Chironomid Technique?

[Hare's Ear]

I was watching a fishing show last night. They were lake fishing using a bead head chironomid deep, under a strike indicator. They would make short, slow strips back in, with a few faster, longer strips every so often. Looks like it worked well, as does every technique you see on TV.

I've never fished chironomids before. But I thought one of the more usual techniques was to fish them just under the surface. My question is, how do you get them stay just under the surface? Do you put floatant on the leader? Do you strip back in or just wind drift?

Any suggestions or descriptions of other methods would be appreciated. I'd like to try some out this weekend.

[blackdog]

With fishing 'midges', SLOW is the optimum word. They can be fished deep and slow (still!) with bead head under a bobber (very effective but can be boring), under the surface slightly, stripped in reeaaallly slow, right in the surface film as an emerger, or on the surface as an adult. All methods can be very effective.

If there is no surface activity going on, start with a beadhead fished at various depths until you find fish. Try to start out about a foot or two off the bottom, then work up to near the surface if that doesn't work. If the fish are popping on the surface, either try the dry or an emerger. Oftentimes when they are 'rising' to midges, they are actually taking emergers and not the adults so be aware of that.

These little bugs can be awfully effective, especially in the spring before anything else really starts to get crankin'. Good luck! If you need more info, try looking at the Westfly website - there a lots of instructional articles and pictures of different flies there.

[Otolith]

There is a book called something like "Morris and Chan on Flyfishing Lakes" that is supposed to be the definitive guide to techniques for catching stillwater trout. I've been meaning to get it for the last year or so. I think Amato Pubs has it.

[Splash]

Ditto what Oto said.

The book is a good addition to any library. Try Morris and Chans "Flyfishing Still Waters: Chironomid Techniques" on Video. Great information for learning to fish chironomids.
:smile:

[float2ber]

I went to a chironomid lecture at the Sportsman Show last year. He recommended 20 foot leaders on a floating line, a small split shot 2 feet above a "snowcone" beadhead chironomid. Vary the depth with a strike indicator starting close to the bottom of a 20 foot deep shelf. Sounds effective, but frankly I don't have the patience for it.