The Field Journal

Flies

Shuttlecock

Shuttlecock

Key points

Hanging posture: Replicates the vertical orientation of hatching chironomid pupae as they try to break through the surface film.
Stillwater staple: Highly productive during chironomid hatches on stocked trout lakes when fish refuse deep pupal rigs.
Triggers: Natural CDC feathers provide buoyancy and realistic movement.

Tying videos

Tying a CDC Shuttlecock Emerger — vertical midge suspension tutorial.

Imitates

Chironomids (Midges) — emerging pupae.

Related

Chironomid — targets the deeper pupal stage.
RS2 — alternative flat emerger.

Sources

Stillwater Midge Emerger Collection — video tying tutorial.

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 River Nymphing The most consistent way to catch river trout when nothing's rising — get a weighted nymph drifting near the bottom through a seam, under an indicator. The defau

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.