Bug question

[tomgonya]

Good morning gentlemen.

At this stage, I'm not a flyfishing enthusiast, but I figured that this would be as good a place as any to get an answer to my question.

I was out this past Sunday on the Little lehigh Creek in Allentown plying my usual, winter time trout tactic of casting jerkbaits with a spinning outfit. This technique usually produces very well for me on any given day, but not that day.

I noticed that, all along the banks, and in numbers that had to be in the millions, we had these little guys...

They appeared to be about a 1/4" in length, and even though I didn't notice any fish rising, I suspected that they had something to do with my lack of usual success.

Even though I don't flyfish per se, I do like to be aware of the environment, so knowing what kind of insect this was is relatively important to me, if only from a curiosity standpoint.

It was a beautiful day out though, and because actually catching fish is only part of the equation why I go out, I still consider the day a success. :-D

Thanks in advance for what I'm sure will be an entomology enlightenment!

By the way... real nice site you guys have here!

Regards,
Tom

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Midges.

Though you saw nothing rising, I would be willing to bet fishing a midge larva, like a bloodworm, subsurface would have produced some fish.

 

[Fishidiot]

Yup. They're midges. These insects are common in most trout streams but are different in that they are active and emerge all year and are known to "hatch" during the winter months when most other aquatic insects are dormant. Midges are small, usually comparable to a mosquito, and can often been seen in swarms this time of year (they'll often gather on the hood of your car when it's cold) and often bring trout up to feed in flat water such as the pool depicted in your photo.

Glad you like the site - by all means stick around. If you are interested in pursuing fly fishing more we have a Beginner's Forum where you're welcome to ask newbie questions although this forum is fine too. There's also going to be a get-together on the Little Lehigh soon geared toward helping out beginner's.

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=17240&forum=11

 

[tomgonya]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Midges, eh? Ok, I can put that question to rest.

As far as getting into flyfishing, I have done some in the past. A friend of mine brought along a fly outfit on one of our pike trips to Canada, and he did well with it.

That same friend has brought along a somewhat smaller outfit when we were on a couple Pocono lakes targeting pickerel and bass... again, it was quite fun. I can see myself getting into that sorta thing at some point.

Anyhoo, thanks again for the gracious replies!

Tom

 

[franklin]

tomgonya wrote:
Thanks for the responses guys.

Midges, eh? Ok, I can put that question to rest.

As far as getting into flyfishing, I have done some in the past. A friend of mine brought along a fly outfit on one of our pike trips to Canada, and he did well with it.

That same friend has brought along a somewhat smaller outfit when we were on a couple Pocono lakes targeting pickerel and bass... again, it was quite fun. I can see myself getting into that sorta thing at some point.

Anyhoo, thanks again for the gracious replies!

Tom

If I remember correctly Tom, you are from the LV area. There are a couple guys on here from that area you may want to hook up with if you decide to FF.

 

[pcray1231]

Not only that, but there's a gathering on the Little Lehigh coming up. Designed for beginners to learn from the more experienced members of the board. See the events page, and the "Newbie winter jam" thread in the Beginner section.

Edit: Oops, Fishidiot already mentioned the beginner gathering. I second it though...

 

[govtmule]

Tom,
check out www.troutnut.com for some great bug info

jeff

 

[tomgonya]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, Lehigh Valley, that's where I hang my hat franklin.

Dub the Thorax and I have been trying to get out together for some time. I had posted the bug question on another site that we're both members of, to which he gave pretty much the same "midges" answer. That I didn't believe him is not the reason I asked here, but more because I find that the more answers I get to a specific question, it only offers greater details.

Of course, if and when Mike and I do eventually get together, it will be a combination of my jerkbaiting along with his flyfishing, but one of these days, I'm gonna pull the trigger on getting myself a fly outfit.


But that's all beside the point here... regardless of which technique or tackle one chooses, being as aware of one's surroundings as possible (and that would include the various food supplies... in this case, midges), can only help. I knew something was up this past Sunday, and being able to at least apply some sort of reasonable explaination to why my lures weren't working is better than just saying "it was one of 'those' days."

One can never know too much about fishing as far as I'm concerned. ;-)

 

[pcray1231]

tom, at the beginner get together, there will be spare fly outfits available for use, world class casting instructors, and plenty of knowledge being shared. All free of charge right in your back yard and with the sole purpose of trying to help out true beginners.

 

[tomgonya]

Thanks pcray, I really appreciate the offer. I'm sure you guys are more than willing, and better yet, more than qualified to bring newbies into the fold.

When the time comes that I feel like getting into it, this'll be the place I'll come looking for advice!

If nothing else, there's some beautiful stretches of stream that are fly-fishing exclusive than I can only look at...

 

[Chaz]

Midges, after a second look. But also look for Early Black Stone Flies this time of the year on SE PA streams including the LL. They're a little bigger and they will catch plenty of trout with fewer refusals than the midges.

 

[gfen]

There aren't any muskies in the LL, Tom...

Anyways, the bug question has already been answered, but to give even more detail than you wanted, the LL is known for midge hatches. The Al's Rat fly was created there for that very thing, its basically a tiny hook (think sz 20, or smaller) with some thread for a body and a little bit of fur for a thorax. You basically let it drift just below the surface like an actual midge, and the trouts'll sip them up non-stop.

IIRC, Sunday where I was at was brutal because the fish were kept off the surface by hunks of snow smashing in. That's why you probably didn't see much in the way of dimples on the surface.

You should come along to the LL learnin' spectacular in February. Bring your fly stuff, and you'll get a little bit of a taste for how to fly fish, and maybe an idea of why guys who do it are so very passionate about it.

 

[gfen]

Re: Midges versus stones:

Midges have the antenna with lots of little hairs on them, stones do not.

 

[bigjohn58]

Reminds me of the snow flees (I call them not sure what they really are) I come across in hunting season once it snows. Its weird you will come across patches of hundreds of them on a side hill with some sun on it. But if along a creek its probably midges. Heck who knows maybe those things I call snow flees are just midges of a different sort. Kind of like those pill bugs and sow bugs are almost the same thing but one lives in the water and another on land.

 

[dryflyguy]

tom -

That's pretty observant of a non fly fishing enthusiast to notice tiny aquatic insects like that.
Looks like you really oughta get into it some more

 

[JackM]

Asking an entymology question on here has one running a gaunlet of fly pushermen trying to hook another vulnerable soul.

 

[afishinado]

Here is a pic a pulled from Sal's post from a few days ago. The early black stone is in the center, with midges above and below:

 

[mkoloch]

Thanks for that last picture. Looks like the stone is not much larger than the midges?!?!?!

 

[goodeyesniper]

I was there too! Also didn't catch anything either! They were every where about 2-5 feet from the water. And they were EVERYWHERE. Trillions of them