Red Brassie Midge Pattern
Festive colors aside, i’ve seen this little beauty work wonders in places that surprised me….
One late summer night on the Grand this past summer, I spoke with a chap who was working his way up stream behind me. I could hear what sounded like an American accent and asked him where he was from. It turns out this Michigan angler travels up here every year to enjoy this great fishery. He continued upstream almost out of sight. I continued to fish having lots of fun with all the caddis activity that was going on. Every time I looked upstream to see how he was making out, it seemed his rod was bent in half. I watched him land one fish that had to exceed 18"-19". It was with both envy and curiosity I watched him land several more fish of a similar size. When I was back at my car taking off my waders, he came up the trail and we dicussed our respective evenings. I had to ask what he was using and when he opened his box, there were several TINY nymphs 
, including this one. He had landed several of them on this pattern (that had a pearl-colored Killer Caddis bead) fished below an indicator. He also quite happily admitted that among the browns were a carp and a couple of suckers. This guy had a real preference for tiny nymphs, this pattern (both with, and without a bead) being a favorite. Its very simple to tie and i’ve seen big browns take it during a blizzard of caddis activity. Enough proof for me!
Tying The Red Brassie Midge Fly Pattern
Hook:Size#18-#20 caddis/scud style hook (this one a Mustad C49S size#18)
Thread:12/0 Black (8/0 would work fine)
Bead:Gold or Pearl 3/32"
Body:Red copper wire, size small
Thorax:peacock herl
Slip the bead over the hook, and secure with several wraps of thread.
Tie in red copper wire and wind the thread back well into the bend. Try to keep the wire from wrapping around the hook shank.
Wrap the copper wire forward in tight wraps that touch one another stopping short of the bead. Fold one peacock herl around the tying thread and tie it in. Wrap the peacock herl forward and form a slightly bulky thorax.
Make 2-3 wraps of thread through the herl to protect it from being cut when a fish’s teeth (or your hemostats) come in contact with it. Tie-off behind the bead.
