The Field Journal

Flies

Chironomid

Chironomid

Key points

Method: suspend under a strike indicator at the feeding depth — see Chironomid Under Indicator .
Best water: stocked rainbow lakes; deadly through the day and into evening emergence .
Evening switch: when fish move up, go to emergers then dries (Adams, Grizzly King, caddis) .

Open questions

Productive colours/sizes for specific Kootenay lakes.

Imitates

Chironomids (Midges) (midge pupa/larva) — the food it represents.

Related

Chironomid Under Indicator — the technique.
Chromie — a key silver/chrome pupa pattern variation.
Bloodworm (Cranberry Larvae) — the red larval stage of the midge.
Horseshoe Lake — prime venue.

Where next

Keep moving

What it imitates Chironomids (Midges) The single most important stillwater food in the Kootenays. Trout key on the pupa as it rises to hatch; the larva ("bloodworm") matters too. Productive from ice How to fish it Chironomid Under Indicator The default tactic on BC stocked lakes, and a core component of small-lake-stillwater tactics. Suspend a chironomid under a strike indicator at the fish's feedi

Proven water Premier Lake One of the East Kootenay's best stocked stillwaters, and a premier venue for small-lake-stillwater tactics — 229 ha in Premier Lake Provincial Park, ~72 km NE o Reference Hatch charts Month-by-month guide to insect life and matching the hatch.