Jumbo Juju Chironomid, Craven's

The Jumbo Juju came into being once I realized the standard Jujubee technique would lend itself just as well to a larger Chironomid pattern. With our run–off the last few years, stillwater fishing has come on strong and having a pattern that isn't the same as everyone else's made sense. Typically, the Jumbo Juju is fished under an indicator, hanging anywhere from 1–20 feet down, usually in tandem with at least one other fly, be it another Jumbo Juju in another color or a callibaetis nymph or other still water bug. Fishing on the "hang" like this can get boring if you're not catching a fish every few minutes, so in that case I will sometimes resort to a S–L–O–W hand twist retrieve to keep me busy. The JJJ is better and different than other Chiros in that it is much more durable (epoxy coated), has much better segmentation and has the slightest bit of flash to it. Most chiros are simple thread and wire patterns, leaving little room for expansion beyond a single basic color and a contrasting rib. The JJJ has multi–hued ribbing over a bright white underbody and a top coat of epoxy that all combine to add to the sheen and division between the colors. The epoxy coat also contributes to the gaseous bubble effect of an emerging chiro.