Morning,
I need to tell you about a fly with a bit of a daft name, but it has a proper pedigree.
"Chubby" isn't just a description - it's a whole style of fly.
It originates from Utah, back in the 1990's, when a few anglers started stuffing foam onto hooks to imitate crickets, and it eventually mutated into the Chernobyl Ant.
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In honour of World Beetle Day*, we are offering you a 20% discount** on any beetle patterns you buy today (or tomorrow), so long as you order £25 or more. Click the button below to view all our Beetle patterns:
* I've just made that up, but there is a World VW Beetle Day - it was last month, June 22nd, if you want to celebrate it next year!
** All discounts are applied automatically in your basket (there are no codes to apply). This offer is valid until midnight tomorrow, or until we run out, whichever occurs first!
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In 2003 an American fly designer thickened one up with a dubbed body under the foam, couldn't think what to call it, and a colleague looked at it and just said "Chubby Chernobyl." That was that. It's been the go-to high-floating, take-a-beating pattern out West ever since - the kind of fly you can fish all day, put a size 18 nymph underneath, and not think about again until you land something.
Nik's taken that same idea - buoyant, durable, built to carry a dropper (see above) - and brought it here over to this side of the pond: a foam beetle.
If the name Nik rings a bell, it should - he's Niklas Dahlin, the Swedish designer behind our Nattsländan Caddis, and he's turned his attention from caddis to beetles with the same eye for a fly that actually fishes well.
Nik's Chubby Beetle does what a Chubby's always done - floats like a cork, shrugs off fish after fish, and gives you a platform to hang a nymph off - but in a shape and size that actually means something on our rivers and stillwaters. Beetles are on the water more than most anglers give them credit for, and a fly that stays up in broken water without a re-dressing every three casts is not nothing.
They're all tied on barbless AHREX FW503 hooks in a size 16 - a fine-wire, light dry fly hook. Sounds like an odd choice for something as chunky as a Chubby, but that's the point: all the buoyancy comes from the foam, so there's no need for anything heavier under it, and the lighter hook allows it to ride high on the water. The wire just gets out of the way and lets the fly do the floating.
Three colours, because beetles don't come in just one:
• Black - the classic, always in the box
• Brown - does well on clearer water
• Olive - the one I reach for when I can't decide what's actually hatching
Each colour is available individually (for only £2.25), in packs of 3 (for £6.25) or packs of 6 (for £12) - all made up in that one colour, so you're not stuck with a mixed bag when you only wanted black.
Please Note: As mentioned above, to celebrate WORLD BEETLE DAY (which we've just made up) we have a bit of a special offer available to you today (and tomorrow):
Spend £25 or more on Beetles and receive an automatic 20% discount - the discount is automatically applied to all Beetle imitations in your basket.
Essentially, that makes our Beetle Selection available to you for only £20.80 - why not top it up with a few 'chubbies' and you're all set for the coming months:
*** Go on, you know you want to! ***
American anglers didn't just fish Chubbies as a dry - they built a whole way of fishing around them, and it translates well to this pattern.
Cast it dead drift tight against overhanging banks, undercuts, and any bit of structure where a beetle might actually fall in - that's when it's doing its job as an imitation rather than just an attractor. A slight twitch now and again doesn't hurt either; a beetle that's just gone in the drink tends to kick before it gives up.
Where it really earns its keep, though, is as the top fly in a dry-dropper/duo/New Zealand rig. Tie 12" to 18" of tippet off the bend of the hook and hang a small nymph underneath - the foam body will hold up more weight than you'd expect for something this size. Given the beetle's a 16, keep the dropper tippet fine (5X–6X is about right) so you're not fighting the balance of the rig, and treat the beetle itself as your indicator: any hesitation, twitch, or dip that isn't the current is a fish.
Either way, it'll take more punishment than you will.
Please Note: As mentioned above, to celebrate WORLD BEETLE DAY (which we've just made up) we have a bit of a special offer available to you today (and tomorrow). Spend £25 or more on Beetles and receive an automatic 20% discount - the discount is automatically applied to all Beetle imitations in your basket.
Tight lines,
P.S. It's worth grabbing a few of these Chubby Beetles, even if you're not planning to fish over the next few weeks (due to holidays/warm water/river levels etc.) - they're also perfect for early Autumn!
