The Chubby Chernobyl was invented by fly tier Al Ritt of Colorado in the early 1990s. Ritt designed it to imitate large terrestrial insects like grasshoppers, beetles, and caddisflies that accidentally fall onto the water and attract the attention of hungry trout.
The fly's bright colors, high-floating foam body, spun deer hair wing, and rubber legs make it a very visible and lively dry fly pattern. The Chubby Chernobyl Caddis is especially effective during the late summer months when grasshoppers and caddisflies are abundant near rivers and streams.
The Chubby Chernobyl is an excellent fly for enticing strikes from selective trout, including rainbow, brown, cutthroat, and brook trout. It can be fished dead drift as a dry fly or twitched erratically to mimic a struggling insect. The high visibility of the fly allows anglers to detect subtle takes.
The Chubby Chernobyl Caddis has become a very popular and effective pattern for fly fishers since its inception nearly 30 years ago. Its characteristics make it a go-to fly when terrestrial insect activity is high during the summer.
