Chironomid’s By Umpqua // Essential Lake Fly

Chiron Pupa in Black/Red & Chrome Chironomid

A great choice for Washington’s desert basin lakes and spring creeks this past summer. This was a go-to fly for us; try them in your home waters too. The “silvery Chrome” body is meant to represent the chironomid that is almost ready to hatch and will often have a halo of gas around its body- under its skin. It’s hard to imagine, but at times, fish key in on this phase. Black and Red w/ White Bead Chironomid. Another great choice and a really popular fly. On a recent trip to Lenice, these out-fished almost every other color and at one point, was the only color to attract attention from fish.

The white bead is good for weight and to represent the gills of the pupae. This fly fishes well in both still and moving waters. Try them as a dropper in the skinny water of winter, or as part of a tandem, Chromie- Black and Red lake setup. How should I fish this fly in lakes?

The best way to fish a Chironomid Pupae is to first attach a long leader with a sliding strike indicator. (Usually 9′ up to 20′ of leader/tippet is necessary)

Next choose two flies and clip a pair of hemostats onto the bottom fly, and lower it down to the bottom. raise it a foot or so and then attach the sliding indiactor. Of course, you will want to pull up your flies and take your hemo’s off before you recast. 

Some anglers attach a splitshot, but another good option is a large swivel about 2 feet above the flies. It does two things: adds some weight, and can act as a 3rd “fly”. If you start getting strikes, but no takes, you know that fish are keying in on your swivel and you can change fly colors and depth to match the situation at hand.

Hope this helps. Call the shop and we can direct you towards some good lakes to try and get you into some fish! Lake fishing is a lot of fun and requires little in the way of specialized equipment.