THIS IS WHAT I CALL THE THIRD STAGE OF THE CHIRONOMID LIFE CYCLE THAT I WORK AND IMITATE ABOUT THREE TIMES A DAY, DEPENDING HOW MANY HATCHES YOU WILL GET AT YOUR PARTICULAR STILLWATER. AT CROWLEY, YOU CAN HAVE AS MANY AS THREE FULL BLOWN HATCHES EACH DAY, DEPENDING HOW MUCH TIME YOU WANT TO PUT ON THE WATER.
AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PHOTO ABOVE, THE MIDGES HAVE NOW STARTED THEIR ASCENT TO THE SURFACE. THE FISH WILL ARE WHAT I CALL “PROFESSIONAL EATERS”, JUST LIKE US. THEY KNOW WHERE THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF FOOD IS AT ALL TIMES AND IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US AS ANGLERS, TO KNOW HOW THE CHIRONOMID WILL MOVE IN THE WATER COLUMN THROUGHOUT THE DAY! WHEN I SEE THIS STAGE OF THE CHIRONOMID, ASCENDING UP AND HATCHING OUT BY THE THOUSANDS ON THE SURFACE, I WILL ALWAYS MOVE MY FLIES HIGHER UP IN THE WATER COLUMN.
THE PHOTO ABOVE SHOWS WHY AND HOW THE CHIRONOMIDS CAN MOVE UP IN THE WATER COLUMN, JUST LIKE MINI HOT AIR BALLOONS. THE SHINNY, SILVERY SHEEN YOU SEE IN THE CHIRONOMID ABOVE IS OXYGEN GASES THAT BUILD UP UNDER THE SKIN OF THE CHIRONOMID AND HELP PROPEL THEM TO THE SURFACE. IF YOU ARE FISHING IN THE 12″ RANGE ALONG THE BOTTOM WHEN THE HATCH OCCURS, YOU WILL NEED TO MOVE YOUR PATTERNS UP IN THE WATER COLUMN SO YOU CAN BE IN THE RIGHT DEPTH WHILE THE FISH FOLLOW UP THEIR FOOD ITEMS.
THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO EXPERIMENT AND MOVE YOU PATTERNS UP OFF THE BOTTOM, DEPENDING ON YOUR DEPTH YOU ARE FISHING, AS MUCH AS 5 FEET OR MORE HIGHER IN THE WATER COLUMN TO STAY ON A VERY CONSISTENT BITE! YOU ALSO MUST MAKE A CHANGE IN YOUR PATTERNS, THEY MUST MATCH THE SHINNY COLOR OF THE CHIRONOMID WHILE ASCENDING. PATTERNS MUST BE SHINY TO MATCH THIS STAGE OF THE BUG.
HERE ARE A FEW OF MY PATTERNS, THE HOLOGRAPHIC AND TINSEL MATERIALS WORK VERY WELL TO SHOW OFF THE SHINY OXYGEN THAT BUILDS UNDER THEIR SKIN.
MANY DIFFERENT MATERIALS AGAIN CAN BE USED, ANYTHING WITH SHIN LIKE MATERIAL USED FOR TINTING WINDOWS.
GREY THREAD, COATED WITH SALLY HANSENS HARD AS NAILS IS WHAT I PREFER. IT GIVES SHIN AND ALSO A BULLET PROOF COATING SO FLIES CAN LAST AS MANY AS 20 FISH OR MORE BEFORE THEY FALL APART.
THERE IS REALLY NO SECRETS TO MATERIALS, JUST USE ANYTHING YOU CAN TO MAKE SURE YOUR FLIES ARE SHINY LIKE A MIRROR AND MIX AND MATCH DIFFERENT STYLES AND COLORS TO WHAT I ALWAYS REFER TO AS “DIALING IT IN” TO GET THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF TAKES YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES, ONCE THE FISH REACH A CERTAIN POINT FOLLOWING UP THE CHIRONOMIDS, THEY WILL STOP AND MOVE BACK DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE FLOOR TO LOOK FOR THE PUPA THAT HAVE NOT ASCENDED. THIS IS WHEN I WILL MOVE MY PATTERNS BACK DOWN IN THE 12″ TO 15″ RANGE AND CHANGE MY COLORS BACK TO THE DARKER PATTERNS. THIS IS PRETTY MUCH A STAPLE AT CROWLEY, FISH MOVE BACK DOWN INTO SAFETY AND HAVE PLENTY OF PUPA THAT HAVE NOT ASCENDED AND START THEIR FEEDING PATTERN, CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM AGAIN!
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS WEEKS SEGMENT, MORE IMPORTANTLY I HOPE THIS WILL GET YOU INTO MORE FISH AND FEEL MORE CONFIDENT IN MAKING CHANGES TO TRY TO STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE TO CATCH AND RELEASE MORE FISH ON YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE. AS USUAL I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS!
NEXT WEEK I WILL TALK ABOUT CHIRONOMID LEADER SETUPS FOR FISHING WITH THE INDICATOR AND WITHOUT THE INDICATOR CALLED, THE “FLOATER-NO-CATOR” SYSTEM. THIS SYSTEM WITHOUT THE INDICATOR WAS TAUGHT TO ME BY DOUG OUELLETTE, ONE OF THE BEST STILLWATER FISHERMAN I HAVE EVER SEEN AND PROUD TO CALL MY FRIEND.
I do love me some “Stillwater” fly fishing……Ernie