Buzzer Flies

Buzzer Fly Fishing Flies

Buzzers are midge pupa and take their name from the buzzing noise they make when in a swarm. They start life as a bloodworm and live in the soft mud found in most still waters. These blood red worms get their colour from the oxygen and hemaglobin held within their bodies. When they are getting near to hatching they lose their blood red colour and take on a more somber appearance. They then make their way from the lake bottom up through the water columns to the surface. This is achieved by a wriggly swimming action. They swim towards the surface then stop either to catch their breath or waiting for the right conditions to hatch. When they stop wriggling towards the surface they slowly sink back down before swimming upwards again. When they eventually reach the surface they hang from the surface film and hatch out in to adult buzzers or midge.

The life cycles of the buzzer can be imitated with a good degree of accuracy, they hatch out on virtually every day of the year. Some of the hatches will be localised and may not be spotted unless fishing in that area. Buzzer hatches can be spotted, by either looking for the adult fly, or finding the spent pupa bodies (shucks) in the surface film.