Midge

[fishhead]

Hook mustad size 16
Thread UTC olive 8/0
Body pearl flashabou
Thorax tip of black ostrich herl
Hackle sterling

[Smuggler]

I could see this fooling some picky fish. Very nice.

[William Anderson]

This is a very slick pattern. This is a where you might offer me some insight. For the past couple years I've been moving away from offering more of a bare hook and choosing hooks with the desired length. I wonder if some midge patterns benefit from the longer shank as part of the overall offering? I've always like the associations of our current soft hackles with the Clyde, Tweed and Tummel styles of North country spiders and putting the effective pattern on a hook without regard to the percentage of bare hook to the dressing has always seemed a bit of a charm. I guess my ignorance in fishing midge patterns comes to play at this point. I'm just looking for a bit of discussion about how we make that decision.

This is a beautifully executed midge pattern by the way. I sincerely hope you don't take my comments above as a questioning of your choice, honestly just a point of curiosity and maybe a bit of an educational request.

[daringduffer]

The fish we catch obviously ignore the hook as a hook but might appreciate how it behaves and how it is dressed. Like you, I wonder what decides the reaction of the other fish, those that don't eat our offerings. Likewise, how many fish inhale my offerings without me even knowing?
I buy the concept of not adding anything to the hook that puts the fish off - the theory of less is more - but I don't know just where I might cross the line. Most classic patterns are classic due to being effective when used the right way during the right circumstances.

Good enough/right way/ right circumstances; see - I told you nothing that you did not know. Sorry...

dd

[fishhead]

All I really know is 1 I hate dry fly fishing, 2 when the fish are eating midge's on the surface I throw something like this, 3 I have never had an issue with showing too much hook and I Like the way it looks, 4 I have found that fish really go after these minimalist type flies especially in clear water which reinforces #3. But I am still always surprised that the fish don't seem to be bothered by showing a lot of hook and I wonder why that is. But seeing is believing.

[fishhead]

All I really know is 1 I hate dry fly fishing, 2 when the fish are eating midge's on the surface I throw something like this, 3 I have never had an issue with showing too much hook and I Like the way it looks, 4 I have found that fish really go after these minimalist type flies especially in clear water which reinforces #3. But I am still always surprised that the fish don't seem to be bothered by showing a lot of hook and I wonder why that is. But seeing is believing.

I am just making a correction here. I don't hate dry fly fishing, hate is a strong word. I just do not get any satisfaction from catching fish on a dry fly. I realize there is skill involved with presenting a dry fly through varying currents to picky fish but I can't help to feel like I'm cheating somehow whenever I catch a fish on a dry. It's been about 3 or 4 years now since I have put one on the end of my line. But I don't want to take anything away from dry fly fishing, it's just how I feel.

[William Anderson]

We present flies to please the fish. Sometimes that's on top, they can't help it.

This is a nice thread.

[fishhead]

I always carry a small box of dries just in case I can't get them to take something else when they are feeding on the top but I can be pretty stubborn. And I get so much satisfaction out of being able to catch fish below the surface and I just do not get that same feeling when hooking a fish on the top that I never end up opening that box of dries

[tie2fish]

I always carry a small box of dries just in case I can't get them to take something else when they are feeding on the top but I can be pretty stubborn. And I get so much satisfaction out of being able to catch fish below the surface and I just do not get that same feeling when hooking a fish on the top that I never end up opening that box of dries

To each his own .

[fishhead]

To each his own .

Couldn't have put it any better myself