Tying chironomids: wingbuds

[Dave Boyle]

I use orange flex floss, easy tie in and robust once coated with UV expoy or super glue. I have seen a lot of BC patterns using burnt orange thread wrapped by the bead.

Dave

 

[Old406Kid]

I use orange flyline backing on one of mine.

I'm thinking that white backing colored with a pantone pen might be a good option as well.

 

[tkww]

Do these flies work better than without them, or is this just to catch us? Wondering because it seems when I fish mids during a good hatch my simple ties seem to work.

I think it definitely catches us, but my hunch is that the realism helps when the fish are more pressured. So a put-n-take lake, probably pointless. But Crane or Lenice or some of the BC lakes, my hunch is that it can't hurt.

 

[Dave Boyle]

I use orange flyline backing on one of mine.
I'm thinking that white backing colored with a pantone pen might be a good option as well.

Couldn't agree more, marker pens are a great way to go re giving you a huge, likely infinite, range of options. I've also seen beads lightly brushed on either side with either white or orange nail polish to mimic breathers/wingpads...

Dave

 

[Dave Boyle]

Here’s another effort from tonight. Dark brown with red/gold rib and wine on the back, orange buds and of course gills. While not directly comparing chironomids with classic flies, the complexity is getting there though doubtful if the troots really care what lengths we go to

Dave

 

[Steve Kokita]

Artwork Dave!

 

[Dave Boyle]

Thank you very much Steve, my inner child and Scottish upbringing notes that art is typically preceded with an F I really do think back to Haig Brown and his yarn comments for what works best for steelhead when they were common

Until a couple of yrs ago on my fav lake I did very well on black 14 sno comes, red mids and later chromies. The menu now is onto 18s across clear on chrome hooks to purple and chartreuse.

I’m a chironomid addict, I cannot lie Next stage is using the bobber beyond mids and balance leeches. Ira, Buzzy and b_illymac, amongst many other WFF luminaries who have a lot to teach me/us re the full range of the bobber for cool jigs and blobs etc.

Dave

 

[troutpocket]

Until a couple of yrs ago on my fav lake I did very well on black 14 sno comes, red mids and later chromies. The menu now is onto 18s across clear on chrome hooks to purple and chartreuse.

Nice ties and interesting observations Dave. Do you think the fish have become more selective? Or is it a case of your preference to fish those cool looking (and tiny!) patterns?

 

[Dave Boyle]

Great Q TP,

The lake has changed and if I think hard re this, part of it is maybe listening too much to others but also if I pump fish, which I didn't use to do so no historical perspective there..., I see some bloodworms but also mainly small (~>sz18) dark mids, glass worms and on occasion lots of daphnia. Also not many big bombers come off and flies coming off in Spring or Fall are typically 16 and smaller.

Dave

 

[onefish]

Wing buds, far more prominent than gills IMO. This is a good example of what we are trying to imitate.

 

[Dave Boyle]

That is a great shot, the other key part to this is the profile of the bug; we always look at mids like this against a background. I'd add that trout see them a bit differently, i.e. their silhouette in the water column with varying degrees of light and so basic shape vs precise definition may be key and here fishing different sized mids can help figure that out. That said color can be key, on occasion even 'dumb' stuff like the rib color.

It's a fun challenge to noodle over knowing you'll never really figure it out unless you can communicate with trout .

Dave

 

[bowsnbrews]

For those that are interested, here's the pics of the step by step I posted on the FB Stillwaters page.

 

[Buzzy]

For those that are interested, here's the pics of the step by step I posted on the FB Stillwaters page.

Thanks Trevor!

 

[hiddentalus]

That's very nice. I like how you have the rib incorporated along with the wing bud. Are you thinking of putting some resin or glue over it?

I am going to have to give this a try.

 

[bowsnbrews]

That's very nice. I like how you have the rib incorporated along with the wing bud. Are you thinking of putting some resin or glue over it?

I am going to have to give this a try.

Always finished off with a good coat of Solarez Bone Dry UV.