Martis Midge

Martis Midge

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Tying Instructions

1. Attach the thread behind the eye with a jam knot.

2. Lay a thread foundation along the shank to the bend of the hook. Attach two strands of Pearl Flashabou. Don’t worry about the length, we’ll trim these to the shank length when the fly is completed.

3. Secure the tag ends of the flashabou with thread wraps, wrapping up to the 3/4 position of the hook shank.

4. Tie in Gold-dyed Elk hair with the tips evened. The length of the Elk hair should be one shank length. Bring a couple of wraps around the deer hair at the base to keep the hair tightly bunched. A few wraps around the post towards the eye will give it a forward slant.

5. Trim the butts at an angle and wrap securely.

6. Wrap the thread back to the tail tie-in position.

7. Apply a small amount of Antron dubbing to the thread and secure the fibers to the shank with one wrap at the tail tie-in position.

8. Wrap the antron forward with even wraps creating an untapered body. Tie off and trim the antron just behind and under the deer hair wing.

9. Select the proper size hackle. Size 16 in this case. Attach the hackle by cleaning the fibers from the base of the hackle. The exposed quill is placed to the side of the Elk Hair post with two wraps behind the post and two wraps in front of the post. The wraps in front of the post secures the hackle well against the bare hook shank.

10. Wrap the hackle 3 times behind the elk hair and tie-down in front and under the wing. Secure with thread wraps and Whip Finish behind the eye. The Elk Hair post should rest at a 45 degree position in front of the eye.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 100 #14-16
Thread	Danville Brown 6/0
Body	Rust Antron
Tail	Flashabou Pearl
Wing
Hackle	Brown Hackle

Ralph and Lisa Cutter

Martis Midge

Designed by Ralph Cutter, a fly fishing guide and naturalist from Nevada City, CA. The Martis Midge imitates the emerging blood midge which can be found in most of the alkaline lakes of the Eastern Sierra. The Martis midge is a large version of the Blood Midge, being tied in sizes 14-16.

The Pearl Flashabou represents the trailing shuck that hangs off the emerging midge. The Rust Antron body gives off the effect of the membrane that surrounds the pupae when the blood midge is rising through the water column. The Orange Deer Hair represents the emerging midge and the Furnace hackles represent the legs and wings of the insect.

Blood midges are particularly important in Martis Lake as well as Crowley and Davis Lakes. Each of these lakes have an abundant baitfish population that feed on the natural insects present in those lakes. The Blood Midges normally live protected within the mud bottoms of these lakes and are only a food source when they rise through the water column to the surface. The numbers of the hatch are so large that this midge provides an opportunity to present dry flies, such as the Martis Midge, within the surface film.