[Bjay]

Try fishing a chironomid on the dark side. Yup-- right-- on the dark side. Straight down off the side of the boat. Once I hit 18-20 ft of water or more I try the dark side. An anchor front and back of the boat to hold the boat from drifting around . Put your fly 1 1/2 ft to 3ft off the bottom. From the 1st eye to the reel is what I use most of the time. Let it sit for a couple of minutes then do a slow lift of about a foot ,then pause, then another foot, then pause, till you can't lift any more then lower your fly back to the bottom position. Then start again. PS sometimes they like it dead still.
30 to 50 fish days are common. Moving into an area and dropping anchors, remember to drop them slowly, will sometimes make the fish move off, but be patient the first bite may take a while. After the first fish or two the bite usually picks up as the caught fish usually draw in more fish. My maximum wait time for a strike is about 15 minutes. I also use a split shot 18 to 24 inches above the fly for a speedier drop to the bottom.
I try to find fish on the sonar before I drop anchor.
Instead of using your forceps clamped onto the fly to find the bottom buy a 3/4 inch long stainless 1/4 inch bolt. add 3 stainless nuts and put a small thin "O" ring in the center of the nuts. Put your fly through the "O" ring, drop it to the bottom for your depth. I found that forceps can damage hooks. I no longer carry them.
PS make up 2 nuts. I have the habit of throwing the bolt over the side instead of the fly.
Bjay
wow--3 posts in night--almost more than I can handle.