Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Itsy Bitsy Flies ...

I didn't need reading glasses until I was 55, and I still use only 1.25 diopter for reading. But for tying on those %#@&^# flies, I have a set of 1.5s in my vest. And I just bought a set of those flip down doofers in 3X magnification. They're a bit too strong, but mo is bettah, eh?

Size 18 gnats are the smallest flies I carry. If they are too big to catch fish, then there is always beer.
I tend to go the other way, if the hatch is really small I chuck double-bunnies.

You could always get a midge cluster fly....they work great when them little midges start to hatch....work great too....I have some on a size 16 I think....
I'll see if I can find them and duplicate a pattern and if so I'll show you how I did it

I've got, and tie, cluster midges. I just don't enjoy 6x or lighter, or noseeum flies.
Living within 30 min of the Yellowstone, East and West Gallatin(5min), Jefferson, and Madison does afford me the mentality of "there is always tomorrow".
If it takes a size 22 to catch fish, I just move to a different spot.

What I do with the 24's 26's and 28's is that I tie on a foot or two of tippet at home in good light, then its just a quick surgeons knot on the stream. My eye sight is a whole lot better than it was in 1990, double eye surgery for cataracts and in the last two years or so my vision has been the best its ever been. but I still use a flip down magnifier mostly in low light conditions. I admit my night vision is not what it use to be. A little indicator at the tippet to leader knot a well treated with floatant from fly line down to the indicator helps a lot, fish rises any were with in the length of your tippet set the hook, 9/10 you will hook up. Fly Fishing can be frustrating at times, I had days were the only fish I will get that day would be to buy one- then I had days were every thing just came together and had fish on with just about every drift. I use to quite fishing because of the "small flies" . It just takes some effort but once you learn how, and you only learn how by doing- it opens a lot of doors. Things are starting to melt around my parts, So the water is going to be cold and murky for a bit- I am banking that May and June is going to be glorious on the streams.

I didn't know 18 was a small fly. Thats probably my most common nymph size. I didn't consider anything small until it gets to size 20.