The "North Country Fly"...Midges

Within the pages of this book "The North Country Fly" are some of the most effective flies ever created. Reading through it I have found recipes of flies that are a century and a half old. These spiders were crafted from simple materials that were available in the day. Many of the materials are not available to us today for various reasons but the flies can still be tied using what we have at hand. In many of the recipes in the book the spiders are referred to as midges, which we all know to be very small flies. Back in the day when these flies were tied I not certain small hooks, say 18-22 were available. I have tied variants of these North Country Midge patterns for some time now and have fished them with success. I use 14 and 16 hooks, silk thread and starling hackle.

This is a recipe from 1890. This is a pattern that works for me.

Black Midge...purple silk body, black dubbed thorax and starling hackle.

This black midge is the same as the one above only it has a sparse dubbed body.

Brown Midge....brown silk body, brown dubbed thorax, and bleached starling hackle.

This is a variant of the one above but with the sparse dubbed body. These flies are deadly when fished slowly in pools as well as those soft seams at the end of a riffle.

A New Light, And A Simple Fly

I was in Joann's the other day and as I was walking down one of the aisles I spotted a great sale. The OttLite was being offered at 50% off. I got the rusty calculator, my brain, and figured it out. Regular retail 65.99 at 50% off equals 32.99. And here it sits on my desk. I'm very pleased with it so far. It puts the light directly on the target. It is compact and does not generate a lot of heat. I was in need of a new light and sometimes it feels good when deals happen when most needed.

Pheasant and Orange

The pheasant and orange...simplicity to the max. Orange silk, burnt orange SLF thorax and pheasant hackle. I'm going to have to look into Smith's book The North Country Fly and see if pheasant was a hackle that was preferred and used by the old masters. I love working with it and it has been working very well on the brookies.

Some Sweet Times My Friends

Out and about...a lovely small stream, a beautiful day and some very sweet blackberries to highlight what was an exceptional day. I must confess, every day is exceptional and treasured. The berries are not quite there as far as being totally ripe, lots of "on the turn" berries which means I have some time to collect some for pancakes. Something else I'd like to pass along is the fact I have never had a year where I've seen so much wildlife. Birds, snakes, box turtles, deer, and a few bears. Toads and frogs along with lots of bees have made being out there very enjoyable.

The streams are still holding, and though we could use some rain I'm happy with conditions. Water temps have been 60-62, and a few of them in the 58 degree range. The brookies have been hanging in the faster water at least while I have been fishing, and they do not miss the fly as it drifts near them.

A small Royal Coachman wet fly fooled this jewel.

I have been fishing this old stick. A Cabela's TQR 5' 2wt...it's a great rod for the small stream and can handle what ever comes it's way. I featured the TQR in my book "Thin Blue Lines"

This photo shows so much of what a small stream offers...wood, which is good, a shallow riffle with a deeper section of water. It has shadows, and seems. But most of all it holds trout. An ant floating by was slammed.

That's some fish to be holding in a place like that. I believe that brookie is a pretty old fellow. Maybe one more spawning season left in him.

Taking a break

A little break time is called for at this time.