New Books: Modern Midges

November 18, 2009 By: Marshall Cutchin

I had the pleasure of spending a lunchtime with Jerry Hubka and Rick Takahashi not too long ago. The two fly fanatics, ex-art teachers and long-time friends told me about the challenges of putting together their new 1000-plus-pattern book on midges. “It just kept growing and growing,” Takahashi said. “When we started, we thought that 400 patterns would be a lot to handle.” Hubka commented, “The hardest part ended up being deciding which patterns we couldn’t include.”
Modern Midges: Tying and Fishing the World’s Most Effective Patterns
was published by Headwater Books in September and contains an enormous library of flies and recipes. If you fish or tie midges, I think the book belongs on your list.
Charlie Meyers also wrote about the book for the Denver Post: “The book on midges just completed by Fort Collins anglers Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka ranks among the most useful fly-tying compositions to hit the shelves in years.”