Tiny flies for big fish - the history of the Zebra Midge 

That is what I have been tying zebra and chironomids. Have a friend who wants me to tie 2 dozen for him he is heading to pyramid lake next month. A place on my bucket list!

Morning Matt. Funny you tied that fly.. I just tied about a dozen in the same three colors you spoke about. Heading to Pyramid Lake tomorrow. If it calm on the no lake, I'll throw the zebra on.

I like a green midge as well... Learned that in TN tailwaters. And gold would instantly get you rejected. Silver or something dark.

Nice tip with the wire! If there was an MVP award for the 20/20 club, the zebra midge would have to be it.

Purple. The secret weapon of fly colors! Good stuff, Matt. "Just make sure you hit the point of your hook. That's always fun."

Another nice simple fly. I wonder if green would work too, fish's brains aren't too big maybe they would think it was a caddis. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.

Hey Matt great job for Thur. fly.A lot of people don't realise the importance of midges.I allways have a midge box in my sling pack.A tip for viewers get a magnetic fly box and a pair of twezers for midges. Midges work all year,but are great flies in winter mounths.Comes a warm day in the winter,if you look close you will see a hatch.We call it midging.On the surface there will be a female and a male will latch on to her,then another and another,and soon there will be a midge cluster.That's when the Griffiths Nat comes into play.I have tied thousands of midges.The zebra midge was the first one I tied.I thought to myself,this won't catch fish I was dead wrong.Large trout will take them at times.Tie them down to #24s up to #16s.I could go on for hours about midges,that's how great they are.Have a great day Matt and everyone. Ken

I love tying and fishing chironomids. Everyone should have some of these in their boxes. Thanks for some history. Thanks Matt.

It’s funny to hear that size 16 is considered small in certain circles. On the swift in Massachusetts, you’re lookin at about a size 24 on average…some guys go down to 32, it’s brutal. The saving grace is grasshopper season when you can break out the Chernobyl ants, etc.

“Make sure you hit the point if your hook, that’s always fun “ 😂😂 I usually add and expletive in there when I nick the hook point🤣. Great video as usual Matt. A great fly to have in your fly box! Thanks again !!

The amount of information coming from this channel is priceless great video as always

Great little fly and thanks to hear reference to Kelly Davidson, know him very well and a super fisherman.

Thanks Matt for doing all that research into the history of this fly. I expect understanding how fly patterns evolved is a great foundation for inspiring future innovations.

There are lots of teachers in this world. The great teachers have a gift of presenting information that is concise yet complete while captivating your attention. Your channel is addictive for those of us who want to learn. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. You sir, truly are one of the greats.

Great tip on the wire rib...thanks for sharing Matt.

KISS. Love it. But, I must confess. I’ve tied and fished very few midges. That’ll need to change. Thx Matt.

Good morning Matt. Cool little fly. Will need to tie up some of these for the box. Thanks for sharing this one. Have a great day my friend.

Thanks Matt, I'm a new subscriber and loving your channel. I've been tying for over 30 years, and the Zebra Midge is a standard "must have" fly on my home waters of the San Juan River, NM. Put an attractor on, with this as the dropper, and you have a deadly combo. Dang fish are pretty picky now, and 22-26 are standard sizes, of which I have about 30 of these in my fly box, ranging from 18-26. I have some 30's hooks, but I'm "a-scared" to try and tie those with these "time-experienced" eyes. Love the History, keep up the great work!!

Good morning Matt, I’ve never tied one but that’s going to change its now on my 2022 list.

Love the history of this fly thanks , friend showed me how to tie this fly with DMC Yarn instead of thread, 👍

Good morning Matt thanks for another great start of the day this is one I can buy :-) again thanks

My favorite (or lucky) fly for the Lackawaxen river in PA. 👍👍👍👍

Hey Matt and good morning, The Zebra Midge was my first fly I learn to tie and I love them. Sometimes I use a killer Caddis smoke gray bead but I like that rainbow bead. Nice tips this morning and enjoyed the history 👍☕️☕️

i love how you hit the hook and just keep rolling with it lot of guys would cut that out but thats what i like about you and your videos that you show mistakes happen and we are only human. thanks matt . have a great weekend. and as always i will be watching. see ya joe.

Very nice simple and easy

Great History for this pattern. Midges are reliable producers for our tail waters in TN, lots of 18’s in the toolkit.

I know what I am tying tonight! Thanks for the great tutorial on what not to do. 😂😂

I do love the origin and history behind the fly's you tie Matt. Thanks again for the video

One of my favorite and very productive fly patterns My largest rainbow came off of this also Thanks for the video Matt

Ken Lockwood Gorge, South Branch of the Raritan River NJ, a RED zebra midge. Nuff said!

The first fly I ever tied was this one. I do fish it a lot in the colors you mentioned. For some reason the last day of the Wisconsin season I caught the most fish on a tan colored midge with black wire. Not sure why I tied those colors but it worked very well for me that day. Thanks Matt !

Enjoyed listening to the background information. I am a newby on tying flies. Wonderful easy to follow instructions. Thank you

Thanks Matt. I usually hate tying these because they are so small and I have fingers like Cuban cigars. After hearing the history and depth of research you put into it, I can't wait to start tying them again. Another great one.

Very nice simple ty Matt, very awesome and I know it catches fish . Thank you for the history . Keep the lines tight Denny.

I like to add a smidgen of black or peacock ice dub right behind the bead

Interesting that you chose a zebra midge, I was thinking of doing a midge life cycle box of 👍😎

Thanks Matt, Great story, nice video, good tie, even with a couple of fuzzies. Keep up the flow of tying videos my Friend.

That is my favorite winter pattern. I probably catch 80% of my fish on it the winter 🥶. I usually tie them in black, green and red. I’ll have to give the purple one at try.

Once again a great job Matt. I appreciate the research and history you give with these patterns. The zebra is one of the patterns we teach at Sowbug to beginning tiers. Keep up the good work.

Awesome Matt. When I first started tying I cut my teeth on tying the Zebra Midge because it was easy to tie but it also taught me a lesson in thread control and proportions and yeah I caught a healthy amount of fish with then too. A good fly to fill a box up for sure.

They work well,Matt.My story mirrors yours.The largest brownie I ever caught was on a Crionomid tied on a Mustad 9174 hook in a size 18.That hook was a 3x short so you can imagine how small it was.Strange thing was that it was in fast mo ving water.Don’t remember if it was a last resort but it worked.

Hey Matt, great tip regarding the copper wire.. I was just tying a bunch of these up a couple days ago and kept fighting that.. I will definitely be using that method next time!!! I usually put a very thin layer of resin on it too. Those rainbow beads are deadly, I love using them. Great video, yet again. Cheers! ☕️

I live 45 min from the San Juan tailwater. I've caught my share of 18+inch fish on a size 24. Honestly I avoid that place most of the year now. combat fishing with flies a can't see isn't really my thing😂 As I've said before - I'd rather catch 1 fish and see no one all day than catch 20 fish standing in line. Don't get me wrong, it's good fishing and a lot of good memories, you just have to know when and where to go to avoid the crowds.

Nice looking fly Matt.

Again another great video. I enjoy the historical info. on the fly. Thanks for sharing your time and talent. KANSAS

Great hint folding over the wire. I consistently hook up with the bigger fish with sz 18 and smaller. I don't ever eat chips for dinner, but I definitely eat more chips than steaks... :) I'm guessing it's similar for the local lunkers.

Love the tips you provide along with the patterns you tie. Thanks for another neat pattern.

Such a great and easy to tie midge. Thank you Sir Matt.

Classic. Thanks Matt 🎣🎣🐟🐟

Simple and it works. Thanks.

Hi Matt, Buzzers catch some huge fish over here and all through the year, patterns are almost endless and they can be fun to tie, most over here are coated in varnish or resin nowadays. I haven't tied or fished a purple one though so this will be tied and tried 😉 thanks for the video 😊

Good pattern. Point of order: If your red isn't florescent it will turn brown at about b7 feet deep.

Good fly, I have caught alot trout on them. My first wild trout in Missouri was taken on one at Crane Creek in Missouri. The only wild trout in Missouri I know of.

Good morning Sir. Well for simplicity, I’d rank this fly right with Walts Worm. I’d think having both in your box would pay great dividends. Thank you for choosing a great fly for another great video. Truly appreciate your help my friend. Have a great weekend.

Thank you for simplicity.

Another great video I fish a lot of these. You can high stick this behind a pat’s rubber leg. I do tie the ice cream cone shape but a super thin body catches a lot of fish too. I also use holographic tinsel instead of a wire rib.

Excellent! :-)

Hello Matt 👋, your right big fish do love small bugs, I've caught many of them. Midges are so easy to tie. I'm in the process of making me a personal pattern of Midges in three different colors. I tried a black one in the fall that worked really well. So I'm looking forward to trying the two other colors this spring. Thanks for sharing Matt, have a nice day. 👍

Thanks Matt your explanation on Fly origin history is very important, keep up the nice work your a good instructor.

Ive caught some of my largest trout on a zibra midge. Lost a few huge Browns as well.

Thanks again for the videos Matt! I remember the video this past Sunday, wanted to ask if you'll ever (or have) done one on your fly rod &reel setups?

No real mystery about a big fish taking those smaller bugs: Just like one of us grabbing a handful of nuts to go with the beer, right? Purple is a great color! I remember when purple plastic worms became a sensation for bass fishermen out West back in the 60's & 70's, lol! Great fly Matt and as usual the back story made the video! I'll be tying some of these as soon as the beads show up. Have a great weekend!

Love it

So true!!

Good morning, Matt. Yes, large fish DO eat small midges. Many in Colorado are caught on them.

Thanks Matt. I have fished the Henry’s Fork of the Snake river in Idaho many times with guides and the number one dropper is a black size 18 Zebra midge. What a fish catcher and many in the 2-3 lb category. I was wondering if some UV floss might make it faster and perhaps even more effective?

I've heard of and seen the Ice Cream Cone ( eaten a ton of them too, soft serve, Drumsticks, frozen custard, mostly on sugar cones ;o) Sorry, wrong channel😆 I never knew what tail waters were, sort of know now. Water below a dam? Must be good fishing, current, oxygenated water, cooler temps and "chum" depending on type of dam. There'a a dam I've fished a lot, never fly fished it, but it's a magnet for walleye, smallmouth, big catfish, sheepshead, some kind of big shad I once had fun with, even a huge dead chinook salmon stuck in an eddy at the corner of the dam. Either someone dumped it there or it swam up the Barge Canal, the dam controls the water level of the lake and the provides navigable levels in the canal. I remember when the huge Day Peckinpaugh would go through the lock it sucked the water out behind it, exposing about 15 feet of river bottom, then the wake it left was like a tsunami, so you'd scramble back 15 feet from where you stood hoping you didn't leave any gear behind. Sorry Matt for sort of going off topic, I've just tied the Griffith Gnat, another easy fly. Never seen a blizzard hatch or mating of buzzing midges either. I have watched mosquito larva in a bucket left out in the rain. Cool wiggle when they rise toward the surface then slowly drop back down. Cool video Matt, always great research, greatly inspires me. Now I crave some ice cream before I tie a Zebra. 🍦 🤓👌

Nice tie! I really like the looks of the hook you chose, would you mind sharing make/model? Thanks!

Good morning Matt. Enjoying my morning ☕️. Like a number of others the Zebra Midge was the first fly I tied. Do you ever coat them with a resin? I have hitting the point of my hook mastered now so I’m working on breaking my thread. 🙄. Great background to the fly. Take care Matt.

Hi Matt, Thanks for the great content over the years!👍👍👍👍👍 I have learned so much from you including that a Pole Cat is skunk! It makes so much sense! Now I know what Jed Clampett was talking about in his "picnic" metaphor! I've been looking for a 14/0 or equivalent size thread in purple for this fly with no luck. What size do you recommend for a size #18 that I can find in purple? Thanks and keep up the great work! ed (North Carolina)

Good Morning Sir Matt, you got to love it. Everything you said about this fly is spot on and this is the very first Fly I learned to ty. Thank you Sir for the history on this one. On another note I was wondering if you had a game changers on your to do list? And if not would it be possible? I know it takes a little longer to ty. Hopefully some day 😁👍

Lots of good tips in this one. Oddly enough I’ve eaten more midges by mistake than I have fished non-dry versions. They don’t taste good, so they must be nutritious for the fish to like them so much. ;-). Matt, do you coat yours with lacquer or uv resin to keep them from fraying when fished ? Thread nicks: When I nick my thread, I smooth it back into the main thread by putting a tiny bit of dubbing wax on my finger & running over the fray. I only do this if I’m near to finishing the head; if I can bury it like you did in the tying process, I don’t bother.

Nice, somehow this one got past me from the RU-vid lineup. Not quite still caught me too.

Hello Matt hope all is well. Just watching some older videos. I have a quick question about this Zebra Midge please. You mentioned that you normally tie these in size 16-22. What would be your maximum size if you were to go bigger than a 16? Thank you Sir. God bless.

Art Lee…22” on a size 22.

Ive caught 10lb+ trout on a small midge before the sun has even hit the water. Pyramid Lake.

Bead...brass or tungsten?

I have tried and tried and tried fishing these. I just absolutely can’t catch anything with them. I have tried different bodies of water, every depth possible, different levels of weight, small tippets, all kinds of indicators, etc. I just give up.