CDC Midge Adult Hot Spot

When Trout Are Rising and Ignoring Everything You’ve Tried

You’ve seen this before. Fish are sipping steadily, rings everywhere on a flat, slow piece of water, and nothing in your box gets a second look. Most of the time, they’re locked onto adult midges sitting right on top of the film. This fly is built to match that exact moment.

Why It Floats Without Floatant

The wing is tied with genuine CDC feathers, the small feathers from near a duck’s preen gland. CDC carries natural preen oil that makes it water-repellent on its own, no floatant required. That’s why this fly sits flush on the surface film with the wing fanned upright, the same posture as a real adult midge that just finished hatching.

The body is wrapped with flash material that catches light and gives the fly a little extra sparkle in the water. The fluorescent hot tail, in chartreuse or orange, gives you and the fish a clear visual point in low light, overcast skies, or water with a bit of color where a plain dark pattern can disappear.

How and When to Fish It

Midges hatch on tailwaters, spring creeks, and stillwaters nearly year-round, but this pattern works hardest from late April through September, especially during morning and evening risers, overcast days, and light rain when midges cluster on the surface.

Best water is flat and slow: small lakes, reservoir shallows, slow tailwater runs, back-eddies, spring creeks. Skip the fast pocket water for this one. Dead drift it on 5X to 6X nylon tippet. Use nylon, not fluorocarbon. Fluorocarbon sinks slightly and will pull the fly under the film, killing the natural posture that makes this fly work.

It also fishes well as a dropper behind a larger, more visible dry fly like a Parachute Adams or a Chubby Chernobyl. The bigger fly keeps the rig visible while the midge does the actual work underneath your eye line.

Color choice: Chartreuse is the higher-visibility option, best on overcast mornings and in water with a slight tint. Orange reads warmer and works well in afternoon light and slightly off-color water.

Common Questions

Do I need floatant? No, and you shouldn’t use it. CDC floats on its own preen oil. Liquid or paste floatant clogs the fibers and kills the float. If the fly gets waterlogged after a fish, blow on it or shake it dry. A powder desiccant works if you want to speed that up.

What tippet should I use? 5X to 6X nylon monofilament tippet. Nylon floats and keeps the fly riding correctly in the film. Drop to 6X on flat, clear, pressured water.

Which color should I buy first? Chartreuse for overcast mornings, orange for sunny afternoons and stained water. Both fish the same hook and size, so the tail color is the only real difference.

Specs