Umpqua Massacre Midge – Black Shop Flies

“The Massacre Midge was a fly that I had been working on for years. I was trying to create a fly that would work as a midge emerger as well as a baetis emerger. Most of the time during the winter, fall and spring we will see hatches of midges and baetis coming off on the same day. Having a fly that works equally well for both hatches afforded me and my clients more time fishing and not changing flies. I also needed a fly that had a little more detail than the flies that I was fishing, the segmentation in the Massacre Midge adds a hint of realism which has proven to be deadly for fooling double digit tailwater fish. The small vail of dubbing adds movement to the bug and the foam on the head makes the fly ride upright just like the naturals do. I will fish the Massacre Midge when I am nymphing in the middle of the water column and near the surface. As the hatch progresses, I will add the Massacre Midge as a dropper off of a midge or BWO dry fly. In the size 18 the Massacre Midge also works great as a caddis emerger. With three colors and sizes 18-24 you can fish this bug year-round and in a multitude of situations.” – Matt McCannel