The original Black Beauty was invented in the early 1990s to imitate the heavyconcentrations of midge pupae found in tailraces below deep, bottom-releasereservoirs.Dont let the simplicity of this pattern fool youit consistently fools selective trout allover the United States.

While the original Black Beauty performs extremely well, adding a clear, silver-linedglass bead (Mercury Black Beauty) or combining a silver-lined glass bead and someMylar tinsel (Flashback Mercury Black Beauty) increases the natural translucencywhen it comes to imitating an emerging pupa.

A tungsten Bead Head Flashback Black Beauty (swaps the silver-lined glass bead fora black tungsten bead) has the same goals in mind, but has a quicker sink-rate andworks well for dry-and-dropper applications.In its embryonic form, the Black Beauty had no name, it was just a generic blackmidge pupae that had earned a spot in my fly box because it was easy to tie, durable,and most importantlyit consistently fooled hard-fished, selective trout.

In March 1992, Bob Saile, Scott Ratcliff, and I named this pattern after a memorabletrip on the Blue River near Silverthorne. On that day, Saile landed an 8-poundrainbow on my black midge pupa in a deep slot right below the I-70 bridge.Sailes rainbow measured 26 inches and had an 18-inch girth. It was an impressiverainbow to say the least!

Ratcliff and I had a day to remember as well; we also fooled some quality that day onthe black midge pupa. On our way home from the Silverthorne-area, Ratliff said, Wereally caught some beauties today. You ought to call your little black midge pupa theBlack Beauty. The name stuck, and the rest is history!

– Pat Dorsey