The river is flowing at 24 Cfs and is cooling a bit at 52 F. Leaves are making fishing dries challenging but the fish are looking up and blue winged olives in the #18-20 range are a good bet . Long leaders in the 10-12 ft range ending in 6x are necessary to deliver small flies at a distance that won’t spook fish. Riffles and flats are holding fish, particuarly near log jams and deadfalls from Falls Rd through Masemore RD.Small prince nymphs, pheasant tails and brassies should account for fish feeding in the “skinny water.” Many anglers in the past week have been reporting steady midge activity above Falls RD.Thanks to Jeff for this great question on midges.

Hey, I stopped into the shop this past weekend and picked up a leader and a few flies.
I just wanted to thank you guys for suggesting that I use a zebra midge.
I landed a ton of fish on them until I lost them all.
What does this imitate?

Jeff

Great question Jeff, typically Zebra midges imitate midges and midge larvae.The silver wire helps to “define” the fly and mimics the segmentationcommonly present with these small larvae. The ribbing also makes these patterns stand out. A lot of these patterns are very effective from Falls RD. to the dam, especially in the Winter months when more midges are present along the Gunpowder River.