When to use it
- When trout rise to midges too small to see individually.
- During midge-cluster activity.
- As a small general surface pattern in calm water.
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Dry · guide 10
Griffith's Gnat
A tiny peacock-and-grizzly pattern used for individual midges, clusters, and other very small surface food.
- Common size
- #14–24
- Colors reviewed
- peacock and grizzly
- Imitates
- adult midge, midge cluster, tiny surface insect
A peacock-herl body wrapped end-to-end with grizzly hackle, with no separate tail or wing. The separately named Griffith's Gnat Emerger is not this same pattern.
Technical illustration
Identification views
Griffith's Gnat reviewed side profile
A schematic profile emphasizing peacock-herl body and palmered grizzly hackle.
- View
- reviewed side profile
- Color shown
- peacock body and grizzly hackle
- Look for
- peacock-herl body; palmered grizzly hackle; no tail; no separate wing
On the water
Understand it. Then fish it.
The river, depth, insects, and fish behavior still decide the final presentation. These are reviewed starting points—not a claim about what is happening today.
How to fish it
- Dead-drift to a specific feeding lane.
- Track it with a nearby larger dry when visibility is poor.
- Let it swing just under the surface only after the dry drift.
Mistakes to avoid
- Confusing the classic with the trailing-shuck emerger variant.
- Oversizing it for the insects present.
- Adding an unrelated wing and keeping the same name.
Variant control
Small changes matter.
Three reviewed technical illustrations provide a profile, material map, and presentation view. They are identification aids, not photorealistic substitutes for tied examples.
Reviewed core form
A peacock-herl body wrapped end-to-end with grizzly hackle, with no separate tail or wing. The separately named Griffith's Gnat Emerger is not this same pattern.- Colors shown
- peacock and grizzly
- Weighting
- Weighting is stated in the identification and use notes when it defines the reviewed form.
Review trail
Sources, rights, and limits.
Pattern facts were reviewed on 2026-07-12. Every image has its own rights record; photographed hand-tied flies may still vary slightly in proportion.