| Let's face it, we dream in Technicolor of size 10 | | | | Oklahoma. |
| green drake hatches or Hexagenia Limbata as big as | | | | Though the tiny bead/biot midge is a killer as a |
| beavers - but the reality is Winter Time Is Midge | | | | dropper below a larger nymph, the One-Two Punch |
| Time. Often the only bugs on the frigid water are so | | | | consists of a dropper below a similar looking dry. |
| small; they challenge most anglers to consider LASIK. | | | | Before I give you the recipe, let me describe the |
| And as you already know, much of the eating is | | | | simplicity of these two flies. The dry fly is: olive |
| under the surface. | | | | thread, olive biot, and olive/gray hackle on a size |
| At a fly-tying class, I once heard a locally famous fly | | | | twenty barb-less hook. The dropper, often fished |
| tier named Pops quip something along the line of "my | | | | just 6 inches below the dry, is: olive thread, olive biot, |
| second best fly tying material supplier is Hobby | | | | and metallic bead on a size twenty barb-less hook. |
| Lobby". This, of course, assumes that Blue Heron Fly | | | | Simple, right? It's really easy to tie too. But don't let |
| Shop where we were sitting is his "first best". This | | | | that make you feel guilty when you when you catch |
| guy is also well known for the quote "it ain't no use, | | | | numerous trout with it. |
| if it ain't chartreuse" but that, as they say, is another | | | | Duff's Dry Midge - Olive |
| story. | | | | Materials - |
| Armed with this nugget of wisdom, I scoured every | | | | * Hook: Size 20 dry |
| section of Hobby Lobby. Eureka! Great little wires for | | | | * Thread: Olive 8/0 |
| tying "ribs" of nymphs, wonderful foam sheets for | | | | * Body: Goose Biot dyed olive |
| terrestrials, assorted yarn varieties for 'buggers, and | | | | * Hackle: Olive/Gray sized to match hook gap |
| beads, beads, beads! All this is available at a fraction | | | | * Head: Olive Thread |
| of the cost of their fly-shop counterparts. Bingo! | | | | Technique - Crush barb, put hook in vise, jamb knot |
| From this magnificent Wall-O'-Beads, I found some | | | | thread and wrap back to bend, tie in point of biot, |
| fine little metal ones in a small pinky-sized cylinder. | | | | wrap thread forward, spiral biot forward leaving |
| They came in a variety of colors like olive, purple, | | | | segmentation and tie down with half hitch, tie in |
| copper, and brown. Many had fancy names like | | | | single hackle, trim base, wrap hackle and tie off, whip |
| Brown Iris Metallic Beads (the one I took home) and | | | | finish forming head, add cement. |
| numerous others. Perfect. We ARE talking tiny here. | | | | Duff's Bead/Biot Midge - Olive |
| Just the right size to barely squeeze on to barb-less | | | | Materials - |
| size 20 hooks and be proportionate. | | | | * Hook: Size 20 dry or scud/nymph |
| Armed with these at my fly tying station, I began to | | | | * Thread: Olive 8/0 |
| experiment. If you have ever collected and looked at | | | | * Body: Goose Biot dyed olive |
| tiny water bugs, you will note their appendages and | | | | * Head: Brown Iris Bead |
| segmentations are not distinct unless under a | | | | Technique - Crush barb, place bead head on hook, |
| microscope. So, I combined the little bead heads with | | | | put hook in vise, jamb knot thread and wrap back to |
| many simple body materials trying to find a | | | | bend, tie in point of biot, wrap thread forward, spiral |
| simple-to-tie solution. I wanted to approximately | | | | biot forward leaving segmentation and tie down with |
| match the hatch from recent trips to the stream. I | | | | half hitch (optional - tie in a few strands of crystal |
| finally boiled it down to dyed goose biots. I had | | | | flash as a wing and clip close), whip finish behind bead |
| originally experimented with biots to tie Prince | | | | head, add cement. |
| Nymphs at a much larger scale and certainly a | | | | For those who are not into fly tying but are into fly |
| different application. My favorite biot color is olive, | | | | fishing Scott has put together an assortment of dry |
| and man, what a great subtle segmented body biots | | | | flies and nymphs that no fly fisherman should be with |
| make. Ultimately, I designed Duff's Bead/Biot Midge - | | | | out. See Duff's Ultimate Midge Pack. |
| perfect for fishing Winter's cold waters. More than | | | | Scott is a lead editor and contributor to |
| just this emerger, I developed a powerful One-Two | | | | SouthwestSportsman.co m, a website dedicated to |
| Punch combination that has proven itself over and | | | | the enjoyment of the great American outdoors. |
| over in many tailraces throughout Texas and | | | | |