Midnight Fire

- By Mike Andresen

The Midnight Fire leech pattern is a woolly bugger built around a variegated red and blue chenille. It has been and will continue to be a favorite for Parkland stillwater fishers but has also proven effective in rivers throughout Canada and at least one European country.

This version has a thickly wound "head"-- a pusher to provide plenty of lateral line appeal at depth -- where it continues to be very effective.

We often fish these with ultra-fast sinking lines along drop-offs when the day and lighting conditions brighten. However it is also effective in the shallows after sunset, along weed lines and beaches.

These flies quickly become well-gnawed so many tyers choose to counter wind the hackle and body with fine silver wire.

The chenille is widely sought by those traveling to the Parkland since Mike Andreasen and his group brought it north when visiting from Utah. We recommend that everyone have a supply of these flies when fishing in Parkland Lakes - especially Patterson in low light conditions. The pattern has been especially effective when fished at depth during the heat of the day, after the fish leave the shallows.

Adding a chartreuse bead can make it even more effective at times but the “pusher” on the version shown has great lateral line appeal and creates considerable turbulency to pulse hackle and marabou when stripped.

Materials:

Type	Notes
Hook	8 to 4 2x to 3x (in larger sizes)
Thread	Black Monocord
Weight	This is a "round" fly so any weight can be just wrapped around the shank near the head
Tail	Black Marabou with 2 pieces of folded Olive Krystal Flash on either side
Body	Palmered Black Saddle Hackle - main body is variegated Midnight Fire Chenille (some tyers wind the Fine Silver Wire - good idea)

Steps:

Type	Notes
1	Add weight (if desired) when wrapping hook with black thread.
2	Tie in clump of Marabou for tail, no longer than hook shank. A twist around the base of Marabou will limit later fouling around the hook bend by cocking the tail slightly upwards when stripped.
3	Tie a double piece of Olive Krystal Flash on either side of tail.
4	Tie in Saddle Hackle by its point or wherever it matches the hook bend for width.
5	Tie in Midnight Fire body material and wind ahead - one layer only.
6	Palmer hackle ahead to desired thickness and tie off. (Some tyers choose to counter wind hackle with Fine Silver Wire to increase durability).