EP18. The Orange Cheeked Brown Buzzer Midge Nymph BUZZER MIDGE
FLY PATTERNS. Hook size 12 14 16 18 20 24 - $US each Tiny
Chironomid flies that inhabit lakes and slow-flowing rivers are
more commonly known as midges or buzzers. They appear in vast
swarms on most still-waters towards the evenings. They can
tolerate relatively high levels of pollution. Where they
congregate on the windward side of a lake their tiny larvae and
pupae are scooped up in large numbers by surface feeding trout.
They are at their most vulnerable when they make their journey
to the surface. The midge pupae drift gently up to the surface
where the survivors struggle to break through the surface film.
Many do not make it, especially if the water is very choppy or
if a flat calm has allowed oily film to form. At this stage
trout patrol the surface sipping in huge quantities of hatching
midges. It wasn't long ago that that to fish with anything other
than a streamer lure for the first month or two of the fishing
season was considered madnes