All about Buzzers
A Buzzer is a fly pattern tied to imitate the pupa stage of a midge or chironomid. The chironomid fly goes through three life stages after hatching from the egg: the larval (bloodworm), which spends it's time in the mud at the bottom of the lake; the pupal (buzzer) stage where they transform into their adult form; and the adult (midge) stage where they fly around in the air.
The most vulnerable time for these flies is the journey from the bottom of the lake up to the surface so they can hatch out of their pupal case and fly off and this is the moment we're trying to imitate with the buzzer nymph. For the buzzers it's a very slow, arduous journey and one that gives the trout ample opportunity to cruise around hoovering up the slow moving buzzers.
When the buzzers are rising to hatch one of the best tactics is to fish the buzzer just below the surface or in the surface film. The buzzer should be static or allowed to drift with the water just as the real ones do. To stop the fly going too deep it's common to fish a couple of buzzers on droppers with a dry fly on the point or to use a sight indicator (also called strike indicators or bungs) 12-18 inches above the fly to hold the fly at the right depth and these can also apply just the right amount of movement to the fly from the ripple on the water.
It's important to remember that the journey to the surface is very slow and the fish will also feed on the buzzers down deep if that's where they are most comfortable. So when it's cold on the surface and the fish are holding deeper in the water then that's where to fish the buzzers.
Buzzers are usually tied with a very slim body and the typical colours are black, olive , orange and red. Buzzers can be much larger than is often realised, but a typical size hook would be a 12, although often a couple of sizes up or down will be a better match to the originals.
