Learn how to tie Mike's Midge Pupa fly pattern including step-by-step instructions, a video tutorial, pictures, and much more. Improve your fly tying skills here.

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Mike Heck first tied Mike’s Midge Pupa for ultra-selective fish on technical spring creeks in Pennsylvania, where fish routinely feed on midges right below the surface film. The fly benefits from a thoughtful design where the abdomen hangs vertically in the water, similar to how a midge pupa drifts downstream. Mike’s Midge Pupa uses simple materials and is quick to tie. Whip a few of these up for when you notice fish feeding at or near the surface, but traditional dry flies are getting refused.

Material List

Step One

Begin the pattern by running a thread base from below the hook’s eye to the bend.

Step Two

Next, tie the turkey biot 70 percent up the shank, then cover the material with the thread leaving the rearward material passed the bend exposed.

Step Three

Wrap the turkey biot up the shank with tight, overlapping wraps that give the pattern‘s body its segmentation. Be sure to clip the forward-facing material off at the thorax.

Step Four

Prepare the midge pattern’s thorax by clipping a skinny section vertically along the edge of the foam sheet. 

Step Five

Tie the tip of the foam material in front of the turkey biot, then complete several securing wraps in front of the material.

Step Six

Finish the foam thorax section by wrapping the foam several times around the shank to build up the thorax, then clip the forward-facing material.

Step Seven

We are now moving onto the fly’s gills. Figure-eight wrap a small piece of the CDC Oiler Puff material on top of the shank, then secure a half-hitch followed by a whip finish in front of the fibers.

Step Eight

Mike’s Midge Pupa is ready to hit the water after trimming each side of the gills to fifty percent of its body length.