The Mating Midge

The Mating Midge is one of the simplest midge dry flies you can tie, using nothing more than thread and hackle. But what makes this pattern particularly useful isn't just how quickly you can fill a fly box with them—it's what the fly represents.

Rather than imitating a single adult midge, the Mating Midge represents two adult midges connected together while mating. Because those two insects create a larger overall profile on the water, we can tie this pattern on a slightly larger hook while still reasonably imitating the tiny midges trout are feeding on.

In this tutorial, I'm tying the Mating Midge on a size 18 Risen Fly Barbless Dry Fly 100 using Veevus 14/0 black thread and black dry fly hackle. I'll show you how I size the hackle using a hackle gauge, how I prepare and tie in the feather, and how I reuse the same hackle feather to create both sections of the fly.

That last part is one of the things I really like about this pattern. Quality dry fly hackle isn't cheap, and there is no reason to throw away a perfectly good feather after making only a few turns. Reusing the same feather for the second section helps stretch your materials while still producing a clean, effective fly.

Once you get comfortable tying the Mating Midge, these can be produced extremely quickly. It's the kind of guide-style fly that you can sit down and tie several of before a trip without spending the entire evening at the vise. And because they're so quick and inexpensive to replace, losing one to an overhanging tree isn't quite as painful.

I generally fish single adult midge imitations in very small sizes—often size 24 or smaller. But because the Mating Midge represents two insects joined together, I'll comfortably fish this pattern in a size 18 or 20 during a good midge hatch.

I'm using black hackle in this tutorial, but grizzly hackle is another excellent option. You could even add small tufts of CDC on opposite ends of the fly to suggest wings and provide some additional buoyancy, although I've never found that necessary to fool trout with this pattern.
For a little extra durability, I finish the fly with Solarez Ultra Thin UV Resin over the whip finish.

This is the third pattern in this month's midge dry fly series. We started with the Griffith's Gnat, which represents a cluster of midges and can be tied larger and used almost like an indicator fly. Last week we tied the Brooks Sprout, a single adult midge imitation that can be tied all the way down to extremely small sizes—I even tied one on a size 30 hook.

This week the Mating Midge gives us another option: two adult midges joined together, giving us a larger and more visible pattern while still representing very small insects.

Next week we'll finish the series with a CDC Midge Emerger. That pattern sits differently in the surface film, allowing the abdomen to hang below the surface while the CDC remains above it to imitate a midge in the process of emerging.

By the end of the series, you'll have several very different midge patterns covering different situations you may encounter on the water.

📌 Links I recommend
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Check out Veevus for some of the best fly tying threads available. When you sign up for their VIP membership using my link, you’ll get a free bobbin holder plus 10% off your entire order:
https://veevus.com/pages/membership?via=McFly

Check out my sponsor Risen Fly for high-quality hooks, beads, and some of the best fly rods I’ve ever used. Use code McFly at checkout for 15% off your first order: www.risenfly.com

Shop my custom McFly Angler fly boxes and gear here: www.amazon.com/shops/McFlyAngler
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🛠️ Materials
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Hook: Risen Dry Fly 100 (Size 18) - https://www.risenfly.com/collections/hooks/products/barbless-dry-fly-100
Thread: Veevus 14/0 (black) - https://veevus.com/pages/membership?
Hackle: Dry Fly Cape (black or grizzly) - https://amzn.to/4woo4Pi
Cement: Solarez Ultra Thin UV Resin - https://solarez.com/bone-dry-intro-kit.html

🛠️ Tools
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Vise: Renzetti Traveler - https://amzn.to/2t2FFmo
Bobbin: Veevus Bobbin - https://veevus.com/pages/membership?via=McFly
Razor Blades: https://amzn.to/4xinzYE
Scissors: Risen Spring Assist - https://www.risenfly.com/collections/fly-tying-tools-and-accessories/pr…
Whip Finisher: Dr. Slick Brass - https://amzn.to/2tGYwDW
Fly Tying Bench: Oasis Walnut Compact Bench - https://www.oasisbenches.com/oasis-benches/compact-bench/
UV Light: Solarez High Output - https://solarez.com/uv-cure-flashlight-high-output.html

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