Bead Head Midge

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Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Black Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Red
Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Green Bead Head Zebra Midge, Black
Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Olive  Bead Head Zebra Midge, Red

Midges laying eggs.

Walk along the shoreline of the Deschutes River and study the vegetation growing on the rocks in the splash zone.  There is a lot of it is yellowish, greenish, stringy stuff that looks like some kind of algae.  Fact is, much of what you think is plant life is actually midge eggs; zillions of billions of them. Some species of midges lay strings of eggs on anything that is wet at the edge of the water.  This includes not only shoreline rocks but boats, oar blades and the waders of wading fishermen.  These eggs hatch into midge larvae.  Midge larvae are very simple worm-like creatures. You can imagine how many there might be in square foot of river bed. In fact, in a square yard of river bottom there can be thousands. That is a lot of food for trout and other fish. 
The following is quoted from: Hatch guide For Western Streams - "Midge larvae are found in all types of water, though those in stillwaters tend to be larger than those found in streams.  They live on, or burrow into, the substrate and feed on algae or decaying plant and animal mater, though a few species prey on smaller insects.  In streams the larvae are found in most water types, but bottoms where debris settles often have dense populations of midge larvae.  Because midges have several generations per year, larvae are present in streams all year and are constantly found drifting in the currents.  Even though they are small, the large numbers found in the "drift" offer trout a steady supply of food when other insects are not available.  In heavily fished streams, trout often feed selectively on midge larvae, even when other insects are hatching."
The flies below are effective midge larvae patterns for moving water.  Fish them dead drift along the bottom of any river, any time of year. Fine tippets often increase strikes.


Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Black
Many midge larva are dark colored.  This simple bead head fly fished dead drift very close to the bottom is always a good choice as a searching fly.

Item Description Size Price To Top
9046-16 Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Black 16 3 for $5.25

Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Green
Some midge larvae take on the color of the bright colored vegetation that they feed on. This fly can also double as a drifting caddis larvae.

Item Description Size Price To Top
9048-16 Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Green 16 3 for $5.25

Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Olive
Other midge larvae take on the color of the dull colored decaying vegetation that they feed on. 

Item Description Size Price To Top
9049-16 Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Olive 16 3 for $5.25

Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Red
Some midge larvae produce hemoglobin and are varying shades of red.  Some midges have bright red bodies in in all life stages. They are often called "Blood Midges".

Item Description Size Price To Top
9051-16 Bead Head Midge, Shaggy Red 16 3 for $5.25

Bead Head Zebra Midge, Black
On many rivers, this is the deadliest fly ever invented.  A long fine tippet facilitates fishing this fly.

Item Description Size Price To Top
00252-16 Bead Head Zebra Midge, Black 16 3 for $5.25
00252-18 Bead Head Zebra Midge, Black 18 3 for $5.25

Bead Head Zebra Midge, Red
Deadly blood midge pattern.

Item Description Size Price To Top
06406-16 Bead Head Zebra Midge, Red 16 3 for $5.25

06406-18 Bead Head Zebra Midge, Red 18 3 for $5.25


The key to success is "understanding".  You can never know enough.
Understanding the organisms that trout feed on is one of the keys to catching trout.
The Hatch Guide For Western Streams by Jim Schollmeyer 
is great reference material for the trout fisher.
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