Wired Bloody Zebra - #19 of 150

I have my own version of the Zebra Midge that may be a little more effective that what you are accustomed to tying/fishing.  If you watched my Putah Creek YouTube video (dated 4/17) where I landed a couple of fish on the "Zebra Midge" this is the pattern...  It's time to share my dirty little secret with you.

What makes it so special?  First, it is heavier and thinner than the standard thread version.  This is by design simply for sink rate in the faster waters of the west and deep water lake fishing.  The pattern is tied strictly with copper wire, tungsten bead and hook... Not a single wrap of thread!   Next the pattern is tied on a longer shank hook for more bite area between the bead and hook point.  Third,  I "bombproof" the entire pattern, including the bead, in a thin coat of UV resign.  Not only does this secure all the materials in place, but the UV resin gives a beautiful translucency, especially in the thorax and over the bead.  A dozen flies will last a very long time.

The Wired Bloody Zebra midge started out as a lake pattern in the Pacific Northwest where we commonly fish midges down to 15-plus feet of water in the winter.  At these depths sink rate is an important factor in getting your flies to the zone down along the bottom in short order.  The pattern eventually migrated to the moving waters of Washington State's Yakima River, Rocky Ford (spring creek) and Deschutes River where it proved itself rather quickly.

Materials:

Hook: TMC 200R or Daiichi 1270, sizes 12-22. (TMC 200R, size 22 pictured)

Bead:  Nickel or silver, sized appropriately to hook size.  (1.5mm nickel shown)
Body:  2-strands black one strand silver.  Wire diameter is dictated by hook size.  (UTC x-small wire is pictured below)
Thorax:  Wire diameter is dictated by hook size.  (Red x-small UTC is pictured on a size 22 below)

The entire pattern, including bead, is coated with a thin layer of UV resin.

Tying notes:

1. Wrap the red wire for the thorax first.  On the size 22 pictured I took 12 wraps of extra small UTC wire. This embedded in the countersunk area of the bead and centered the bead inline with the shank.  You may want a larger thorax diameter.  In which case use UTC small or Hends 0.14 wire.
2.  To get a clear "cut" of the wire slowly twist, or common terminology "helicopter," the wire to prevent a burr sticking out from the hook shank.
3.  The Wired Bloody Zebra is only tied in black, red and silver.  However you may elect to tied the black and silver wire all the way to the bead.   Yet you may find the red thorax adds a little extra to effectiveness.  Different color variations will fall will under other pattern names.