Leaderboard

Lots of good advice above. I'd add a second to Brian's comment about staying with smaller flies (12-16) early in the season, maybe a bit bigger later. I usually fish two chiro's at a time, but honestly I'd say probably 90% of fish are on the lower fly. Also, the "dangling" technique Brian mentions above is very useful when the water is roily - too much ripple or waves, and chiro's under an indicator are not overly effective (too much movement of the indicator, bobbing the flies - most natural chironomids don't move this much). So "dangling", where you compensate a bit for your boat movement in the waves to minimize chiro movement can be very useful on windy days in particular. Don't be afraid to try odd colors - my best chiro patterns have consistently been in UV purples and pinks (probably more of an attractor pattern than actual imitation).

I've been in the Edson region for work for the last year or so and have been enjoying the ability to head out after work for a few hours to fish a few times each shift. I grew up in the area and I'm fairly well versed on stream fishing and productive spots. However, in the fall I started trying my luck at Miller's Lake (I don't think I'm hot spotting here, it is a fairly well known as a stocked, aerated lake) and was having a blast catching fish on backswimmers, streamers, etc. I did not grow up fly fishing lakes so this was all fairly new to me with mixed results but I'd like to continue the efforts this spring. Chironomid fishing would be another new venture for me as I've never done it. I've been watching a few videos online and it seems like everyone has their own flavor on how to do it. At the risk of confusing myself more I guess I'm reaching out for some help and basic pointers on how to best approach this type of fishing for the spring season. If someone really wanted to be a hero and hop on a phone call with me for 5-10 mins to walk me through some recommendations, shoot me a DM. - Floating line vs Sinking line? - Strike indicators? - Is there a certain brand or style that works best? Is this dependent on season and how you are fishing? - Depths? - Start at the bottom and work your way up? Start a meter deep and work your way down? Millers Lake isn't very deep and fish have been typically in less than 10ft of water in spring/fall. - Leader/Tippet arrangements? Open to any and all suggestions! I'll be experimenting as I go and will put in the work but if you folks can give me a rolling start it would be appreciated.

Swivel is just 2-3 feet above the fly. I have found using mono for the first big section of leader is beneficial. If you start fishing more shallow and move your indicator toward you flies you will have more leader between your fly line and indicator. Fluorcarbon sinks and can affect your hook set if it sinks far enough. Mono works better. I fish from a tube, no electronics. I mark my anchor rope at five foot intervals for determining depth

Usually try to fish a foot or 2 off bottom. Floating line with tapered leader to a swivel then another 12 to 18 inches of line to chironomid u Der an indicator. Key is to find depth and size of fly.