Chubby Chernobyl – 02/08/2021

Chubby Chernobyl 02/08/2021 Photo Album

Chubby Chernobyls and hippie stompers became the fashionable flies over the last couple years. I was slow to jump on the hippie stomper craze, but once I stumbled on to its effectiveness, it became a dry fly favorite. Chubbys, on the other hand, took me a fair amount of time to embrace. Prior to my trip to Argentina, I purchased a fly box full of flies gathered by Taylor Edrington of Royal Gorge Anglers, and several chubbys were among the collection. Upon my return from Rio Manso, I periodically tied one to my line, but they did not produce and the large wing grew saturated with water. This made the fly heavy and reduced my confidence, so I clung to my tried and true fat Alberts, pool toy hoppers and classic Chernobyl ants.

Tan Ice Dub Body

I fished on in unenlightened bliss until July 2019 on the Yampa River, when I knotted an ice dub olive body chubby Chernobyl to my line. I was shocked to discover a hot fly, as several robust trout engulfed the large attractor along the edge of the Yampa. Unfortunately I lost the only such flies in my box within a short amount of time, and the Steamboat Fly Fisher did not stock the ice dub tan or olive body versions that I was enamored with. I bought and tried some alternative body colors, but their effectiveness was lacking.

Five New Chubby Chernobyls

Fast forward to 2020, and my usage of chubby Chernboyls increased significantly. I learned to apply floatant to the large gangly wing, and I increasingly substituted it for the fat Albert, and it performed reasonably well. I find the slow, gradual disappearance of the large poly wing, when a fish grabs the nymphs, to be enormously seductive.  For a materials table and additional accounts of my history with this fly, check out my previous post of 01/17/2020. The cubby Chernobyl is rapidly earning my trust as a valued top fly in dry/dropper configurations.

Nice Angle

I counted my inventory of chubby Chernobyls and determined that I was reasonably stocked, so I simply increased my supply of two of the favorite colors; ice dub tan and gray. In addition I created a single chubby Chernobyl with a purple body as an experiment for the upcoming season. My guide on a float trip on the Colorado River utilized a purple haze on my line for a considerable amount of time, so I purchased a packet of purple dubbing to tie some. Since I had the purple dubbing available, I applied it to several favorites to experiment with a color that somehow avoided my attention for nearly forty years of fly fishing.

Purple Haze Chubby Experiment

3 thoughts on “Chubby Chernobyl – 02/08/2021

  1. George Banker

    Losing Chubbies? Wonder what size tippet you are using. In the past I have used 4X down to my indicator fly and 5X for the dropper fly (s). Recently went to 3X to the dry on the dry dropper rig and fish don’t seem to be bothered. Just a thought, give it a try.

    1. wellerfish Post author

      Good advice, although I think I probably lost most of them in trees, so even heavier tippet may not remedy that sort of errant casting. Dave

  2. George Banker

    Those darn trees. Wish the trout would stay attached to the the fly as well as the trees do. Ha Ha!

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