Secret Midge. Designed by the South Platte sensei himself, Pat Dorsey, the Top Secret is meant to imitate the emerging midges that trout will key in on during hatches. You can fish this fly in the surface film or at the bottom of deep holes, but it's imperative to find the correct depth at which the fish are feeding. The Top Secret Midge is one of those patterns that, if the trout can see it, they will eat it.
IMAGE: Umpqua Feather Merchants
Applications
CATEGORY: Nymph (Midge)
TARGET SPECIES: Trout
This may be a bit of a no-brainer. It’s a midge emerger… Fish it like a midge emerger. Pretty hot take, right? All cynical jokes aside, there are two different ways we have found success when fishing Dorsey’s Top Secret Midge:
#1: Leave it in the surface film when trout are sipping midges
If you see the slack or still water boiling from rising fish, but you don’t see any noses, they’re likely keying in on emergers just below the surface. Meaning they likely aren’t munching on the adult midges that you see flying around and landing on the surface. Instead, they’re eating the midge pupa rising to the surface and the new adults hatching in the surface film.
When we see the water boiling, we’ll often tie a Top Secret Midge (via loop knot) to 12”-18” of fluorocarbon tippet attached to a dry fly that can be used as a sighter. Depending on the season, that dry is usually a Hi-Vis Griffith’s Gnat, Elk Hair Caddis, or Amy’s Ant. If the midge sinks at all, it won’t fall but a few inches below the surface - right into the strike zone.
Some anglers prefer to fish a tandem midge rig with no indicator or sighter dry fly, which is a perfectly valid tactic. We’ve just missed too many fish over the years by not catching the super subtle strikes!
IMAGE: Weekender Media
#2: Get it deep when the trout are hunkered down
This tactic is especially productive during cold Colorado winters. If trout are sluggish and only want to hug the bottom to eat, you have to get those flies down to their level.
For targeting big bottom feeders, we like to attach a Top Secret Midge (via loop knot) to 12”-18” of fluorocarbon tippet below a leech or scud pattern. Then it just becomes a game of finding the right depth and making every drift perfect. Keep the split shot and forceps handy: you’ll be reaching for them a lot.
Trout get picky as hell during the winter. You have to do everything just right to put fish in the net. This is where light tippets and the non-slip loop knots become important. If your midge is in the #24-#26 range, the trout will be paying particular attention to the way the potential meal twists and tumbles through the water column. Your rig’s added weight will already put the fly’s natural movement in jeopardy, but a tight clinch knot will all but ensure the fish reject your offering. Especially considering your fly is tumbling downstream with all the elasticity of a human body, post rigor mortis.
VIDEO: Blue Quill Angler
About the Tyer
Pat Dorsey, Blue Quill Angler / Umpqua Feather Merchants
As a native of Colorado, Pat Dorsey has been guiding customers of all abilities for nearly 30 years. Pat Dorsey spends well over two hundred days a year on the water, a combination of guiding clients, hosting destination travel-trips, and personal days on the water.
Pat Dorsey is the head guide and a co-owner of the Blue Quill Angler fly shop in Evergreen, Colorado. He oversees and trains more than 25 guides, setting the standard for integrity and professionalism in the Blue Quill Angler guide operation. Dorsey also, publishes an online stream report that monitors stream flows and conditions for the Blue, Colorado, South Platte (Cheesman, Deckers, Spinney Mountain Ranch, and Eleven Mile Canyon), North Fork of the South Platte, and Williams Fork Rivers.
(via PatDorseyFlyFishing.com)
IMAGE: Weekender Media
Material List
HOOK: Tiemco 2488 (#18 - #26)
BODY: 8/0 Uni-Thread (Dark Brown)
RIB: 6/0 Uni-Thread (White)
WING: Glamour Madiera
THORAX: Superfine Dubbing (Rusty Brown)