Fishing Midges in Lakes

[Hairstacker]

I just picked up the book, "Midge Magic," which has some great midge patterns, but the authors don't fish stillwater and thus don't discuss stillwater approaches.

I've heard of others who've had success fishing midges in lakes, although I don't know what approach(es) they use. Are there folks here who can weigh in if they've experienced success fishing subsurface midge patterns in stillwater? Would sure love to hear about it. Not looking for locations, just tactics.

[markem8]

I receive Easter Sierra fly fishing email reports from Sierra Drifters Guide Service and they always discuss midge fishing a Crowley Lake. A couple of summers ago I decided to give it a shot. I headed out to the recommended area in my pontoon boat and joined all the other boats and tubes. What I found was that everyone was indicator nymphing with midge imitations. I tied on a zebra midge and a crystal tiger midge and gave it a shot, but I was off to a slow start while everyone around me was catching fish. I was fishing fairly deep, but thought I would try going deeper so I added tippett and a small split. That made all the difference. I started to get into fish regularly. Last fall I tried a black zebra midge as a trailer at Heenan Lake and also had some luck stripping and trolling, but I think that midges are best fished stillwater nymphing or very slow stripping to give the midge the appearance of emerging.

I have also caught fish on dry blood midge imitations at Davis and Martis Creek Lake. I think the best stillwater midging lakes have shallow and weedy sections. One of the good things about using indicator nymphing in these types of water is it gets you down to the fish without constantly getting into the weeds like you would if you were trolling or stripping sinking lines. Putting you flies at the right depth seems to be the key.

[Matt Frey]

Hey Mike
I have had epic days using a midge under an indicator at Pyramid. The only downside was that it is kind of boring. Just heave it and leave it.
Tight lines,
Matt

[Hairstacker]

Thanks for piping in guys! I hadn't realized they might need to be fished deep, but it makes sense to get them down to where the fish are, wherever that might be. Does seems like a relaxing, albeit potentially boring, way to fly fish -- just plop it out there, kick back, elevate and extend the feet over the side of the kayak, and munch on snacks, watch the ducks, etc. Kind of reminds me of fishing worms under a bobber for bluegill when I was a kid.

By your experiences, sounds like it could be a very productive way to go though. With all the new patterns I've become aware of due to the new book, I think it will be fun to tie some up and give 'em a go.

[Reno Flytyer]

I've found that fishing midges around 1 1/2' off the bottom is very (did I say very?) effective. I too use indicators but don't just let the midge stay put, I use a hand twist retrieve. The indicator not only helps with recognizing the take, but it serves to keep the midge near the same depth. I'm rarely using this technique in water deeper than 10-11 feet, and usually much shallower than that.

RFT

[Hairstacker]

RFT, thank you for your very helpful insight. With all the guidance I've received thus far here, in addition to a great PM I received, I feel like I've got a really good handle on how to approach this. Very, very much appreciated!

[Mike Churchill]

I have fished Crowley several times in the past and read quite a bit about midge fishing out there. Apparently the trick is to get your midge fly down within a foot or two of the bottom.

The recommended method is to clip your forceps to the fly, lower it until it hits bottom, and then set your indicator about a foot below the depth indicated.

Never tried it myself, but it makes sense.

Mike

[Reno Flytyer]

That's the trick Mike!
RFT