Kamloops area fly patterns

Kamloops patterns for stillwater fishing cover most species in sizes 16 to 6. In the spring and the fall we have boatman flights and chironomids from ice-off to ice-on with mayflies, damselflies, dragonflies, sedge/caddis flies and leeches plus more subspecies of each.

Colors of each specie can vary from time of year as it can from different lakes as can size. The general rule of thumb is the warmer it gets the bigger the bugs get.

I would say year round patterns are chironomids, leeches, and shrimp these species are only supplanted by existing hatches ie. mayflies, damselflies, so its good to have a well supplied fly box of not only different colors and sizes, but different patterns too! Along with all the natural bugs you will find that attractor patterns will work as well.

Good Fishing

Ron Thompson

Fall Patterns

shrimp patterns

dragonfly nymphs:

gompus dragon

darner dragon

leeches

imature damesls

boatman

bloodworms

 

 

 

Attractor patterns

Doc Spratley

Idaho nymph

Carey's (various colours)

Half Back

Full Back

Mickey finn

 

 

CHIRONOMID LIFE CYCLE

 

Once upon a time there was an egg it fell into the depths to the muddy bottom. Here it hatched into a larva (bloodworm), and as it grew it built a home around it self. She stayed in her summer home in the shallows where she was nice and warm, but when the fall hit her and her neighbours would migrate to the depths again to stay away from the winter cold.

When spring arrived her and her neighbours would make their migration back to the shallows. Hence the bloodworm saying " spring-up in the spring and fall-down in the fall".

When our larva heard the call to the surface it began it's rise out of the mud and became a pupae so it could swim to the surface. This was not without its hazards though the pupae could be fooled and conditions sometimes were not right for hatching.

This made her vunerable to monster fish that would eat her and her neighbours as they were stuck in the water column waiting for proper conditions. As you know once a pupae begins to rise it cannot fall into the depths and become a larva again.

 

When the conditions were right the pupae could make a break for it and begin it's ascent to the surface where it would become an adult. This was also trecherous for our chironomid adult, because the monster fish would eat chironomids as they dried their wings, so as fast as she could she would dry her wings, so she could fly away and make babies.

When she returned to give her eggs a chance she skated along the top of the water laying her eggs as she went along her eggs would fall to the bottom to start their journey.

Ron Thompson