Topwater fishing has been on my mind of late. We have had a smattering of warm spring days here in the northeast but not a long enough string of them to significantly warm the water. We are in the midst of another cold front which tends to shut down fishing for a few days. The warmer weather is right around the corner, and it will bring the return of consistent, quality topwater fishing. Nothing beats a bluegill or any other fish, for that matter, taking flies off the surface.

So with topwater fishing on my mind, this week's pattern for our weekly fly tying post is the Micro Gurgler. Most everyone is familiar with Jack Gartside's Gurgler pattern. It is a classic easy-to-tie foam pattern that has caught everything from panfish to tarpon. Tied in a size six, a gurgler makes an excellent pattern for both bass and large panfish. However, there are times when I want to fish something smaller just for panfish, and that is where the Micro Gurgler comes into its own.

The Micro Gurgler is a gurgler-style fly with a few changes. It looks like a generic terrestrial foam dry fly, but it is a gurgler at its heart. A pint-sized standard gurgler tied on a size 10 or 12 hooks will work just fine for panfish, and it is still a vital pattern in my panfish arsenal. The Micro Gurgler was developed over a few years using techniques I have seen on other designs and a few of my own.

Here are some of the differences that set the Micro Gurgler apart from a standard Gurgler pattern. The traditional tail has been eliminated from this pattern except for a few short strands of flash material. The "tail" is created by allowing the foam body to extend past the hook's bend, and a tapered point is added to it.

The waist of the fly is thinned down by compressing the foam with wraps of thread to give the fly a different profile in the water. The dry fly hackle is palmered over this portion of the body to add some flotation back into the fly after compressing the foam. The foam head is doubled back on itself instead of extending over the hook eye and cut off.

I often wrap this layer of foam over a contrasting colored strip of foam to create an eye on the pattern and give it a little more floatation. It is probably an unnecessary step, but I do it occasionally on flies I tie for myself. On darker versions of this pattern, I like to add a small bright colored tab of 1mm foam to the head to increase the fly's visibility on the water. This step is unnecessary if tying the pattern using bright colored foam that is easily seen on the water. Legs are a must on most of my topwater panfish patterns, so it felt natural to add them to the fly's body. A thin, flexible leg material like Grizzly Flutter Legs is perfect for this pattern.

This pattern has been a reliable producer for bluegills and other panfish of all sizes. I tie the fly in natural colors like black, brown, green, and olive, but bright colors like chartreuse, white, yellow, and orange also work well at times. The fly is quick and easy to tie and is one I like to include in my fly tying classes as it is perfect for beginners.

Pattern Recipe

Hook: Firehole Model 618 size 14-8

Thread: 8/0 Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread in color of choice

Tail: 4-6 strands of Semperflash flash material (feel free to use Crystal Flash, Flashabou, etc.)

Body: 2mm closed cell foam strip (about as wide as the hook gap)

Hackle: Grizzly dry fly hackle

Legs: Silicon Grizzly Flutter Legs

Eye: Small strip of 2mm foam in a contrasting color (optional)

Indicator: Brightly colored 1mm foam (optional)

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