Midge / EmergersShop Vac
The Shop Vac is a simple but effective midge pattern that is designed to sink fast and imitate a variety of midge pupae. Its slender profile and flash ribbing make it an ideal choice when trout are selectively feeding on midges.
Year Round
Beginner
Trout
Apr 2025
Overview
The Shop Vac is a small, fast-sinking nymph pattern ideal for clear water and picky trout. It features a slim, dark thread or dubbed body, a peacock herl thorax, wire ribbing for durability, and a soft feather or CDC wingcase. Topped with a gold bead, it gets down quickly and imitates small mayfly nymphs or emerging midges. It's simple, effective, and easy to tie in bulk.
Materials
Hook: TMC 2487 Emerger Hook - #16-#22
Bead: Fulling Mill Tungsten Beads - Gold - 2.0mm
Thread): UTC Ultrathread 70 Denier - Black
Body: Pheasant Tail - Natural
Wire: UTC Ultra Wire - Small - Copper
Wing: Antron Yarn - Fl. Bright White
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Midge emergers trapped in the surface film writhe and twist as they attempt to break through surface tension, their bodies creating tiny dimples and disturbances visible to trout from below. These struggling insects accumulate in foam lines and slack water, concentrating their vulnerable presence where selective fish can sip them continuously with minimal energy expenditure.
Where Trout Eat It: Designed as emerger-type pattern fished higher in water column in clear tailwater runs where selective trout feed mid-column.
How to Fish It: Fish as tag fly above heavier point fly in tandem rig to position it mid-column where emergers naturally occur.
Best Water: Target smooth glides with gravel substrate, spring creek pools, and soft pockets behind boulders in 4-8 foot depths.
Strike Type: Strikes appear as subtle taps transmitted through the tag line when fished above a heavier point fly, requiring attention to line movement rather than waiting for visual or felt resistance.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Can be used in a tandem rig with another midge pattern, or as a dropper off a dry fly.
Seasonal Timing: Can be used year-round, but especially effective during midge hatches.
Pro Tips: The silver bead and ribbing add flash and help the fly sink fast, making it visible in deeper water.
Entomology
Midges trapped in the surface film create dimpled disturbances as they writhe and struggle, unable to break free from surface tension. Trout develop highly refined feeding patterns during midge emergences, sipping these vulnerable insects with barely a ripple as they accumulate in foam lines and slack water.
- Order
- Diptera
- Family
- Chironomidae
- Common Name
- Midge
- Organism Type
- insect
- Life Stage
- general