Bead Head Chironomids
Well, I just noticed that my fly box count is under 600, so I have been on a fly tying spree for the last 5 days and have tied an additional 300 flies for the upcoming season.

Anyways, do you tie chironomids with bead heads, or to use just lead wrap, or to use neither????

Well, I've gone to a light coloured, small, gold, bead head for the last 4 years and have been more successful with them in catching Interior Rainbows. Now, a lot of other flyfishermen have agreed with the fact that they are catching more trout too, since they went bead head.

Here's the arguement: Half the guys I talk to say the reason its more productive is because of the weight and the different movement the bead causes with the weight being on top. I tend to agree with that statement.

The other half of the guys say its the bead that attracts the trout, and is the reason they bite more. I tend to disagree with this because a bead has no resemblence to any part of a chironomid. However, I find that a normal chironomid tied with lead evenly around the whole straight part of the hook, does not work as effectively, as one with a bead and no lead.

What does everyone else think???

I would say it depends on the colour of the bead if it was metalic the extra shine could help to attract the fish but if you were useing a white bead i i would say its the fact its getting deeper faster is whats doing it!!

I think it has a lot to do with being right where you want to be a lot quicker, and with more control. And I do think that the bead does have something to do with it because of shine (depends on colour of bead, but I think that a bead probably weighs more than a bunch of lead wrap. Infact I'm sure it does, as I have timed it. Ofcourse it depends on the amount of wrap, but we're talking about two well proportioned bodies, on a number 14, both with a wire rib. (yes leaders/tippet were the same and it was first to the bottom @ a lake where you could see the bottom, beautiful shoals wish I could remember what it's called). I think it's cause there is that extra bit of weight therefore less slack in the leader, where it isn't effected by a slow current or wind as much. It stays at the depth that you want much better. I don't know how much I'd agree with the movement, as chrony's don't move a whole lot. I'd say 90% of all my hits on chrony's occur when it's motionless. It isn't just chrony's that I use a bead head either. Hare's ear, leeches, mayfly's bead eyes on dragon's/damsels/stoneflies and many more. Makes a huge difference, especially in moving water. Another advantage with bead heads is you get a bit better undulating motion when desired.

I find that if you look at the pupa which is what most of the bead head chironomids imitate it does have a head area at the top (thorax) which is larger in diameter that the bottom part the abdomen. I think that the bead does a good job of imitating this thorax area. The chironomids do have a shine to them and I think that the gold and silver beads imitate this shine as well as the larger size of the thorax. The black bead imitates the thorax as well. It also helps to get the chironomids down where they should be.

Most pupae like chironomids or caddis has a layer of gas under the pupal shuck. This layer can reflect light and some folks think this is an important key for selective trout (read Lafointaine's Caddis Flies for example). Fact is you can't know with certainty why a trout takes a fly. It's also possible that both factors are important.

all your posts refer to Chironomids fished near to the bottom of the lake, is this the predominant place to fish. Here in the UK we do use weighted and beadhead Buzzers, as we call them, but especialy in April/May we mostly fish sub surface or emerger patterns.We also have the advantage that we can fish 3 flies, a point fly and 2 droppers, also if the point fly is weighted each fly will be at a different depth during the retrieve, especialy with long leaders which can beup to 20ft long. If Bobber sees this he will complain that this encourages the meat fishers but in hundreds of fish caught I have,only ever had 2 fish on at one time, the method is to cover a greater area with each cast

Depth is always dependant on several factors, and usually I'll work my way from the bottom up trying to find that magic depth. Sub-surface and emergers fishing doesn't seem to be effective unless it is really cloudy, which is when the most prolific hatches seem to occur. I don't know it just doesn't seem that you encounter it all that much when they're taking the in the surface film or when you can see them rolling just sub-surface. I have encountered it, but not very often. As with other hatches (ie., sedge) I always seem to find it more productive to fish below the surface. Course dry flies are much more fun, but remember a 'bow only spends 5% of it's life eating critters on the surface. That idea sounds neat about 3 flies, but it's illegal in B.C., and as Bobber has said before seems like a step in the direction of commercial fishing.

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