I tie a nice blood worm with a type of chenille in red that you don't have to melt the ends after it's cut - and of course it is over sized for the presentation. It's tied on strange hook. Daiichi has it. : )
Brian When you get Older , eye sight and arthritis prevent you from tying sometimes, lol I use those tiny snap hooks , they have worked well for me for years . Saves on getting frustrated sometimes..
Great description of the Chironomid life cycle. Since gas is used to transport the pupae to the surface it seems that this ascension would accelerate as the pupae goes up and the gas bubble expands decreasing the pupae density. I learned this from my SCUBA lessons. Maybe this explains why fish will hit my flies when I am quickly lifting the flies out of the water to recast?
From Brian: That is definitely correct on the speed of acceleration of the pupa as it gets closer to the lake surface and that is why a quick lift will attract a strike.
Hey and hi. I need to know - do you troll a Doc Sprately in any size or variant in BC and catch Kamloops Rainbows? My Mom's friend seems to have told me all of that. I have ordered most of what I need to tie the fly and I am really wondering now. : )
Very insightful since we really can't see what is happening under the surface. I just started euro-nymping and all I hear is to make sure the nymph is constantly touching the bottom but you made many references to the fly being at least 6-7 inches off the bottom. Your thoughts? Thank you Brian.
From Brian: the reason why we want your fly 6 inches or more off the lake bottom is that there is often a layer of suspended silt/mud at the bottom of the lake. This sort of fog bank is created by internal current circulation through the lake due to wind action. So, if your chironomid or leech or whatever pattern is in the dirty water layer the fish will not be able to see it.
From Brian: the most intense chironomid emergences occur during the spring to early summer months. Most hatches occur from about mid-morning to late afternoon. So prime time to fish the chironoid pupal pattern is from about 9:30 Am to 4 PM. The adult egg laden female chironomids will come back to the lake to release eggs during the evening and early morning hours.
From Brian: Several sinking fly line manufacturers ie. Scientific Anglers, Airflo, RIO place or build into the fly line various types of hang markers at 10, 20 and 30 feet. This plus using the countdown method will give you an excellent idea of where your fly is in the water column.
From Brian: I use size 10, 12 and 14 barrel swivels and the size is dependant on how much wave action there is as the fly can be to bouncy when there is a good chop on the water. That’s when I will go to a larger swivel to help reduce the bounce. I like the gunmetal grey swivels made by Mustad but I also use generic gold swivels a lot as I like the flash of the swivel for potentially attracting the attention of a passing trout!
From Brian: If fishing with a strike indicator your chironomid pupal pattern should be suspended within about 30 cm of the lake bottom so your leader length is strictly dependant on depth of water being fished. If fishing chironomid pupae with a floating line and no indicator (naked technique) then the rule of thumb is to be using a leader length at least 25% longer than the depth of water being fished. This ensures your pupal pattern will reach the lake bottom and be in the zone where the fish are feeding.
From Brian: There are good populations of chironomids or midges found living in rivers and more specifically in tailwater rivers or spring creeks. Trout will feed extensively on the larval, pupal and emerging adult stages of river populations. Chironomid species tend to be much smaller than those found in productive lakes.
From Brian: Normally for chironomid fishing I am using fine diameter 3X (8 lb) leader to my swivel and then 4x (6lb) or 5X (5lb) tippet to the fly. It pays to buy good quality tippet material as those are the ones that have fine diameter and high strength ratios.
Whilst I think your information is excellent, fly fishing with an indicator is a BIG no no here in Ireland, it's strictly forbidden to use any type of indicator whether fishing still or river waters.
Top Video and Explanation, thank you very much
Besides the DRYFRAME JACKETS, I am also learning more about the variety of colors of Chironomids and the sizes.
Thank you Brian, very well explained, much appreciated!
very interesting video, i have learnt alot here thanks and much gratefull.
Thank you very much!!! The best video I have seen on chironomids, their life cycle, flies, tackle and techniques! Excellent explanations! Cheers! Hank
The Master at work.
Brilliant. I own your book and fish your patterns. Love that little marabou leech for deep fishing. All the best.
I tie a nice blood worm with a type of chenille in red that you don't have to melt the ends after it's cut - and of course it is over sized for the presentation. It's tied on strange hook. Daiichi has it. : )
Great video. Thank you.
This was very interesting. Thank you for posting this video.
Brian When you get Older , eye sight and arthritis prevent you from tying sometimes, lol
I use those tiny snap hooks , they have worked well for me for years .
Saves on getting frustrated sometimes..
Another exvellant video. Well done
Excellent lesson, thankyou
nicely done guys!! clear video and sound.
Thanks!!
really great information Brian, thanks so much
Super Video!
You're just a great teacher of Entomology fishing !!! Thanks!
Great description of the Chironomid life cycle. Since gas is used to transport the pupae to the surface it seems that this ascension would accelerate as the pupae goes up and the gas bubble expands decreasing the pupae density. I learned this from my SCUBA lessons. Maybe this explains why fish will hit my flies when I am quickly lifting the flies out of the water to recast?
From Brian: That is definitely correct on the speed of acceleration of the pupa as it gets
closer to the lake surface and that is why a quick lift will attract a strike.
So could I just use the sinking line setup for all depths shallow and deep
That was an amazing video to learn from. I really appreciate it.
Great info
Well done video.
Thanks for sharing
Hey and hi. I need to know - do you troll a Doc Sprately in any size or variant in BC and catch Kamloops Rainbows? My Mom's friend seems to have told me all of that. I have ordered most of what I need to tie the fly and I am really wondering now. : )
FANTASTIC vid Brian !!!!!
Chan is the one stop shop!
Excellent presentation thanks
Very informative - thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
That was great
Very insightful since we really can't see what is happening under the surface. I just started euro-nymping and all I hear is to make sure the nymph is constantly touching the bottom but you made many references to the fly being at least 6-7 inches off the bottom. Your thoughts? Thank you Brian.
From Brian: the reason why we want your fly 6 inches or more off the lake bottom is that there is often a layer of suspended silt/mud at the bottom of the lake. This sort of fog bank is created by internal current circulation through the lake due to wind action. So, if your chironomid or leech or whatever pattern is in the dirty water layer the fish will not be able to see it.
Thanks for sharing this technique. Is there a season and time of day when this works best?
From Brian: the most intense chironomid emergences occur during the spring to early summer months. Most hatches occur from about mid-morning to late afternoon. So prime time to fish the chironoid pupal pattern is from about 9:30 Am to 4 PM. The adult egg laden female chironomids will come back to the lake to release eggs during the evening and early morning hours.
How will you mark the depth on the sinking line? Will you use some type of tape on the line or you use the counting system.? Thanks
From Brian: Several sinking fly line manufacturers ie. Scientific Anglers, Airflo, RIO place or build into the fly line various types of hang markers at 10, 20 and 30 feet. This plus using the countdown method will give you an excellent idea of where your fly is in the water column.
Thank you for your answer!! Brand of the Swivel and size please?
From Brian: I use size 10, 12 and 14 barrel swivels and the size is dependant on how much wave action there is as the fly can be to bouncy when there is a good chop on the water. That’s when I will go to a larger swivel to help reduce the bounce. I like the gunmetal grey swivels made by Mustad but I also use generic gold swivels a lot as I like the flash of the swivel for potentially attracting the attention of a passing trout!
So does your leader length depend on the depth you're fishing? Otherwise how would the chironomid get down to the desired depth with a floating line?
Yup. Long leaders. You shouldn’t be false casting with multiple flies and indicators anyways.
From Brian: If fishing with a strike indicator your chironomid pupal pattern should be suspended within about 30 cm of the lake bottom so your leader length is strictly dependant on depth of water being fished. If fishing chironomid pupae with a floating line and no indicator (naked technique) then the rule of thumb is to be using a leader length at least 25% longer than the depth of water being fished. This ensures your pupal pattern will reach the lake bottom and be in the zone where the fish are feeding.
Do chironomids work in trout streams or only in lakes?
From Brian: There are good populations of chironomids or midges found living in rivers and more specifically in tailwater rivers or spring creeks. Trout will feed extensively on the larval, pupal and emerging adult stages of river populations. Chironomid species tend to be much smaller than those found in productive lakes.
What diameter leader would you be using?
From Brian: Normally for chironomid fishing I am using fine diameter 3X (8 lb) leader to my swivel and then 4x (6lb) or 5X (5lb) tippet to the fly. It pays to buy good quality tippet material as those are the ones that have fine diameter and high strength ratios.
What is the name of the loop knot you prefer?
From Brian: Loop knot is called the 97% loop knot. You can find it on Google.
nice , what is the sage rod you are using
From Brian:
Sage rod is a 696 -4 Sage One
Whilst I think your information is excellent, fly fishing with an indicator is a BIG no no here in Ireland, it's strictly forbidden to use any type of indicator whether fishing still or river waters.
I didn't know that about the use of indicators. Can I find this on the inland fisheries website?