Dry Flies, Rivers, Trout & Tarpon.: Midge Madness

Oct 3, 2023

Midge Madness

Three days on Armstrong's. A little company on day one, but not bad. Plenty of fish up all day, though it took until late afternoon for me to get my "fine and tiny" game on. Day two brought one of those dream days. Not a soul on the creek, not a breath of wind, and rising fish all to myself all day. The mob showed up on day three, leaving me no rising fish until they all stopped for lunch.

I don't have a midge that most rising fish will eat. One or two will eat something, sometimes even three or four, but then a change is in order. I'm fishing the main pool with constant targets. 6X and sparse little 20's get the most eats. Midge Moles. Partial tufts of cdc on a hook. The tiniest of little black emergers. Micro soft hackles. Something in the film. Hangy thingies. Did I say tiny?

There's fish rising right under my rod tip, but I still can't see what they're eating. Whatever it is would make a trico look huge. Fishing downstream results in a dreadfully low hook up rate, and when I do hook up, its usually bye-bye in the weeds. The tiny little points just don't stay in well.

But, it's highly entertaining, amusing, and mesmerizing. Getting my ass kicked by trout I can watch slurp and slurp. The challenge of Silver Creek has nothing on this place right now. These fish have had flies drifting over their heads everyday, all season, and it shows. They know I'm there, feed right in my face, close by, and dare me to try and fool them. The eats came pretty regularly, all things considered.

After scouting Depuy's on that last crowded day at Armstrong's, I decided to make an appearance there before moving on. Again, I had the whole creek to myself, all day. The fish were up, and some PMD's even made an appearance along with some bwo's. Never seen that in October. It was a fitting end to my Livingston season. At least, I think its the last visit.