A lightbulb moment
Rob Denson discusses stillwater midge fishing while sharing his unique, life-emitting threadless buzzers
WHEREVER YOU stand on this little blue ball of ours (with very few exceptions, such as the Sahara or Antarctica), you’re rarely more than a few metres away from a body of water. Be it a puddle, pond, or inland sea, the chances are it will support a buzzer (chironomid/non-biting midge) population. If it contains trout as well, you can be sure they’ll be feeding on one stage of the life cycle or another.
Quite simply, in terms of trout food, buzzers are widely regarded as one of the most abundant and important freshwater invertebrates on the planet and can make up as much as 90 per cent of a trout’s diet. Because they are so ubiquitous and dependable, trout become conditioned to recognise them.
“Because they are so ubiquitous and dependable, trout become conditioned to recognise them”
A cracking wild brown trout of around 4lb caught on an Apple Green Buzzer from England’s Malham Tarn.
That’s why buzzer patterns work so consistently — you’re imitating something the fish expect to see every day, with the “prey image” burned deep into their memory. In many stillwater systems, buzzers don’t just feature in the trout’s diet; they actively dictate and structure how, where, and when fish feed, especially during key emergence periods. If you’re not fishing buzzers on your favourite stillwaters, you’d better have a very good reason why!
For those of you reading outside the UK and Ireland, “buzzer” is our pet name for the pupal stage of the chironomid — a term we apply to both the natural insect and our imitations. It’s something of a misnomer, really, as the name derives from the audible buzzing sound of the airborne adults.
Why trout love them
- Buzzers hatch in biblical numbers; epic hatches can often resemble huge clouds of smoke.
- They are slow and vulnerable, and the effort to reward ratio is as good as it gets, making them a reliable and regular source of easy calories and nutrition.
- They hatch year-round and occur almost everywhere, so selective feeding on buzzers is a regular occurrence.
Why we love them
- They work almost everywhere.
- Feeding behaviour is more predictable. Unlike chasing random rises or blindly pulling lures or wet flies, chironomid feeding is often neatly structured.
- They allow for precise depth control. The “zone” where fish are feeding is often very narrow and specific, but with the right approach — whether presenting flies under an indicator or straight-lining a team — you can achieve the control and sensitivity required.
- Buzzer fishing suits a methodical, enquiring mindset, which most fly-fishers possess.
- Big rewards during hatches: when a hatch is on, it’s on. Trout can and often do switch to chironomids almost exclusively.
- Despite being a technical branch of the sport, buzzer fishing can be extremely exhilarating, and the sense of achievement and reward is hard to beat.
A significant proportion of the best Canadian fisheries allow only a single fly
Divided by regulation
While planning and researching this article, it soon became apparent that, worldwide, buzzer fishing is vastly under-subscribed. Sure, there are always pockets of devotees and aficionados in the know, armed with esoteric flies and techniques, but by and large — with few exceptions — tempting trout with buzzer (chironomid) patterns is not, as you might imagine, “a thing”.
One notable exception, however, is Canada — particularly on the countless pristine lakes of British Columbia. Alan Penner, author of this month's Steelhead Chronicles, tells me that the stillwater buzzer scene — or, as the Canadians say, the “chironomid scene” — is massive. When talking to Alan about how things are done across BC and Canada, I was genuinely stunned by the differences. However, critical similarities shine through.
For starters, a significant proportion of the best Canadian fisheries allow only a single fly, whereas back in the UK and Ireland we have the luxury of fishing up to four artificials on most waters — even in the strictest competitions. For the good people of BC, however, the one-fly rule isn’t a problem; if anything, it simply concentrates the mind on the conundrum of where to present that pattern in relation to the depth being fished.
Invariably, the answer is to present the fly as close to the bottom as possible — ideally 12in-18in off it — in depths of up to 25ft. No mean feat for UK and Irish anglers fishing from a drifting boat! The Canadians, however, get straight down to business, fine-tuning their presentation by anchoring (often from two points) and using an adjustable indicator, which allows for quick, easy depth adjustment and precise control of a single beaded buzzer pattern — glass, brass, or tungsten.
Typical Canadian buzzer patterns tied with glass and metal beads to get them down to the depth required.
The indicator method is effective in depths of up to around 25ft; beyond that, the leader becomes inefficient and unmanageable. Deeper water, or poor surface conditions, however, will often necessitate the use of a sinking line — a relatively minor tactic, I’m told, but an essential plan B when conditions demand. Depth control and fish targeting are less precise than with an indicator, but it offers several benefits:
- Wind and surface conditions may dictate a sinking line — surface disturbance reduces control and contact.
- A submerged fly-line maintains tension and stability below the chop.
- Useful when fish are not tightly concentrated at a fixed depth.
- Allows the angler to fish through multiple depth bands rather than holding at one level.
- Short-ish 4ft-8ft leader — keeps things tight and avoids “lag” between fly-line and fly.
It’s not just buzzer larvae (bloodworm) down there at those depths. Once the larvae have transformed into pupae, they will often “stage” for a period close to the bottom. All may seem quiet on the surface, but a huge hatch — along with a fair degree of gluttony on the trout’s part — can be taking place below as the pupae prepare for their penultimate journey. Anglers in BC and other parts of Canada are wise to this, consistently positioning their flies within a foot or two of the lakebed and cashing in.
Some UK and Irish anglers deride the use of an indicator as “float fishing”, all the while enduring long, barren sessions without so much as a sign of a fish. Meanwhile, the Canadians enjoy hectic sport and quality fish by presenting their flies static, vertical, and at a precise depth — three critical elements if not the holy trinity of effective buzzer presentation.
A rainbow trout on a buzzer tied on a curved hook — unlikely the reason for the fish taking it.
Straight or curved?
When we look closely at natural buzzer pupae in the water column, we see that the body can flex and curl slightly, especially when actively wriggling towards the surface. At times, a subtle comma or shallow “C” shape is apparent, but it’s dynamic rather than fixed — the pupae are mostly straight, with only gentle, momentary curvature.
Our curved artificials — tied on specialist buzzer or “grub” hooks — are intentionally over-curved for effect and represent more of a triggering caricature than a strict imitation. If anything, that curve is less about copying a fixed shape and more about capturing the behavioural essence of an emerging pupa. Many tyers have explored ways to capture the physical essence of the pupal — or indeed larval — form, and I am no different.
Some UK anglers do use straight hooks, but from what I have observed over the years, this tends to be an aesthetic choice rather than a practical or tactical one.
A selection of Rob Denson’s Threadless Buzzers, each with an infused glow.
This glow and colour help trout distinguish between inert detritus and living, breathing food items
My buzzers
My own buzzer patterns focus on simplicity and translucency — a critical feature of the natural insect (and many other aquatic invertebrates, for that matter) that is often overlooked in conventional thread, herl, or feather-based patterns.
As light passes through the body of an ascending natural, the trout perceives the transmitted light in much the same way as a stained-glass window viewed from inside a church — bright, clear, and glowing. This glow and colour help trout distinguish between inert detritus and living, breathing food items.
Spanflex or Flexifloss provides the translucency and colour for my buzzers, which I enhance further by eliminating the use of thread. This allows the hook shank to reflect more light back through the material, while also simplifying and decluttering the profile — leaving just Spanflex, hook, and varnish.
A spot of red marker at the thorax, finished with a blob of varnish, imitates the pre-eclosion flush of haemoglobin in that area, completing the illusion of life. For me, when a degree of imitation is required, suggestion beats slavish close copy every time.
Somewhat paradoxically, reducing the complexity of a fly pattern and stripping it back to its bare essence, to my mind, results in a far more natural-looking and tempting proposition; fish don’t count tails or body segments. It has long been my view that the more reasons you try to give a fish to take a fly, the more reasons you give it to refuse — and vice versa.
Less, as they say, is always more. The resulting Brancusi Buzzer, Jelly Bean, and Threadless Buzzers are the embodiment of this maxim.
The Brancusi Buzzer made with infused varnish only.
The simplistic Pink Jelly Bean.
Rob’s incredible Blood Black and Grey and Orange Threadless Buzzers.
Although indicator or “bung” techniques are reasonably popular in the UK and Ireland, they’re nowhere near as popular as they are in Canada. Techniques such as “straight-line” (floating line, long leader, no indicator) and “washing line” (suspending buzzer nymphs behind a buoyant tail fly to keep the buzzers high in the water) reveal an innate propensity among UK and Irish buzzer anglers for fishing higher in the water, something not demonstrated by the Canadians.
Inching back a team of buzzers on a slightly drifting boat takes concentration and persistence if you are to achieve a near-static presentation. This is common practice in spring on Scotland’s famous Loch Leven, shown here.
Wherever you fish, whatever the rules, and whatever the conditions, the essential basics for successful buzzer or chironomid fishing remain the same:
- Present the fly as close to the feeding zone as possible using an adjustable indicator, a buoyant tail fly (washing line), varying line density, or by adjusting leader length.
- Use a static presentation or painfully slow retrieve.
- Keep your flies simple and a size or two bigger than the natural.
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB DENSON
IN THIS SERIES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Denson
If he is not creating flies or dyeing materials, Rob Denson will be trout fishing on the wild lakes and lochs of Northern England and Scotland. Regardless of this departure, he has a passion for traditional wet-flies and natural materials. Web: robdenson.co.uk
