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[Terry Bodman]

Just tied up some beautiful  chironomids made from glass beads (patterns from BC Outdoors mag.). While they look terrific in my flybox can't find anyone who has had much success with them. Anyone on this board with any experience with these patterns?

[Rieber]

Terry,

Where do you get your glass beads?

Have you ever tried the plastic beads from Craft/Dollar stores?

[Matuka Jack]

I have used some glow in the dark plastic beads, from craft store, to tie flies for coho.  It works really well when water is quite colored and some would consider unfishable.  When others are reporting that they are not having any luck --I am catching my limits.  The only thing is that Chums likes them too.

[Terry Bodman]

Got the glass beads from Michaels in Abbotsford.
Yes, I have tried the plastic beads as well but not for the entire fly. Use them for the chironomid head, peacock hurl for the thorax and then the body whatever color. I would suspect that an entire chironomid made with plastic would not sink well. Glass is supposed to drop like a stone. Plastic does not do well when you are dumb enough hit the boat during your casts. Of course none of you guys out there do that.  I suspect that an entire fly made with glass beads will not fare well with an aluminum boat either.   

[Rieber]

Thanks Terry I'll check them out. I haven't whacked the boat with a fly yet but I sure hate the sound a bead head fly makes when it hits the rod. I'm sure it still sounds better than the sound I would make if I pinned myself in the head or face.

[The Gilly]

Terry, if you're hitting the boat, you're leting the back cast sit too long before starting forward.  Try fewer false casts as well.  You may have too much line out.  Make 2-3 false casts and let her go.  Don't try and cast all 100' of line when 30-50 will do.

[stryker 07]

any pics Terry.??

[Trout Slayer]

Here is a pic of mine.

[Terry Bodman]

Nice, Troutslayer. Have you had any success when using them?

[Trout Slayer]

Last season was my first time trying them out. I caught a couple of trout on them, but I did not use them very much. Have too much confidence in other Chironomids.

[stryker 07]

Hey trout slayer,where did you get the beads from?What sizes?....your chronny looks like it would be good

[Matuka Jack]

TS, That sure looks pretty.

[Trout Slayer]

Hey trout slayer,where did you get the beads from?What sizes?....your chronny looks like it would be good

I picked them up at Michaels in Coquitlam. I am not sure of the sizes, I just took the hook I was going to use with me when I bought them and selected what was most appropriate.
They had them in clear,green, red and black.

Good Luck!

[abito]

Got the glass beads from Michaels in Abbotsford.
Yes, I have tried the plastic beads as well but not for the entire fly. Use them for the chironomid head, peacock hurl for the thorax and then the body whatever color. I would suspect that an entire chironomid made with plastic would not sink well. Glass is supposed to drop like a stone. Plastic does not do well when you are dumb enough hit the boat during your casts. Of course none of you guys out there do that.  I suspect that an entire fly made with glass beads will not fare well with an aluminum boat either.   

Hi, first post on this site. You named some problems with this material in your post. If you want that translucent look to your chironomids i would prefer using materials like liquid lace(kind of a pain) and such.  One thing i feel that may be negative about using beads for a body is that the trout might reject the hardness of it and spit it out before you even realize that you had a hit.
All i use are chironomids when it comes to still water fishing and what i have observed over the years is that the size of the chironomid is more important that anything else. 99percent of my chironies are black, some with black bead head and some with white bead head and that is about the extent of beads on my flies.

[Terry Bodman]

Answered my own question...do they work?....last Wednesday at my "secret" lake in the Interior. Caught an approximate 2 lb. rainbow on a size 14 green glass bead chronomid.