How to tie the Bloodworm (midge larvae)

The bloodworm imitates midge larvae that lives near the bottom of lakes.  I often fish this as my bottom fly under other midge patterns, like the optimidge, or some other midge pupa pattern.

Materials needed:
Hook:  TMC 200R size #14-18
Bead:  Black tungsten
Weight:  Lead wire
Thread:  Any red thread that lays flat.
Rib:  Red wire, and black 6/0 thread

 Put your bead on the hook.

Wrap lead wire to about where the bend starts on the shank.

Use Super Glue to lock the lead wraps together.

This is an important step.  If you have seen any of my other patterns, you will notice that I usually wrap my thread over the lead wraps parallel to the hook shank to keep the lead from unwrapping while you cover the wraps with thread.  We are trying to keep the body size to a minimum, so I use this method for this pattern.

I use my bodkin to evenly spread the Super Glue over the lead wraps.

Let this dry fully.

Start your thread just behind your lead wraps.

Tie in your rib.  I tie both the wire, and the black thread at the same time to cut down on bulk.

Wrap your thread flat, and as thinly as possible over your lead wire wraps.  If done properly, you should still see the segmentation from the lead wire if you look close enough.

Wrap your wire rib evenly to the bead, and tie it off.

I wrap the two ribs separately because they are easier to control that way.

Then wrap your black thread rib forward, keeping it right next to the red wire rib.

I normally wrap my black thread behind the wire, because I think it looks slightly better.  In this example, I wrapped the black in front of the wire for some reason.

Whip finish.

As with all of my midge patterns, I like to coat the entire fly in some UV resin to improve it's durability.

You could use super glue, epoxy, pretty much anything that dries clear, as a substitute.  The UV resin definitely works best though...

Spread the resin evenly over the entire fly, and put it under a black light, or in direct sunlight to cure.

A friend of mine nailed this 22" brown the other day on this exact fly.

How to tie the Zebra Midge

Zebra Midge

The Zebra Midge imitates a midge pupa.  It is very easy to tie and it is an absolute killer pattern in still water, as well as rivers dead drifted near the bottom, but it is effective virtually anywhere in the water column imitating an emerging midge.  It's also a pattern that works any time of year, since midge pupa are always around.  There are many popular color variations of the zebra midge, including the tiger midge, tied with a copper bead and copper ribbing instead of silver.  Some people also tie in a little white antron yarn in front of the bead to imitate gills.     

Material's needed:

Hook:  TMC 2487 scud hook size #14-22

Bead:  Silver, or nickle, tungsten, or brass

Thread:  UNI-thread black 8/0

Body:  UNI-thread black 8/0 

Rib:  Fine silver wire

Pick up a bead with your hackle pliers as shown in the picture.  Notice the bead has two different size holes.  Put the bead on the hook so the smaller diameter hole is up against the eye of the hook, and the larger diameter hole is facing the bend of the hook.

Start your thread just behind the bead.

Lay the silver wire rib against the top of the hook shank with the tip of the silver wire inside of the bead.

Cover the wire with a single, thin layer of thread wraps.  Wrap to just past the hook bend.

Wrap your thread forward to just behind the bead.

Keep your thread wraps to an absolute minimum to avoid a bulky body.

Wrap the rib forward, and tie it off with your thread.

 Whip finish.

You can apply some UV resin to really improve the flies durability.

Below are some midges I tied in red and black on the TMC 206BL caddis pupa hook.