Deep Blue Poison Tung

Here is the fly pattern sheet for the Deep Blue Poison Tung.

Directions:

1. Pinch the barb and place the bead on the hook; slide it up to the hook eye.
2. Start the thread just behind the bead and wrap just enough thread to secure it.
3. Tie the wire in just behind the bead and wrap back over the wire with the tying thread to about halfway down the bend of the hook. Make only one layer of thread as you go back.
4. Wrap the thread back forward to just behind the bead.
5. Spiral wrap the wire forward over the thread body. Tie the wire off at the front of the body.
6. Dub a sparse collar of Ice Dub.
7. Whip finish and place a drop of head cement on the knot.

“At all times of the year, midges make up a majority of the drift in the Crooked River below Bowman Dam. In the March 2013 COF newsletter, I discussed midges and highlighted the blue Miracle Midge. This month, I present the Deep Blue Poison Tung. This is a Charlie Craven pattern (http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com); he provides excellent directions on how to tie the pattern on his website. It is a simple, but very effective pattern to tie, and it uses only a few materials. Even though blue midges work well in the winter months, John Anderson has used this pattern on the Crooked this winter, spring, and summer with great success for rainbows and mountain whitefish. John was a controller for one of the contestants in the USA Fly Fishing Team competition last fall. His contestant used three deep blue poison tungs on his line to catch a large number of fish on the Crooked. I like a size 18. Charlie uses a 2 mm silver tungsten bead, but I like a small, silver lined hi-lite bead by Spirit River. I also add a flashback of medium pearl flashabou for the off color of the Crooked. The fly imitates a midge pupa, so I fish it as my top fly on a two-fly rig. This summer my bottom fly has been a size 16 pale morning dun (PMD) imitation. (I use Rick Haefle’s PMD nymph, but a bead head pheasant tail, hare’s ear, or black AP nymph will do.) When the PMD hatch slows down this month, I will switch to a blue Miracle Midge on the bottom location. Also, don’t forget to take a few Ray Charles patterns in gray and tan. Remember, tie more than one “poison” bug so your fishing partners will be able to catch fish.” – Bill Seitz