Thread Red at the butt, rusty brown for the body UTC 70
Materials
Bead, 3/32 Coffee brown (1)
Uni-Stretch White uni stretch (gills)
Uni-Mylar tinsel, 1/32 (3/64 on bigger hooks) Gold one side, silver the other (rib)
Buzzer wrap or Lagartun mini flat braid (body)
Superglue (coating)
How to tie it
Put a 3/32 coffee brown bead on a size 14 Togens curved nymph hook and tie in Uni-Stretch gills up front, then finish that off and get it out of the way.
Start red UTC 70, work the taper at the front and run down into the bend just above the barb. The red thread at the very back is what shows as the butt once the rest of the fly goes over it.
Tie in the Uni-Mylar tinsel right at the back edge, letting it carry over to the far side as you catch it so the first wrap leaves the red butt exposed. This tinsel is the important part of the pattern: it is much thicker than most, so when the body is ribbed on top of it the ribs sink in and the segments stand proud, which is exactly what a real chironomid looks like.
Tie buzzer wrap in down the full length of the shank to keep the body even, then finish off the red thread and re-start with rusty brown.
Wrap the buzzer wrap forward with even touching turns. Keeping the body genuinely smooth matters here, because the flat tinsel will only lay down properly over an even surface.
Pull the tinsel up underneath and wrap it forward leaving gaps for the segments, tie it off behind the bead and trim.
Finish a smooth thorax, whip finish, trim the gills to about the same size as the bead and coat the fly with superglue for durability.