Chubby Chernobyl Fly Step-by-Step

Tips and Tricks

1. Color Selection – Capable of imitating either a grasshopper or large stonefly, this pattern is often at its best when matching the hatch.  Tie it in tans, greens or yellows to match your local hoppers.  Or downsize in drab tones to match your local stonefly hatch.  The above said, don’t overlook some brighter, “unnatural” color combos for those days without a hatch.  As with its predecessor, the Chernobyl Ant, this pattern is still an attractor pattern at heart and capable of triggering vicious strikes without looking like anything in particular.
2. Straight Lines – This may be redundant after the Chernobyl Ant post, but it bears repeating. If you’re like me, cutting straight lines free hand may not be a strength.  My lines end up noticeably uneven or have a distinct taper in width from one end to the other.  While not the end of the world, there is an easy way to prevent this: Pick up a paper cutter from your local craft/hobby supply store.  Though designed for paper, these cutters can easily handle 2-mm and even 3-mm foam.  Just line up your foam to the desired width and chop.  In under a minute, you can turn a sheet of craft foam into strips of material in your desired width.  Just cut to length, and you’re ready to tie.
3. A Better Hopper-Dropper – As I began putting together the current series of foam fly posts in early June, I stumbled across a great post from Lance Kittel of Pesca Vida.  Instead of tying his dropper directly to the bend of the hook, Lance has begun incorporating a small eye pin into the construction of the fly.  The resulting small loop extending beyond the bend of the hook allows for the easy attachment of droppers while keeping the hook gap clear.  Check out his Trailer Hitch Chubby here.