Michigan Flies

Hatches / midge

Midge

A

Chironomidae (species not identified by any Michigan river source)

Also called Chironomid, Buzzer, Black Midge.

Midges hatch every month of the year and are the main winter surface food on the Muskegon and Manistee tailwaters, where trout rise to #20-24 black midges on warm afternoons near springs from mid-December through April. On the northern rivers the charts list them June through October, but they are a fallback whenever nothing larger is hatching. Fish a black or olive midge larva or pupa (Zebra Midge) under an indicator by day, and a Griffith's Gnat or a tiny CDC emerger to sipping fish in the afternoon. Winter fishing peaks around 4 pm when water temperature rises slightly.

#20–28afternoonall daylarvapupaemergeradultblack bodyolive to gray bodycream bodyred larva (bloodworm)

© Patrick Hanly · CC BY · iNaturalist · Bath Twp, MI · 2022

Timing by region

  1. Southeast Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    All year
    Peak
    —
  2. Southwest Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    All year
    Peak
    —
  3. Northeast Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    All year
    Peak
    —
  4. Northwest Lower Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    All year
    Peak
    —
  5. Upper Peninsula
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    All year
    Peak
    —
  6. Muskegon River below Croton Damlocal chart
    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D
    Window
    Jan 1 – Apr 30
    Peak
    —

Flies that match

Zebra Midge (reference photo)Reference photo
Zebra Midge
A
Nymph#18–24Black with silver ribRedOlive

Black-bodied #20 to #24 midges are the main winter food on the Muskegon tailwater from November through April, with heavy hatches near springs on warm afternoons. Fish a Zebra Midge as a dropper under a small indicator or behind a scud; it also takes pink salmon in clear water and St. Marys Atlantics feeding on midges in late summer.

Indicator nymphing · Euro / tight-line nymphing

Reserve · $2.75
Griffith's Gnat (reference photo)Reference photo
Griffith's Gnat
I
Dry fly#18–24Peacock and grizzly

A cluster-midge dry for trout surface-feeding on winter midges near Muskegon springs and on summer evenings on northern rivers. Fish it on 6X to 7X in slow seams when fish are dimpling on clusters of adults, typically warm afternoons from December through April on the tailwaters.

Dry fly

Reserve · $3.00
Soft-Hackle Wet Fly (reference photo)Reference photo
Soft-Hackle Wet Fly
A
Wet fly#8–16Partridge and orangePartridge and greenHare's ear soft hackle

Perfect Fly lists wet flies among St. Marys Atlantic salmon patterns, and Atlantics feed on caddis and midges from mid July through August. A swung soft hackle covers emerging caddis pupae and Sulphurs on any Michigan river; swing it down and across in riffles at dusk, or hang it below a dry.

Swinging flies (spey / switch) · Dry fly · Indicator nymphing

Reserve · $2.75