[MrEsox]

Looking for a pattern that looks like a buffalo gnat. Or any pattern that looks like a gnat nymph/larva will do just fine. The past few years have been finding fish feeding heavily on a hatch but have had little luck with what I had. Got a few ideas for this year but looking for more. Thanks.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi MrEsox,

If you are asking about black flies then you might have to improvise. I think a Prince nymph or Zug Bug with no tail would do the job. Especially if you tied a segmented body. You could also try a dry fly wing material and maybe some rubber legs. You could also drop the herl and use a foam body. That would keep it on the surface.

Frank

Beadhead Zug Bug



Buffalo Gnat or Black Fly

[MrEsox]

Hm, well not black flies. There is a gnat up here called the buffalo gnat. A good spinner would look a lot like it as well. I ty both a spinner and a nymph that looks a lot like the one (Frank) had posted but no wings. So thanks Frank I guess I will use the patterns I have (in my book) and do some mods and see what I got. Oddly enough, I found two lakes near my place that for the past several years walleyes, crappy, and pike move in to feed heavy on the emerging nymphs. I'm looking forward to trying and see if I can get some of these fish on a fly. Biggest is the size of crappy we are getting. 16+ inches is a pig panfish and it would be cool to say I cought eyes on a fly. Thing is though and reason for asking, I have not fished with these yet (water is still froze) and dont know how they will do in in water say 8 feet or so. We get fish on jigs an minnows but thats for a nother story. Maybe I should have asked for a deep water nymph, sinking imitator of some sort, hm...I'll have to keep looking.