The late Gary LaFontaine once told me that trout are instinctively conditioned to look for traits and characteristics that suggest food.  This wisdom from Gary made sense to me for if trout looked for negative cues our hooks would never pass muster.  With this thought in mind fly fishers can take advantage of small flies tied on larger hooks providing needed weight, slim realistic profiles and fly tying ease. 

Miniature patterns on larger hooks are a great tactic for imitating smaller chironomids.  On clear waters chironomid pupa tend to be smaller ranging from size twelve down to too small to worry about.  The next time trout are fixated upon size 16 pupa try using a “low water” approach with a size 16 pupal pattern tied on a size 12 or 14 hook.