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Zebra Midge
A nymph, tied #18–24, carried year round. It is tied against 5 named insects in this book, and stands in when nothing is hatching — all year.
Two materials and a bead make up this nymph: a tapered thread body in black or red 14/0, a rib of fine silver or copper wire, and a black or silver tungsten bead at the head, with an optional wisp of white Antron suggesting a gill. It is tied on a scud or curved nymph hook in sizes 18 down to 24 and carried all year. It is fished under an indicator or on a dropper right through winter, and on tailwaters it is the fly, including the last two feet of a tailout. Small and dark, it covers a great deal: blue-winged olives, Baetis spp., March through May and September through November at 38 to 58 degrees; midges, Chironomidae, all year from 33 to 75 degrees; little black caddis, Chimarra atterima, April and May at 46 to 58 degrees; and tricos, Tricorythodes spp., July through September at 58 to 72 degrees. It also searches when nothing is hatching. Trout are the quarry.
- #18–24Hook size
- nymphType
- AllSeason
- 5Hatches matched
What it looks like
A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 5 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 5 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
- Blackfly Simulium spp. · April–June · 40–65°F · #18–22
- Blue-Winged Olive Baetis spp. · March–May and September–November · 38–58°F · #16–22
- Midge Chironomidae · all year · 33–75°F · #18–24
- Little Black Caddis Chimarra atterima · April–May · 46–58°F · #16–20
- Trico Tricorythodes spp. · July–September · 58–72°F · #20–24
It is also tagged for no hatch at all — a searching pattern.
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | Scud/curved nymph hook, sizes 18–24 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black or red 14/0 |
| Body | Thread, tapered |
| Rib | Fine silver or copper wire |
| Head | Black or silver tungsten bead |
| Optional | A wisp of white Antron as a gill |
When to fish it
Under an indicator or on a dropper, all winter. On tailwaters it is the fly.
Carried all year. The insects it matches are active all year, in water from 33°F to 75°F.
Target species
- Trout
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Catawba River the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Jackson River the Virginia mountains · July mean 66.3°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Smith River the Virginia mountains · July mean 51.9°F
- Tygart Valley River the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.6°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Aaron Creek the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Aaron Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 77.1°F
- Aarons Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.2°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- Higa's SOS nymph · #16–20 — Small, slim, and deadly in clear low water.
- Black Beauty nymph · #18–24 — Midge pupa, fished under an indicator in slow winter water.
- Blackfly Larva nymph · #18–22 — A tiny black tapered body on a curved hook. Dropped off something bigger in a spring riffle.
- Brassie nymph · #16–22 — Copper wire and peacock. Sinks fast for its size, which is the point.
- Perdigon nymph · #14–20 — Slim, epoxied, sinks like a stone. The euro-nymphing point fly.