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Antistatic Bag Pupa

Static Interference-Olive (Designed by Phil Rowley)

Hook:         Daiichi 1150, 1120 #6-#14 or 1260, 1760 #8-#16
Thread:      MFC 8/0 or UTC 70, Olive
Rib #1:       Red Wire, Fine
Rib#2:        Stretch Floss, Olive
Body:         Antistatic Bag
Wingcase:  Pheasant Tail
Thorax:      Peacock Herl
Gills:          White UV2 Sparkle Yarn or Uni-Stretch

For those of you who have spent any time on one of British Columbia’s productive lakes such as Tunkwa or Leighton in the middle of the summer you have probably heard about or used an antistatic bag pupa of some kind.  When large ‘bomber’ chironomids are emerging venturing out on the water without some sort of ‘static interference’ would be unwise. 

Antistatic bag pupa patterns do an excellent job initiating staging and elevating chironomid pupa.  Chironomid pupa used trapped air and gases to aid their pupal ascent and final transformation into winged adult.  It takes a while, typically 3-4 days, for the pupa to gather enough air and gases for their perilous emergence trek.  The pupa hover and stage just above the bottom in dense clouds, foraging trout vacuum them in by the thousands.  Once the pupa has become fully inflated its appearance brightens and it becomes increasingly active.  Bright sunny days magnify the pupa’s silvery radiance calling trout from a distance.  The silver effect of the trapped air and gases often obscures the true color of the emerging pupa.  Close inspection of the body segments often provides the only clue to the pupa’s true color.  The body segments as well as the tip of the pupa’s abdomen also collect residual haemoglobin from the larval stage.  This is why so many larger ‘bomber’ patterns feature distinct red butts and multiple ribs of red wire, V-Rib and Stretch Floss.  The contrast these materials create is often a key pattern element.


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