The Chromie

Chironomids are spring staples in the diet of trout. They are small but readily available in countless numbers in the awakening season. They are the hatch that stirs the hunger in the dormant fish, and fish gobble them by the hundreds. Hatches are available, typically all day in the spring, and can offer some outstanding mid day fishing to the in-tune angler.

The Chromie was developed by Phil Rowley, I have stayed true to his design save the collar, he uses Peacock herl and I have substituted ice dubbing for durability purposes. It imitates the pupa on it's way to the surface to hatch, the silver mimicking the gas bubble the insect uses to help it to the surface. I fish it under a float, casting it out and letting it settle to the predetermined depth. I let it sit for a few minutes and then slowly draw the line through my hand, imitating the slow rise to the surface of the pupa. I then let it settle and repeat the cycle until I need to recast.  Here is a good video of the pupa making it's way to the surface, note the silvery sheen of the natural.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGQEPZqNZU8

The Pupa come in a myriad of color combinations. I have had good luck with this one as well as black on silver instead of the red. This fly definitely benefits from being tied with an open clinch knot found here.
http://alaskaflyfishingonline.com/tips/tip1clinchknot.html

Materials used for this fly are a Mustad C49S hook in size 10 to 16, antron or nylon gill material, silver tinsel, red Flashabou or small red wire, a small bead in gunmetal finish, peacock ice dub by Hairline and Uni Thread in black 6/0.

 

 

First I place the hook in the vice and tie in a hank of gill material, keep the winding small to allow the small bead to slide over it.

 

 



 

 

Next I place the bead with the small hole to the eye of the hook. I then tie in the red flashabou at around half the hook bend and take a few wraps up the shank before I tie in the silver tinsel; the tinsel pictured is gold on one side and silver on the other, I tie it in with the gold out and then as I wrap it the silver is out. All the while I am mindful of my wraps as I want to build a nice taper of thread to the bead.

 

 



 

I then wrap the tinsel forward and follow with the red after creating a bit of a red butt first. This is followed by dubbing a small amount of the peacock ice dubbing onto the thread.

 

 

 

I finish the fly with a couple of wraps of the ice dubbing and then whip finish. It can be given a few coats of nail polish to add durability, just keep it off the ice dubbing.

 

 

I find the best time to fish the fly is during the heavy part of the hatch, late or early in the hatch I find a more subdued fly is a bit more effective. Happy fishing!