Midge Pupa, Sizes

[goose]

What is the average hook size of midge pupas here in PA? It seems I read one time they are 20s and 22s. Can anyone help me out on this?
Thanks,
Bruce

 

[SneakyPete]

Bruce, great question.....I'm tying most of my pupa patterns from #18-26.. .
But would like to narrow it down only #20-22 if it can be done..

 

[Trout Nazi]

I can't imagine that you would need to go below 22 with pupa. I've never gone smaller than a #20 2488 or 2487, and that was very rarely, although those hooks are 2x short. Most of the time, I never go smaller than an #18 in that hook size. Its more important I think to tie a thin body. The cool thing about a size 18 is that it probably also gets mistaken for a micro caddis, so tie some in olive or brown.

 

[SneakyPete]

I can't imagine that you would need to go below 22 with pupa. I've never gone smaller than a #20 2488 or 2487, and that was very rarely, although those hooks are 2x short. Most of the time, I never go smaller than an #18 in that hook size. Its more important I think to tie a thin body. The cool thing about a size 18 is that it probably also gets mistaken for a micro caddis, so tie some in olive or brown.

Wow, I learned something new today... I seen a midge pupa on #32 Tiemco 518.
So i guess going below #22 with a pupa at times is a must?????

I use the 2457 & 3761 hook allot in #20-24

 

[Trout Nazi]

I would imagine in some selective feeding situations, going below #22 is required. Hanging a something really small off of a Griffiths Gnat probably works well during a hatch. Then again, I'm not a big midge guy, I usually employ them in nymph form only, usually mid-summer, fall, and winter. Most of the waters I fish also have really healthy caddis populations, so I'm sure they get mistaken for micro-caddis since midge and caddis profiles are very close in the larger sizes (16-20).

I like the 2488 when you start getting small because of the straight eye, gives you a tiny bit more hook-gap, not sure if its makes a difference, but its a confidence thing.

 

[JeffK]

Get the book Midge Magic for a lot of midge patterns designed in PA. Lots of midges on 18 3906B (1x long) hook. One guide I know relies on a 16 Zebra midge on a regular hook, which makes it the same size as an 18 1X long. For smaller midges, I go with a size 22.

For years a size 22 was as small as I would go and generally did OK. However, there were days when a 24 or 26 would make a big difference. However, I have trouble tying on small hooks with cold hands so 22's became my regular small midge hook and my smaller hooks became depleted. Plus, I caught enough on 22's and didn't mind missing out on a few by not going smaller. This summer I bought some 24's and 26's again and they do help so I will probably try more tiny guys.

I also like the 2488 hooks and the heavier 2488H where you need to go deep. These shorter shank hooks work well for me in 18 and 20.

I agree with the microcaddis sentiment. I like to have a few "midges" with a bright green body. The local streams have a lot of chimmara caddis and small simple larva patterns in a sort of dirty yellow to orange range work well some days.

 

[goose]

Thanks. Let's keep this discussion alive. I tied some midge larva patterns from John Barr's book on size 24 and 26 size 2488 TMC hooks. I even fished them on 5x tippet and caught trout with them, but I started wondering what sizes are the midges we try to imitate here in PA. I figure if I didn't have to go so small why should I, but I wasn't sure how small or large was good enough. I get a certain thrill catching trout on small flies even if the trout are only 12 inches long or less. I enjoy learning about this stuff and reading other peoples' takes on the subject.
Bruce

 

[Trout Nazi]

Barr's midges are cool, and also easy to tie. What colors did you tie them in? You should also check out Mercer's Midgeling. A little more involved to tie, but different flavor that also works well. I think that Barr's work better in the smaller sizes though.

 

[afishinado]

Interesting question. I would guess that most are in the 20-24 hook size but they can be as small as 2mm and fit on the head of a pin. I tie them in size 20-28 using TMC 2488 or 2487 (hooks which are 2x short).

Here's a link with some info:

Midge | Chironomid | Fly Fishing | Westfly

Click on some of the articles near the bottom of the page. Some good stuff there about midges and patterns.

 

[goose]

Barr's midges are cool, and also easy to tie. What colors did you tie them in? You should also check out Mercer's Midgeling. A little more involved to tie, but different flavor that also works well. I think that Barr's work better in the smaller sizes though.

I tie them in olive, tan, black, white and red. So far I've done the best with the olive and red. I agree the smaller sizes work the best. I never heard of Mercer's Midgeling.

 

[SneakyPete]

Thanks for the reference of the Mercer's Midgeling Emerger.. I never heard of that fly and will start tying it..
I like tying the BH UV Z-Midge (Olive) It kind of looks like a Mercer's Midgeling.. But just a little different....

After thumbing through my "Modern Midges" book I just found Mike Mercer's Midgling...
They have only the olive and root beer in this book... Do you know of any other good colors???