I got this pattern from Chauncey Lively’s Fly Box book. Flies that belong to the order Diptera are sometime grouped together and called midges by fly fishermen. Many fly fishermen don’t like to fish midge flies due to their small size and difficulty in seeing the fly on the water. The fore’ n aft gnat is a pattern that is very visible on the water. Once, while fishing the Big Horn River during a trico hatch, none of my trico patterns worked. I finally tied a size #20 fore ‘n’ aft fly and caught many nice fish on this fly. I think the fish may have taken the fly as a trico cluster.

Hook – Dry fly #20 – 24

Thread – Black 8/0 or 10/0 thread

Front and Back Hackle – Grizzly

Body – Black dubbing

John Lazar

Fly tied by John Lazar