If you've flyfished much you've seen this. One guy is just hammering
trout one after another while his buddy 50' away using the same gear
and fly is getting few or none. The catcher is on a "chironomid tube."

When the fertile female midge returns one calm afternoon to lay eggs,
she flys within a tight 2-4' circle dipping to the water and depositing from
500 to over 1000 microscopic eggs depending on species. These eggs slowly
sink to the bottom muck within the same 2-5' circle. The eggs develope into larva (bloodworms)
and the larva eventually develope into pupa, also all within this 5' circle.
The thing to keep in mind is this happens to this batch of eggs in SYNC.
The Pupa, lacking mobility, hang in the bottom 2' of water gaining carbonation
and creating the bottom of the "Chironomid Tube". They ALL gain enuff carbonation
at relatively the same time and begin migrating to the surface within this same
5-6' tube of water creating the "hatch" all hatching within a 2-4 hr. time period.

The trout are much more aware of these "tubes" than the fishermen. They gather
around by the dozens, like a bunch of starving hogs around the slop bucket.

Find a chironomid tube and you will be in flyfishing heaven catching up to 20+
trout one after another all within the same 10' circle.

That's a good theory, but it lacks one minor detail: lake currents.

But it is true, some places on lakes have more chironomids than others.

<img border="0" alt="[eat]" title="" src="graemlins/eat.gif" />

Ron,

Good piece of info. Guess it's possible for me to still learn something new.

Lakes that have no inlet/outlet essentially have no "Currents". Even big lakes with inlet and outlet have little current except near the stream areas. The surface water
to about 2' is mixed by heavy winds and spring areas have some upwelling,
but there is NO CURRENT. Even where there is current, once the female establishes the "tube" the drift will take the eggs uniformly downcurrent together. Turnover may expand the bottom of the tube a little by churning the bottom,but the bloodworms settle back in the same relative area.

If you had ever hit on a honey hole and caught fish after fish from the same relative
area you may have wondered WHY one particular spot held so many fish.
Now you know....the food source waz there.