The “Fore & Aft Quill” ~My Simple Midge Pattern

Over 15 years ago I started tying a lot of quill patterns from white Chinese Rooster hackles, stripped, bleached, and dyed. I began dying all of my own quills to get the exact colors I wanted, the suppliers color palettes just looked wrong to me and were prone to cracking because they were over bleached. Quills prove to be a great asset with midge patterns, they are buoyant and when wrapped correctly they provide beautiful segmentation.

When I was in my mid-thirties I developed a midge pattern that is similar to “The Renegade” after spending a few months in the Cascades in Oregon. The Renegade was too loud and “fancy” for many of the spring creeks that I typically fish on. For Rainbows and Cuts it was a great general pattern but I needed something that could be used in very slow and shallow water where weary Browns could be hopefully fooled. After a few seasons of great success in the North East with what appeared to be a quilled fore and aft fly I settled on a simple and extremely effective pattern. I called it a “Fore and Aft Quill Midge” it was my favorite fly in my arsenal.

I turned on a bunch of anglers and guides to this fly up in Ontario many years ago on The Grand River after an evening hatch of Drakes and Hendricksons. The evening hatch proved to be masking what the fish were actually eating, or not! Essentially this fly can give the impression of a midge cluster, a midge, and even a shucking nymph or emerger of a mayfly. A fly with a lot of tricks up its sleeve no doubt. That evening two guides saw me catching fish after fish North of Fergus. I showed them the pattern and one of them said “what kind of yank pattern is that!” (Scottish Folks) after chuckling I handed them a few of them and their clients were happier and more giving for it.
Anyway the pattern is carried in my vest throughout the season and always proves itself as a mid-summer, fall, and winter pattern and are extremely simple to tie.

Hook: TMC 513 sizes 16-24
Thread: Veevus 14/0 green or gray
Hackles: light dun on aft, ginger fore
(this orientation has always perplexed me but proven dividends)
Body: Light gray, black, or green quill
Trailing Shuck: Duck flank dyed or undyed or barred CDL

I go through these little guys like Tic Tacks throughout the fishing season.
~Clint Joseph Bova

Slow Water Caddis Emerger

The Caddis emerger is a very important part of the trouts diet. During this life stage the Caddis is especially vulnerable to the elements and is easy prey thus making it very attractive to these very energy conscious fish. The insect is just about ready to break free of its nymphal shuck and the count down for its launch sequence begins with a few wiggles. I have always been looking for a great surface fly that mimics these little beauties. For a few years now I have gotten a lot of use of this little emerger pattern that tends to out fish most of my other emerger patterns even when there is no discernible hatch. This is a great pattern for super finicky Brown trout. I have fooled many fish with this pattern and with the right combination of materials it is a pattern that stays floating even in fast water for a long time. With the use of TMC's Aero Wing material (extended shuck) the fly is a great floater. The fibers are not only fine but hollow keeping the fly float...

CB's Japanese Beetles

above photo: Provided by Debbi T. Walker an Ohio Photographer. Debbi is a talented outdoor photographer who loves to take pictures of insects, animals, and landscapes and often shoots photography around the Mad River and Cedar Bog. In the heat of the summer many fish hunker down during the day and will pass up the occasional Caddis, midge, or ant floating overhead. Often fish conserve energy for a larger more nourishing food item. During the summer months fish want to conserve energy and exert themselves only for the most significant meal. This is called the “Pounds Per Meat Law” again the least amount of energy is expelled for the most nourishment possible. This should be the mid-summer mantra for both fishers and fish! Large ants are another food item that fish will come off of the bottom for during the midday sun and heat. Japanese Beetles are one of those items on the surface menu that will spark a fishes interest when nothing ...

The Four Season Emerger

Fellow fly fishers ask me all the time what kind of “staple” emerger pattern I use so I decided to share my “Four Season Emerger” pattern. The following is a simple emerger pattern that I use season after season. This fly is very durable, very convincing, and the TMC 212Y hook is a perfect canvas for this style fly. The Four Season Emerger Thread: Veevus 14/0 Hook: TMC 212Y 14-22 Wing: CDC natural or desired tint Body: Dyed Peacock quill Dubbing: (Thorax) Beaver Belly w/guard hairs Legs: Knotted dyed Pheasant tail (double knotted) Varnish: SH Hard as Nails You can tie this up as a midge, mayfly, or even caddis imitation depending on your proportions and material selections. First create a body on a TMC 212Y sizes #14-22 by winding a stripped and dyed peacock quill. Varnish with 2 coats of SH Hard as Nails. After your bodies have dried tie in some knotted pheasant tail. Notice the two knotted strands, two legs on both sides of the hook. Dub over your thr...

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