When to fish for "chiros"?
Fishing for "chiros" or chironomid larvae can finally be done all year round. This technique involves using one or more chironomid imitations at different stages of their evolution. Often, a train of flies is used, which will evolve at different levels in the water layer.
Chironomids are part of the base of the food chain and can be found in all lakes and reservoirs in France and elsewhere. Once enslaved, trout feed abundantly on them, as they will find a little all year round. They will take the larvae close to the bottom as well as the swimming larvae and pupae that rise to the surface, and of course the emergence in the film and the adult on the surface.
How light chiro fishing works
Chironomids can hatch all year round under favourable conditions, often due to a slight warming of the water, but it is mainly in spring and autumn that hatchings are most abundant. However, in the depths of winter, if a hatch occurs, the trout will not fail to take advantage of this windfall and will be active and feeding on it.
There are different methods of chiro fishing, which must be adapted to the conditions and strategies of the angler. Once again, you'll need to be observant to choose the right technique.
It's possible to fish with a single floating chiro, such as an emergent chiro or shipman buzzer, especially when the trout come to the surface to grab it and are very active. In this case, you'll see surface swirls which may be a head, a back, a tail, or a more straightforward gobble. You'll need to find the right size, color and float to fool these active and sometimes selective trout.
When gobbling is infrequent or very punctual, trout can feed on chiros pupae or swimming larvae that rise to the surface and occasionally to the surface. They can intercept them at various heights between the bottom and the surface. So you need to find out at which stages they take them in order to adapt your rig and the density of the silk to be used.
This is why we often use a train of 2 or 3 flies when we practice this type of fishing. This makes it possible to fish with 2 or 3 different patterns and thus present several sizes, colors and patterns, to find what trout are interested in. But also to fish at different depths to find the right layer of water. This doesn't mean you can't get a few trout on the surface fly and catch them dry.
First of all, you'll need to find the area where trout come to feed on chiros if they're visible, otherwise read the water and know where hatchlings might be taking place. Wind is often the most important factor to take into account, as it concentrates and directs suspended food, as well as bottom substrate. Chironomids are found on sandy-muddy bottoms and in seagrass beds. These are the areas to focus on.
Which rig to use for chiros fishing?
This rig should be used when trout are active on and near the surface. The fly train will be presented near gobages or in areas where we know chironomids may hatch. Trout can be taken on any of these three flies. Sometimes they'll be more inclined to gobble and take the first stem, and other times more on the helmeted nymph and stem.
Floating silk or hoover silk or midge-tip silk mounting
You can set up a train of 3 flies with a surface fly that will float for a while and may go below the surface at some point, which is no problem. Followed by an unweighted chironomid larva that will move between 10 and 50 cm below the surface, and a chironomid larva tipped with a bead to fish a little deeper. But you can vary the ballast or the models (color, size, stage) as much as you like.
When fishing, the idea is to cast into the zone of interest and let your fly train work in the wind and ripples, which is an ideal situation for this type of fishing. You'll just have to retrieve the line that the wind/current brings back to keep the tension and detect even the shyest bites. Bites are often violent, so be careful not to be too tense. A belly in the silk helps avoid this. If you don't have bites, animations can also be added.
In the absence of wind, the angler can knit or reel these flies in small continuous pulls or alternating with pauses. It's important to vary the animations regularly to see what appeals.
In the diagram below, 3 silk densities can be used.
- Floating silk will keep leaders and flies close to the surface (especially flies 1 and 2, the tip being weighted).
- The hoover line allows the fly to pass just below the surface. Very practical in strong winds that sweep away flies too quickly.
- With a midge tip, the tip of the fly line will be underwater, which is more discreet in clear water. If the dry fly floats well, it will stay on the surface for a while, then perhaps go under the film, which can sometimes be very interesting and catch even more fish than on the surface.
NB: On this train of 3 flies, we find: a helmeted chiro nymph in the tippet, an unweighted chiro larva in the intermediate fly, and an emerging chiro in the jumper (dry).
Of course, you could use other models and have a train closer to the surface by using no weighted flies, for example. It all depends on fish activity.
Captions:
1- Floating silk, hoover or midge-tip
2- 14° to 18° line corps
3- Stem
4- Lead line connection
5- Surgical node
A- Water surface
B- Background
C- Depth
