MIDGE PUPA FLIES

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CHIRONOMID

Chironomids are also sometimes known  Buzzers and Midges at various parts of their life cycle. They are part of the Chironomidae family of the order Diptera - True Flies. They are very small as the name implies and have a similar life cycle to Mayflies and Caddisflies. When fish are taking Chironomids the Chironomids are generally available in large numbers.  The Lava is between 6 & 15 mm in length and is generally a blood red legless maggot. Having said that as the lava mature they often change colours and may be black through to green. In any case in the laval form they live in the detritus sediment in the bottom of lakes and streams. As they mature into pupae, whilst the size only increases marginally, the colour generally changes to green, grey or black and a bulbous wing case and curved abdomen develop. In their lava stage they are commonly referred to as buzzers. When its time to emerge the pupae swim to the surface like a “mosquito wriggler” and break through the surface tension and hatch into small generally non-biting mosquito like flies that are sometimes known as midges. Whilst trout do search out lava amongst the detritus matter and eat lava that have been disturbed by wind and wave action it is generally the free swimming pupae that are most often eaten by trout. Whilst the lava is generally found in the lower reaches the pupa can be found in a wide range of depths from very shallow to up to 10 meters.

 

	SWAP THE THREAD TO RED  TO CREATE A  BLOOD WORM

 

MATERIALS:
Hook - Hanak 300 BL Size 10 to 14
Thread - 6/0 Black thread
Body & thorax - Olive cotton
Rib  - Thread
Gills / siphons - Tuft of pheasant filoplume
Wing casing - Yellow seals fur
 

A) Start with the tying thread and lay7 down a base on the front third of the hook shank Tie in a length of lead wire. I used .015 lead wire for a size #10 hook. Wind the lead wire forward in 6 or 7 touching turns and break off the excess lead wire. Directly behind where the lead wire is tied in tie in the cotton. Swap to the cotton and wind the cotton in touching turns part way round the bend of the hook trapping the thread along the top of the hook shank.
B) Wind the cotton forward in touching and where necessary overlapping turns to form a body that finished just behind the eye of the hook. Tie cotton off behind the eye of the hook with one or two half hitches and trim the excess.
C) Wind the thread forward all the way along the body of the fly to just a little behind the eye of the hook forming 7 or 8 segments.
D) Tie in a small short bunch of filoplume to represent the breathing siphons.
E) Select a small amount of dubbing and dub a fine collar just behind where the filoplume is tied in. Take the thread under the breathing siphons Build up a small thread head behind the eye of the hook. Whip finish the thread and trim the excess thread and varnish the head.