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Exact Griffith's Gnat dry fly in side profile with a dark peacock-herl body and palmered grizzly hackleReal photo · Griffith's Gnat

Dry · guide 10

Griffith's Gnat

A simple peacock-herl and grizzly-hackle midge dry that can suggest one tiny adult, a clustered surface meal, or another very small insect at the film.

Common size
#14–24 in the reviewed Orvis tying source, #18–22 is a useful winter starting range; match the natural
Common colors
natural iridescent peacock-herl body, grizzly hackle, compact black thread head
Imitates
adult midge, midge cluster, tiny surface insect or drowned adult impression
How to recognize it

Look for a peacock-herl body wrapped end to end with grizzly hackle and finished with a compact thread head. The classic has no separate tail, wing, upright post, bead, or trailing shuck. A high-visibility post, parachute build, or Antron shuck is a separate labeled variation or pattern—not the photographed classic.

The pattern is named for George Griffith. Current sources differ on whether its creation should be credited solely to Griffith, so this page preserves the name without making a definitive sole-inventor claim.
Exact Griffith's Gnat dry fly in side profile with a dark peacock-herl body and palmered grizzly hackle
Real photo · exact pattern

Griffith's Gnat

Exact source-identified Griffith's Gnat and the gallery's only exact-pattern photograph. The body and palmered hackle are readable; the next images are a named artificial comparison and a natural adult-midge reference.

View
exact pattern — source-identified Griffith's Gnat side profile
Color shown
dark peacock-herl body with pale-and-dark grizzly hackle
Look for
A compact peacock-herl body is wrapped end to end with grizzly hackle, with no tail, separate wing, bead, or upright post.
Open full-size photo ↗

On the water

Know when and how to fish it.

Use these tips as a starting point. The river, depth, insects, and fish behavior still decide the final presentation.

01

Why it works

  • Peacock iridescence and dense grizzly hackle create a broken cluster of light, body, and leg impressions without requiring an exact anatomical copy.
  • The palmered hackle supports the fly on or near the surface while keeping the construction visible and simple at very small sizes.
  • The fly can remain useful when slightly submerged after the dead drift, which broadens presentation without silently turning it into an emerger recipe.
02

When to use it

  • When trout rise to adult midges too small to identify or track individually.
  • During visible midge-cluster activity in calm water, soft seams, or other slow feeding lanes.
  • During winter and early-spring midge windows, or as a small general surface fly when the observed food supports it.
03

How to fish it

  • Present it accurately to the observed rise lane with a delicate, drag-free dead drift.
  • Match size before changing the classic construction or adding a visibility post; slow-water midge feeders can be easily disturbed.
  • After the dry drift, allow a controlled swing just beneath the film when that transition matches the fish's behavior.
  • If visibility is difficult, track it beside a larger dry where legal without calling the tandem rig another Griffith's variation.
04

Mistakes to avoid

  • Confusing the classic with a Biot Para-Midge, parachute form, trailing-shuck Griffith's Gnat Emerger, or other separately named midge dry.
  • Adding a post, wing, bead, or tail while keeping the classic name unlabeled.
  • Oversizing the fly or using it simply because midges are present when fish are feeding below the surface.
  • Treating the natural Chironomid photograph as an artificial recipe, local-species identification, or current hatch report.

At the vise

Tie this version.

Classic Griffith's Gnat · beginner

The trailing-shuck Griffith's Gnat Emerger, high-visibility posts, parachute builds, and other hybrid forms are separately named or labeled; none replaces the classic peacock-and-palmered-grizzly recipe shown here.

Materials

Hook
Standard dry-fly hook, sizes 14–24
Thread
Black 70-denier or 8/0 thread
Body
One fine natural peacock-herl strand, reduced as needed for the smallest sizes
Hackle
Grizzly dry-fly hackle proportioned to hook size
Finish
Optional minimal head cement

Steps

  1. Secure the hook and start the black thread about one eye-length behind the eye.
  2. Wrap a smooth thread base rearward to the start of the bend.
  3. Prepare the grizzly hackle by exposing a short tie-in section and secure it at the rear.
  4. Tie in one fine peacock-herl strand by its tip, using minimal material on the smallest sizes.
  5. Wind the herl forward in touching turns to form an even body while preserving room for the head, then secure and trim it.
  6. Palmer the grizzly hackle forward in evenly spaced turns over the full peacock body.
  7. Secure the hackle without crowding the eye, form a compact black thread head, whip finish, and clear the eye.

Tying sources: Tying the Griffith's Gnat ↗, Tying a Griffith's Gnat ↗

Common variations

Small changes can make a different fly.

One verified, non-AI exact CC BY photograph anchors the classic peacock-and-grizzly Griffith's Gnat. A separately named size-24 Biot Para-Midge and a natural male Chironomid adult show the artificial-pattern boundary and natural-adult context only; neither is another Griffith's Gnat view or variation.

Classic peacock-and-grizzly Griffith's Gnat

The exact photograph shows the continuous peacock body and grizzly hackle without a separate tail, wing, post, bead, or shuck.
Colors shown
peacock, grizzly, black thread
Weighting
Unweighted dry fly in the reviewed exact photograph.

Biot Para-Midge identity comparison

A separately named size-24 parachute midge with an orange post and segmented biot abdomen.
Colors shown
dark abdomen, gray hackle, orange post
Weighting
Comparison only; not a Griffith's Gnat.

Natural male Chironomid adult

A natural-adult anatomy reference with translucent wings, long legs, and plumose male antennae.
Colors shown
gray-brown, translucent wing
Weighting
Natural insect; not an artificial fly.

Related patterns

Zebra Midge ↗Midge Patterns by Stage ↗Black Beauty Midge ↗Mercury Midge ↗

How this guide was checked

Fly information and photo sources.

Guide checked on 2026-07-13. Every image has its own source and usage record. Natural insects and hand-tied flies can vary in shape and proportion.

Pattern sources

Orvis NewsTying the Griffith's Gnat↗MidCurrentTying a Griffith's Gnat↗Orvis NewsHow to Fish Early-Season Midge Hatches↗

Image credits