RM’s Chronic Midge
Ever since we lost our good friend, guide and mentor Rob Merrill a few years back, I told myself I would pick up where he left off on his wonderful midge emerger patterns aptly named the RM’s Chronics. He tied these very small with mostly thread and micro-thin foam over the thorax to give it some buoyancy. Most Rocky Mountain anglers have been frustrated during the hot summer months when the trout’s soup-du-jour is a plentiful diet of midges – and hardly anything else! Therefore, I took some tips from the RM’s Chronic midge and applied them to the Teton Midge Emerger.
I have been tying this pattern in 8/0 black Uni, with extra-fine gold wire, black peacock ice dub and tan micro-foam for the overlay on the thorax. This pattern is extremely effective when the fish get picky, and its natural-looking appearance under water fools even the wisest of trout many times. This pattern is extremely effective on the South Fork of the Snake as one of my go-to riffle candy choices, or as a dropper behind even the smallest of dry imitations.
The Teton Midge Emerger is tied on #20 Daiichi 1120 scud-shaped hook and it proves to be very effective, while not needing to be tied on exasperatingly small hooks. I use black peacock or regular peacock ice dub as I get very frustrated using natural peacock, and I also find this material makes the fly much more durable and long-lasting. The micro-foam back not only gives the fly a tad more buoyancy, as any emerging pattern would require, but together with the 2X heavy hook, allows the fly to drift in a head-up orientation – extremely natural.
Rob Merill tied these in #22 and #24 and used various color schemes. I have found that tying this pattern in a camel or olive color in sizes up to #16 also offer wonderful emerging imitations for the mayflies and baetis that also infest our mountain streams. Have fun playing around with this pattern as it is fairly easy, and deadly effective for its purpose!
Contact any of our shops for more information and materials to tie this effective pattern, or to have a couple of dozen sent to you. Happy tying and have a wonderful New Year from the Crew at Three Rivers Ranch!
Dave Heib – Driggs Fly Shop
Take a look at this article about fly fishing midges.
