Many of the larger trout streams have a chironomid midge hatch that occurs on the flat part of the pools. They can hatch all day long but usually the heaviest hatch is the last 2 hours of daylight.

When you are fishing these streams you need to determine how the trout is feeding on these midges. Are they feeding on the adult midges on the top of the stream or are they feeding on the emergers as they come up from the bottom?

If you see a little dimple on the surface, then that tells us he is feeding on the adult midge on the surface as he is cruising by. If you see a splashy riseform or if you see a trout jumping out of the water then he is feeding on the emerger.

I like to use a Mr. Rapidan Midge Dry in a size 18 or 20 on a Classic 6X leader when fishing the adult midges. Even with the yellow on the Mr. Rapidan Midge, a size 18 or 20 is still hard to see. I like to put a Murray’s Fly Shop Indicator about 3 feet above my fly on the leader so that I can see it in the water.

For the emergers, I like to use a Mr. Rapidan Soft Hackle in Olive size 16. For more details on how I fish these midges, listen to my podcast.

What Bass Fly Lines to Use?

I have been testing many fly lines for bass fishing over the last 2 years. There are 3 bass fly lines that I particularly like. 1) NEW Scientific Anglers Mastery Bass Bug Floating Line, 2) Scientific Anglers Sonar Sink 30 Warm 200gr for fast and deep water and 3) Scientific Anglers Sonar Sink Tip III. Having these 3 lines in my best on extra spools covers all of my bass fishing throughout the year. For more information visit our website, or listen to my entire podcast.