Amen to that. In the past 2 years I have been fishing tiny soft hackles on long leaders with a floating line in some situations-almost the same as an unweighted/unleaded midge. I have had days where I couldn't buy a bite on the standard subsurface/sinking line stuff but had great action fishing tiny patterns near the top with a do-nothing presentation. At almost 87 now the do-nothing part has a lot of appeal to me!
I'll have to give unweighted midges a try...so far I do pretty good with the same setup and a small wetfly. Always room for improvement.
Ive -Amen to that. In the past 2 years I have been fishing tiny soft hackles on long leaders with a floating line in some situations-almost the same as an unweighted/unleaded midge. I have had days where I couldn't buy a bite on the standard subsurface/sinking line stuff but had great action fishing tiny patterns near the top with a do-nothing presentation. At almost 87 now the do-nothing part has a lot of appeal to me!
With this calm weather lately, I’ve gladly dispensed the bobber and have really enjoyed the long leader fishing. Slow retrieval or gentle breeze pushing things along is fun and I can cast without a f-ing birds nest happening all day..
This.Amen to that. In the past 2 years I have been fishing tiny soft hackles on long leaders with a floating line in some situations-almost the same as an unweighted/unleaded midge. I have had days where I couldn't buy a bite on the standard subsurface/sinking line stuff but had great action fishing tiny patterns near the top with a do-nothing presentation. At almost 87 now the do-nothing part has a lot of appeal to me!
What factors help you decide to fish this way with chironomids?
At the lakes I primarily fish (Crane Prarie, Paulina, East Lake and a couple others less well known), wind is critical...ideally, just enough to create a bit of surface chop which makes the fish less wary and adds movement to the various subsurface methods. If the wind picks up substantially, one of my go to methods is to drift a presentation covering a large area, and if I start picking up fish put a small buoy over the side and either anchor fish that spot or just make shorter drifts through it.
Much of what Surfnfish says I agree with. On skinny water shoals, at least for me I like a long leader (15' plus) on my floating line. Too much wind makes this long leader unfun to cast unless it's with the wind. I've experimented with mixed results using this long leader in deeper water (naked). Again, for me, deeper water is (almost always) indicator water but getting naked fishing dialed in one afternoon on a local put n take lake was a lot of fun.
In order to save wear and tear on my scissors I use a very small pair of side cutters for wire of any size. I can get close enuf to the hook to do the job to my satisfaction. And it never wears out or gets dull.
I generally "helicopter" my wire off the hook...............
x2...BTW Joanne's craft stores are closing across the nation and they are having a 40% sale on products, and the stores carry an excellent selection of well made craft tools, as well as adhesives, tapes, etc.
Your approach makes sense too. I tend to have a hair-trigger when fishing chironomids (unless I'm distracted by a passing bird, a pretty cloud, whatever...). My rationale is that the unweighted bottom fly will display the more natural movement. And because it is the smallest in the series, it is viewed as less of a threat / less suspicion by cruising trout.
(cue the footloose theme) Let's party!