Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
You arrive at a favorite trout stream on a summer afternoon. The air is heavy and still, the water low and clear. Major hatches are about over for the year. No bugs in the air. No hoppers in the grass. But there, on a glassy smooth pool, downstream of a riffle, in the shade of a tree, fish are rising. Their rise forms seem impossibly gentle. A leisurely little sip … a tiny dimple … a barely visible ring that quickly disappears. Ghostly rises to invisible insects by unseen fish. Looking more closely, you finally see the source of the activity. Tiny black midges swarm above the stream. What should you do?
(A) Start crying;
(B) curse loudly and repeatedly;
(C) take down your rod and head for a bar; or
(D) tie on a Griffith’s Gnat.
The correct answer is (D), but be prepared to follow up with choices A-C. Midges truly are “The Fisherman’s Curse”.
George Griffith (1901-1998) was patriarch and protector of Michigan’s legendary Au Sable River. He lived on its banks near Grayling, MI in an area known widely as “The Holy Water”. The spring-fed Au Sable may be holy today, but it still suffers from an unholy past. Michigan’s north country was an angler’s paradise in the early 19th century. Large brook trout and grayling filled every stream. Michigan grayling, a unique sub-species found nowhere else in the world, were stacked like cordwood in the rivers and creeks. Slate blue in color, strikingly beautiful, and sporting a grayling’s distinctive oversized dorsal fin, they were the crown jewels of Michigan waters. Timber barons of the late 19th century, however, laid waste to grayling habitat. The deforestation was so severe and so complete that Michigan grayling were extinct by 1936. Extinct … as in gone forever. Borne behind retreating glaciers, Michigan grayling died behind advancing greed.
George Griffith saw the same thing happening to wild trout in the 1950s. Increasing pollution, silt-laden runoff, over-harvest, and hatchery-fueled, put-and-take management by the state produced a fishery in serious decline. Unhappy with the long slow slide to mediocrity, George Griffith and fifteen angling friends met at his home on July 18, 1959 to discuss what could be done to reverse the trend. That evening they formed an organization to fight on behalf of wild trout, naming themselves “Trout, Unlimited”. (The comma was later dropped.) Their motto was “take care of the fish, then the fishing will take care of itself“. Michigan grayling prove that taking care of the fish means taking care of the water.
Like most spring-fed rivers and creeks, midges are prolific in the Au Sable. Their immense numbers and small size make midge fishing a unique challenge. With so many insects near the surface, fish have the luxury of keying on one specific stage of emergence, ignoring all others. A common scenario is seeing lots of midges on the water, but cast after cast to rising fish yields nothing but practice on your loop control. The trick is matching the size and finding the stage du jour that fish are focused on. Look closely at the rise. Does the trout’s nose break the surface, even slightly? If so, they are probably taking adults, emergers, or stillborns. If not, as is often the case, they are probably bulging to pupae hanging just under the surface.
George Griffith’s Gnat is a good place to start when fishing midges. It imitates adult midges, midge clusters, and emergers riding fairly high on the surface. If a standard Griffith’s Gnat doesn’t work, cut all the hackle fibers off the bottom half. The result will sit lower in the surface film, better imitating a stillborn, cripple, or struggling pupa. If your efforts are still ignored, trail a midge pupa an inch or two deep behind a Griffith’s Gnat, using the dry as a strike indicator. No luck yet? Use a trailing pupa or larva incorporating copper wire or a tiny glass or brass bead, causing it to sink a little deeper behind the indicator. If you’re still being ignored, just accept your fate. “The Fisherman’s Curse” is real, and you are a victim. Then, opt for choices (B) and (C) above. You’ll feel much better.
Copyright 2023, Rusty Dunn
Griffith’s Gnat
The body of George Griffith’s original pattern is peacock herl, but black, dark dun, or dark olive dubbing works as well and is easier to manipulate in tiny sizes. Some midges have chartreuse bodies, and it is wise to carry both colors.
| Hook: |
Dry fly, straight eye, #18 – #26 |
| Thread: |
Black |
| Body: |
Peacock herl |
| Hackle: |
Grizzly, palmered |
Griffith’s Gnat
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Last Updated: January 2, 2023 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
You arrive at a favorite trout stream on a summer afternoon. The air is heavy and still, the water low and clear. Major hatches are about over for the year. No bugs in the air. No hoppers in the grass. But there, on a glassy smooth pool, downstream of a riffle, in the shade of a tree, fish are rising. Their rise forms seem impossibly gentle. A leisurely little sip … a tiny dimple … a barely visible ring that quickly disappears. Ghostly rises to invisible insects by unseen fish. Looking more closely, you finally see the source of the activity. Tiny black midges swarm above the stream. What should you do?
(A) Start crying;
(B) curse loudly and repeatedly;
(C) take down your rod and head for a bar; or
(D) tie on a Griffith’s Gnat.
The correct answer is (D), but be prepared to follow up with choices A-C. Midges truly are “The Fisherman’s Curse”.
George Griffith (1901-1998) was patriarch and protector of Michigan’s legendary Au Sable River. He lived on its banks near Grayling, MI in an area known widely as “The Holy Water”. The spring-fed Au Sable may be holy today, but it still suffers from an unholy past. Michigan’s north country was an angler’s paradise in the early 19th century. Large brook trout and grayling filled every stream. Michigan grayling, a unique sub-species found nowhere else in the world, were stacked like cordwood in the rivers and creeks. Slate blue in color, strikingly beautiful, and sporting a grayling’s distinctive oversized dorsal fin, they were the crown jewels of Michigan waters. Timber barons of the late 19th century, however, laid waste to grayling habitat. The deforestation was so severe and so complete that Michigan grayling were extinct by 1936. Extinct … as in gone forever. Borne behind retreating glaciers, Michigan grayling died behind advancing greed.
George Griffith saw the same thing happening to wild trout in the 1950s. Increasing pollution, silt-laden runoff, over-harvest, and hatchery-fueled, put-and-take management by the state produced a fishery in serious decline. Unhappy with the long slow slide to mediocrity, George Griffith and fifteen angling friends met at his home on July 18, 1959 to discuss what could be done to reverse the trend. That evening they formed an organization to fight on behalf of wild trout, naming themselves “Trout, Unlimited”. (The comma was later dropped.) Their motto was “take care of the fish, then the fishing will take care of itself“. Michigan grayling prove that taking care of the fish means taking care of the water.
Like most spring-fed rivers and creeks, midges are prolific in the Au Sable. Their immense numbers and small size make midge fishing a unique challenge. With so many insects near the surface, fish have the luxury of keying on one specific stage of emergence, ignoring all others. A common scenario is seeing lots of midges on the water, but cast after cast to rising fish yields nothing but practice on your loop control. The trick is matching the size and finding the stage du jour that fish are focused on. Look closely at the rise. Does the trout’s nose break the surface, even slightly? If so, they are probably taking adults, emergers, or stillborns. If not, as is often the case, they are probably bulging to pupae hanging just under the surface.
George Griffith’s Gnat is a good place to start when fishing midges. It imitates adult midges, midge clusters, and emergers riding fairly high on the surface. If a standard Griffith’s Gnat doesn’t work, cut all the hackle fibers off the bottom half. The result will sit lower in the surface film, better imitating a stillborn, cripple, or struggling pupa. If your efforts are still ignored, trail a midge pupa an inch or two deep behind a Griffith’s Gnat, using the dry as a strike indicator. No luck yet? Use a trailing pupa or larva incorporating copper wire or a tiny glass or brass bead, causing it to sink a little deeper behind the indicator. If you’re still being ignored, just accept your fate. “The Fisherman’s Curse” is real, and you are a victim. Then, opt for choices (B) and (C) above. You’ll feel much better.
Copyright 2023, Rusty Dunn
Griffith’s Gnat
The body of George Griffith’s original pattern is peacock herl, but black, dark dun, or dark olive dubbing works as well and is easier to manipulate in tiny sizes. Some midges have chartreuse bodies, and it is wise to carry both colors.
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