Midge / EmergersHippie Chick Midge
The Hippie Chick Midge is a highly effective pattern that utilizes bright colors to attract fish. The unique combination of pink thread and silver wire gives this fly a flashy, enticing appearance that mimics the natural midges on which trout feed.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Intermediate
Trout
Apr 2025
Overview
A flashy midge larva pattern with colored wire ribbing, bright thread body, and sometimes a hot pink or purple collar. Its vibrant profile works well as an attractor in tailwaters or pressured fisheries. Often paired with a more natural trailer.
Materials
Hook: Dai-Riki 125, size #18-#22
Bead: Glass bead, small, silver-gray
Thread: 70 Denier or 8/0, dark brown
Body: Four different colors of fluorescent 70 Denier thread, one strand each
Wingbuds: Egg yarn, white
Thorax: Brown beaver dubbing, guard hairs removed
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Midge pupae cluster beneath the surface in dense concentrations, ascending slowly toward the film where they hang vertically.
Where Trout Eat It: Fish suspend mid-column or cruise just below the film where ascending pupae create dense feeding opportunities.
How to Fish It: Dead drift naturally downstream, maintaining film position as the bright body attracts selective feeders.
Best Water: Fish back eddies, slicks, and foam lines in tailwaters. Target lake edges during concentrated midge hatches.
Strike Type: Detect subtle sips or barely perceptible indicator movements as fish intercept ascending pupae.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: It can be fished alone or as part of a multi-fly rig, commonly placed as the last fly on the leader.
Seasonal Timing: This fly is effective year-round, but it's especially productive in the colder months when midges make up a large portion of a trout's diet.
Pro Tips: Despite its small size, the bright pink color of this fly makes it highly visible in the water. The UV resin head adds a bit of weight, allowing it to sink and stay in the feeding zone.
Entomology
Midge pupae cluster in stillwater hatches, creating dense concentrations just beneath the surface where trout can feed with minimal energy expenditure. The Hippie Chick's bright colors and slim profile match the compact body shape of ascending pupae. During peak midge activity, fish become metronome-selective, requiring precise size and color matching to trigger strikes.
- Order
- Diptera
- Family
- Chironomidae
- Common Name
- Midge
- Organism Type
- insect
- Life Stage
- general