Syl's Midge: Purple Variant

Must-Have Soft Hackle

The Syl's Midge, from Sylvester Nemes, has been one of my favorite midge soft hackle patterns over the

Purple Syl's Midge

years. It's a stellar pattern fished on the swing, the rise or just tossing into a pod of midge-eating trout. I've had times where, after throwing lots of my standards, a soft hackle like the Syl's Midge saves the day. Strikes can be subtle but it can also be the mini-equivalent of streamer fishing to aggressive fish. And if you want a different take on it, throw the Purple or Red versions on high mountain lakes during midge (chironomid) hatches when they refuse your surface patterns. Killer stuff!

The purple version here (and a couple of color variants whose materials are shown below) are great additions to any midge or nymph box. With the material list being so simple, it's easy to mix up the colors and show the fish something different. If you go with the colored variations, make sure to go with the Nature's Spirit bleached and dyed peacock since it holds the colors a lot better than just dying standard peacock first.

And the icing on the cake on this is the purple Hen Cape from Whiting Farms. We got our hands on a number of these and they work great on this pattern. See the materials here:

Material List

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Hook: Hanak H 200 BL Stillwater & Nymph Hook - 16
Thread: 8/0 UNI-Thread Waxed Midge - Purple
Thread (Std Version): 8/0 UNI-Thread Waxed Midge - Black
Thread (Red Version): 8/0 UNI-Thread Waxed Midge - Red
Body: Nature's Spirit Bleached Dyed Peacock Sticks - Purple
Body (Std Version): Peacock Eye Sticks
Body (Red Version): Nature's Spirit Bleached Dyed Peacock Sticks - Red
Soft Hackle: Whiting Red Label Hen Cape - Purple
Hackle (Std Version): Whiting Brahma Wing Soft Hackle Pair
Hackle (Red Version): Whiting Red Label Hen Cape - White Dyed Fiery Brown

Other tools from the tutorial:
    

C&F Design Dubbing Twister Plus
C&F Design Hackle Pliers