Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
Trout feeding on tiny insects at the surface of glassy smooth water is one of the most challenging situations you’ll ever encounter. Trout at the surface are exposed to predators, and “spooky” barely begins to describe their cautious behavior. Trout vision is acute at the surface, and every aspect of your approach and presentation is scrutinized. If anything is amiss, trout simply refuse the offering or, worse, flee to the depths below for safety. Quiet wading, long leaders, fine tippets, good presentations, and flies that match the size of naturals are important. Such conditions can bring even expert anglers to their knees, literally as part of a stealthy approach and figuratively for the ensuing frustration of being unable to raise a single trout among dozens of risers.
English author Edward Jesse coined in An Angler’s Rambles (1836) a well-deserved term for the nearly invisible insects that make such conditions difficult. He called the insects “fisherman’s curses” to reflect the profanity-laced but usually futile attempts of anglers to imitate the naturals. In the literature, ‘curses’ refers to several groups of small insects, including chironomids (called ‘midges’ in the US and ‘smuts’ in the UK), aquatic gnats, tiny mayflies (e.g. genera Caenis and Tricorythodes), and others. Curses may be small, but what they lack in size, they overcome with numbers. Curses hatch by the millions and can at times be the most abundant food source available, especially on tailwater and spring creek fisheries. Trout often gorge on curses to the exclusion of all else. Author C.E. Walker described in Old Flies in New Dresses (1897) the difficulty of angling when fisherman’s curses are abundant:
“As every fisherman knows, when the trout or grayling are feeding on (curses), it is generally impossible to get them to take the imitation of any other fly.”
Curses earned their reputation for difficulty, in part, because sufficiently small hooks were not available until recent decades. The smallest commercial hooks around 1900 (size “000 midget” hooks) were similar to today’s #17 or #18, which is way too big for many curse imitations. True midge-sized hooks (#22 to #28) appeared in the mid-20th century. Following development of thin, strong, nylon leaders about the same time, successful fishing of midge imitations became a realistic endeavor. Although the term “midge” strictly describes species of chironomids, the term “midge fishing” more generally means “small insects – small flies” to lots of anglers. The cursing continues today, however, due to the frustrations of fishing tiny flies to selective trout under exacting conditions.
Vince Marinaro popularized small flies in his influential 1950 book A Modern Dry Fly Code. Marinaro, along with Charlie Fox, Ed Shenk, and Ed Koch, established over the ensuing couple of decades a distinctly American tradition of fishing tiny flies on the spring creeks of central Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Marinaro described such angling as “the ineffable charm of fishing with minutae” [sic]. Shenk described it more succinctly as “fishing with next to nothing”. Arnold Gingrich immortalized the challenges and charms of tiny flies in his book The Well Tempered Angler (1965) with the “20/20 Club”. Membership in the club requires landing a 20 inch or larger trout on a size #20 or smaller fly.
Most anglers punch their ticket to the 20/20 Club fishing midge imitations. Midges hatch all year long, and tying midge patterns can be quick and easy. For example, the Thread Midge Larva is a simple but effective fly developed by fishing guide Gary Willmart for New Mexico’s San Juan River. You’ll need only a hook, some thread, and good vision to tie it. Don’t be misled by the fly’s simplicity, for it is an excellent imitation of midge larvae and pupae. Willmart commented about the fly, “I wish I could make it harder, but this just works the best.” Drift a Thread Midge Larva just under the surface to trout sipping midges. Willmart’s simple but effective fly might just open doors of the 20/20 Club for you as you outsmart oversized trout with undersized flies.
Copyright 2025, Rusty Dunn
Thread Midge Larva
A Thread Midge Larva consists entirely of tying thread. Choose a body color to match naturals of a hatch, which are best sampled from the gullet of a recently caught trout using a small, flexible, plastic eyedropper. Black, tan, olive, and red are common body colors. A Thread Midge Larva in red with a black head works very well in the Driftless.
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Hook:
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2X-short, wide gape, curved shank, fine wire, straight eye, emerger hook, #18 – #26
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Thread:
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8/0 or 12/0, red and black
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Abdomen:
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Tying thread, red
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Ribbing:
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(Optional) tying thread, black
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Thorax:
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Tying thread, black; bulging noticeably
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Thread Midge Larva
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Last Updated: January 6, 2025 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
Trout feeding on tiny insects at the surface of glassy smooth water is one of the most challenging situations you’ll ever encounter. Trout at the surface are exposed to predators, and “spooky” barely begins to describe their cautious behavior. Trout vision is acute at the surface, and every aspect of your approach and presentation is scrutinized. If anything is amiss, trout simply refuse the offering or, worse, flee to the depths below for safety. Quiet wading, long leaders, fine tippets, good presentations, and flies that match the size of naturals are important. Such conditions can bring even expert anglers to their knees, literally as part of a stealthy approach and figuratively for the ensuing frustration of being unable to raise a single trout among dozens of risers.
English author Edward Jesse coined in An Angler’s Rambles (1836) a well-deserved term for the nearly invisible insects that make such conditions difficult. He called the insects “fisherman’s curses” to reflect the profanity-laced but usually futile attempts of anglers to imitate the naturals. In the literature, ‘curses’ refers to several groups of small insects, including chironomids (called ‘midges’ in the US and ‘smuts’ in the UK), aquatic gnats, tiny mayflies (e.g. genera Caenis and Tricorythodes), and others. Curses may be small, but what they lack in size, they overcome with numbers. Curses hatch by the millions and can at times be the most abundant food source available, especially on tailwater and spring creek fisheries. Trout often gorge on curses to the exclusion of all else. Author C.E. Walker described in Old Flies in New Dresses (1897) the difficulty of angling when fisherman’s curses are abundant:
“As every fisherman knows, when the trout or grayling are feeding on (curses), it is generally impossible to get them to take the imitation of any other fly.”
Curses earned their reputation for difficulty, in part, because sufficiently small hooks were not available until recent decades. The smallest commercial hooks around 1900 (size “000 midget” hooks) were similar to today’s #17 or #18, which is way too big for many curse imitations. True midge-sized hooks (#22 to #28) appeared in the mid-20th century. Following development of thin, strong, nylon leaders about the same time, successful fishing of midge imitations became a realistic endeavor. Although the term “midge” strictly describes species of chironomids, the term “midge fishing” more generally means “small insects – small flies” to lots of anglers. The cursing continues today, however, due to the frustrations of fishing tiny flies to selective trout under exacting conditions.
Vince Marinaro popularized small flies in his influential 1950 book A Modern Dry Fly Code. Marinaro, along with Charlie Fox, Ed Shenk, and Ed Koch, established over the ensuing couple of decades a distinctly American tradition of fishing tiny flies on the spring creeks of central Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Marinaro described such angling as “the ineffable charm of fishing with minutae” [sic]. Shenk described it more succinctly as “fishing with next to nothing”. Arnold Gingrich immortalized the challenges and charms of tiny flies in his book The Well Tempered Angler (1965) with the “20/20 Club”. Membership in the club requires landing a 20 inch or larger trout on a size #20 or smaller fly.
Most anglers punch their ticket to the 20/20 Club fishing midge imitations. Midges hatch all year long, and tying midge patterns can be quick and easy. For example, the Thread Midge Larva is a simple but effective fly developed by fishing guide Gary Willmart for New Mexico’s San Juan River. You’ll need only a hook, some thread, and good vision to tie it. Don’t be misled by the fly’s simplicity, for it is an excellent imitation of midge larvae and pupae. Willmart commented about the fly, “I wish I could make it harder, but this just works the best.” Drift a Thread Midge Larva just under the surface to trout sipping midges. Willmart’s simple but effective fly might just open doors of the 20/20 Club for you as you outsmart oversized trout with undersized flies.
Copyright 2025, Rusty Dunn
Thread Midge Larva
A Thread Midge Larva consists entirely of tying thread. Choose a body color to match naturals of a hatch, which are best sampled from the gullet of a recently caught trout using a small, flexible, plastic eyedropper. Black, tan, olive, and red are common body colors. A Thread Midge Larva in red with a black head works very well in the Driftless.
Hook:
2X-short, wide gape, curved shank, fine wire, straight eye, emerger hook, #18 – #26
Thread:
8/0 or 12/0, red and black
Abdomen:
Tying thread, red
Ribbing:
(Optional) tying thread, black
Thorax:
Tying thread, black; bulging noticeably
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Category: Fly Tying, Rusty Dunn Fountains of Youth
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