I have been asked a few times if I know how a Midas dry fly is tied. Presumably because I posted in a number of posts that I used a Midas or caught a fish on one. The Midas was a pattern “promoted” by Paul Davison of Troutwatch , a now defunct online fly fishing tackle site. As is the way with these things, the Midas was THE killer pattern to have, if you didn’t have them in your box were sure to go home fishless, forever. The end!
He never did a SBS or anything explaining how they were tied* ( *update Sept 2017- he has now- see the end of this post), as presumably he wanted to protect the pattern for his own marketing. Paul is a master of marketing and followed this up a season or so later with the absolute KILLER range of grayling bugs, called Garfunkles, a bug with a light enhancing bead of some sort in the head or body (*again he reveals it’s done with a short length of fibre optic plastic used for model making), again, they will fill your net when ever nothing else will. Never tried one or heard of anyone who has used one so couldn’t comment, and I don’t have any myself. I never published these pics as though I don’t know Paul well, he is a likeable big fella and I didn’t want to get in the way of interrupting his line of business. With the site being gone I don’t see that as an issue now and there is no law on copying a fly pattern to the best of my knowledge.
However I DID buy a pack of Midas patterns as I wanted to see how they were tied for myself. So I took one of the pack and deconstructed it. The following photo’s show the fly in various stages of deconstruction, but I have ordered them the other way round so you can get an idea of how to tie them. Bottom line though is I cannot 100% say that my description of the pattern is right, make your own mind up from the pictures.
The red pattern was tied with Red thread, silver tinsel rib and a red seals fur dubbed body. The hook looks to be a longer shanked type. The ones bought were size 10 or 12’s.
With the dubbed body added the rib is wound up to about 2/3rd up the shank length
These are the Legs- note the tied in end was the thin end- so the Pheasant tail fibres are apparently tied in backwards,
The legs are tied in to extend below the line of the hook shank. then more dubbing is wound over the tying in point to build up a thorax. There appear to be 3 legs on each side.
The hackle looks to be possibly a “webby cock” furnace hackle, Red Game or maybe a Greenwells hackle. Make your own judgement from the picture. The head is a turn of gold dubbing
The finished fly details shots
Side detail close up
Side view on the vice of finished Red Midas fly
Top view of Red Midas
To finish- I can only show you the pictures and give you my interpretation of the materials used from what came off the fly I had here. If you disagree please feel free to comment. Don’t blame me if someone tells you this is wrong- the photos above were a genuine purchased Midas from a few years back.
Post Script: No sooner had I posted this article than I seen a post of facebook saying that Flash Attack Flies, Craig Barr’s retail fly tying shop is selling Midas flies with the spiel “A highly kept secret, Its founder, Paul Davison has given its magic to Flash Attack Flies. Tied with very specific blends of dubbing, and dressed to a specific profile, this fly is quite simply amazing !”. The catch lines of flies like this is aimed to lure more anglers than fish. Also be aware of the incestual relationship of competition anglers always trying to have the latest secret pattern that none but their “in crowd” chums have. Look around fB you see it ALL the time. Personally I think its mostly bollocks. Having taken these “from the source” Midas flies apart I can honestly say the dubbing doesn’t look anything “special” to me. There is no glint or glister in the dubbing of any of the flies I bought, barring the gold dubbed head end and the body rib. Maybe its a finer blend of seals fur that makes it dub easier, I really don’t know. Do the fish care? I have to say I have had a LOT more success on a Bits than a Midas. I think I have caught a couple of fish on the Midas. The Bits tied the way Paul Davison shows it on his You Tube video with the wee bit pearl under the thorax I find IS a good fly. Nothing I guess to stop you tying a bit gold dubbing round the head of one of those too and seeing if it makes any odds. Of course the Pro’s will probably point the finger that it’s the way you fish them too. That’s probably true of any fly, tie a few see how you get on, don’t expect miracles!
Thanks for the photos, will tie some up and see how they go. Kind regards Matt cairns.
Good article Kenny
I think your post is very unfair. At no stage have i ever said one of my flies is the be all and end all, Nor have i ever said it will catch you more fish. Yes it was a team/personal secret for some years. Once i finished comp fishing i openly revealed the pattern. Like every fly it has its day. Maybe i fish it differently to you but it works most days for me. My view is if there was one particular fly that was best, we would all be using it. Its more down to the confidence an angler has in his fly. Your article doesnt paint a very good picture of myself which i find amusing as we have never met and you know nothing about me Over the years i have given many of these flies to boat partners. And for many years have given countless hours of time and help folk. English youth, Scottish youth, Scottish ladies, world, European and 5 nations teams without any monetary gain what so ever. In twenty years of fishing the Midas you are the first to complain, which of course you have the right to. Thanks for all the presumption. If you had asked for the info at the time of your article i would have gladly have given you all the info and tying of the fly. Thats my rant over i wish you the very best and success for the future.
Paul Davison
Ps not a bad site :-}
Hi Paul
Hope you are well. Actually we have met (socially) and spent several hours in each others company and that of others…..will keep you pondering that one 😉 but I obviously didn’t stick in your memory. I don’t think there was anything in the article ( which is 4 years old now!) that I wouldn’t say to someone’s face. I didn’t actually publish the article until you stopped selling them on your online store (where I bought stuff several times) as I didn’t want to do or say anything that would harm your business. That was a good few years after you were selling them. As I say a few people had asked me if I knew how to tie these flies as they couldn’t get them so I did the article.
You are a master of marketing and you shouldn’t take that badly. Most of the well-kent faces in angling ( celebrities and competition anglers do also tend to be); It goes with the territory as they end up on the sponsored books or “Pro Team” of tackle makers to promote their wares; I know several like that or they are in business to sell flies or other tackle themselves. That’s how you make/made a living at that point in time, not sure what you are doing now? Maybe back at the photography? But for my own part as in all things in life, I am nothing if not honest and I say things exactly like I see them. I am selling nothing and offering nothing but my own opinions. I won’t offer an opinion that is anything other than as I see it. I have fished the Midas many times over the years to give it a go but only rarely caught with it. A few other competition anglers I know “up here” have exactly echoed my thoughts that it hasn’t been that effective up here. I am sure it works where you fish it. I also agree confidence has a lot to do with a fly and how it catches, but that I feel is down to the fact that if you are confident it will catch you tie it on and when it catches you gain confidence with it. I look at it and I think “it should catch” but honestly I could count on the fingers of less than on hand how many times I have caught with it…… now your Bobs Bits variant with the wee bit flash underneath…that’s a different story and has been very effective for me. I wouldn’t treat what I said as a complaint, there is nothing “wrong ” with the fly or the product, it just doesn’t work for me…. I cannot explain why it just doesn’t. Like another fly I was actually given free to “review”. The Apache White….I think I have caught one fish on it, yet it is apparently a killer down south and I love the way it moves in the water yet It hasn’t been so effective for me. I know not why. I suspect it is the colour, I reckon in black it would work well here…our water is often more coloured in Stillwater than down south. Anyway take care, maybe see you around but you almost certainly won’t even know me or remember me it seems!
At the end, with the Midas fly….what was in that small jar you said to “Dip” the fly in ??!!
Hi
I think it was liquid mucilin dry fly floatant- This link refers https://www.anglingactive.co.uk/mucilin-silicone-oil.html
If you use this, dip the fly in it, give it a good shake off and remove excess with a paper towel and leave it to dry over 24hours on a radiator or somewhere warm. In my experience if a fly is relatively heavy- as I find the Midas to be ( it sits IN rather than on the surface film) the liquid mucilin won’t necessarily help it float rather, it helps resist waterlogging and it lets it shake off the water when false casting.