The uglies: 10 flies that aren’t pretty, but catch a whole lot of fish

Fly anglers have always been drawn to beautiful flies. That’s no surprise, since fishing with pretty, delicate flies fits perfectly into the fly world’s overall aesthetic of long, slender fishing rods, and casting graceful loops of line into pastoral rivers. This genteel tradition has been handed down to us from fly fishing’s historic roots in the United Kingdom. It doesn’t always translate, however, to the Canadian rivers and lakes that many of us fish, which are often bigger, deeper, murkier, weedier, faster and wilder than those of the old country. That’s why many of the first flies I reach for tend to be more modern and, often, downright ugly.

Classically beautiful flies are tasteful, elegant and well-proportioned—think tiny works of art, crafted from fur and feathers. By comparison, some of my top flies look like they’ve been chewed by a goat, while others are garish, overloaded, scrawny, dull, unkempt or austere. But they’re all easy to use, and they all catch fish. And to me, that makes them beautiful.

Here are some of my favourite ugly flies, along with tips on tying and fishing them…

Looking for even more new fly patterns? Check out our running list of the all-time best flies for Canadian anglers at www.outdoorcanada.ca/musthaveflies. And you can see all of Outdoor Canada’s expert fly tying tips at www.outdoorcanada.ca/flytyingtips.

#1  BOOBY

The sophomorically named Booby is built around one distinctive attribute: the bulbous, oversized foam dumbbell at its eye. This goofy thing doesn’t resemble any natural forage, but it’s cleverly designed for one very specific trout-fishing situation—going deep in ponds and small lakes.

Fish it by making long casts on a full-sinking line, then counting the fly down to your desired depth. Use a brisk, tug-pause retrieve, which makes the Booby dart forward, then flutter up—a motion that’s simply lethal.

It’s really just the foam head and vaguely buggy body that provoke reaction bites from cruising fish, so the specifics of the pattern aren’t that important. That means you can customize it to suit local waters or your creative inclinations. The fly pictured above is about the handsomest Booby you’ll ever see, but there are literally hundreds of possible variations that are longer, shorter, bushier, sparser, duller or more garish.

Popular colour choices include—but are not limited to—combinations of olive, black, white, chartreuse, pink, orange and red. The head looks tricky, but it’s just a cylinder of craft foam, which forms an hourglass shape when it’s snugly tied down. You can leave it like that, or use fine scissors to trim it into a more, er, classically rounded profile.

• HOOK: Wet fly, or 1XL or 2XL nymph, sizes 6 to 10
• EYES: Craft foam cylinder, trimmed to shape
• TAIL: Marabou (with optional tinsel cheeks)
• BODY: Chenille or sparkle chenille
• HACKLE (optional): Soft feather sparsely palmered along body
• RIB (optional): Tinsel or wire

#2  CHERNOBYL ANT

Craft foam is buoyant, tough, cheap and easy to work with, offering a lot of interesting fly-tying possibilities. These days, it’s a fly-tying staple, and that pretty much started with the Chernobyl Ant—the first foam trout fly to gain wide acceptance. The Ant is so ridiculous looking, it’s hard to believe it actually caught on. But it catches so many fish, purists just choke back their objections, and tie one on.

Terrestrial flies, which imitate grasshoppers, crickets and ants, aren’t new, but they’re usually realistic looking. The Chernobyl Ant resembles a toy you’d cling to in a swimming pool, not a fly, and certainly not a trout fly. At most, you’d think it would only prompt reaction strikes on rushing rivers from the dullest-witted fish. But the Chernobyl Ant catches trout (and bass) all over North America (and beyond) on all manner of slow, fast and still water, both on its own or when fished in a hopper-dropper set-up, with a nymph below it.

The original version is pictured above, but other colour combinations work fine. Some variations drop the hot spots in favour of a wing for increased visibility, but the real magic is in the rubber legs, which wiggle constantly like those of a struggling insect.

More than anything, the Chernobyl Ant is a good reminder that most gamefish—especially trout—are less discriminating than we think, unable to resist a hunk of vulnerable, drowning protein.

• HOOK: 1XL or 2XL nymph, sizes 8 to 12
• UNDERBODY: Tan craft foam strip, ½-inch longer than hook shank, and width of hook gap
• LEGS: Sili Legs or similar
• BODY: Black foam strip, same size as underbody
• HOT SPOTS: Brightly coloured foam

#3  CIRCUS PEANUT

You know the problem-solving expression about throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks? Well, with the Circus Peanut, everything stuck. Minnow-imitating streamer flies are typically slim and understated, but this overdressed monstrosity combines almost every trick in the fly designer’s book to attract attention and look alive. That includes swish, flash, sparkle and wiggle, complete with an articulated back half that wobbles crazily and a dumbbell head to make the fly dive and jig.

The result is appalling to look at, but it’s one of the best big-trout flies ever. Why? Because a big old brown would rather eat one chub or salamander or baby trout than 200 mayflies or 10 little shiner minnows. And when banged against the bank and stripped downstream, or dredged through a pool, the Circus Peanut rings the dinner bell.

As one of those flies that imitates both nothing and everything, the Peanut works in many colours, including black, white, olive and whatever you call the bile-yellow eyesore picture at the top of the page. Just set aside about an hour to tie your first one. No single elements are difficult, but complex flies need to be methodically assembled. Since it’s supposed to look like a dog’s breakfast, however, don’t worry if it turns out a little sloppy.

• Hooks: 2XL to 4XL streamer, sizes 2 to 4
• TAIL: Marabou
• FLASH: Flashabou or Krystal Flash
• BODY: Sparkly chenille
• LEGS: Sili Legs or similar
• HACKLE: Schlappen or marabou
• CONNECTOR: Thin, flexible wire or 20-pound mono
• SPACERS: Glass beads
• EYES: Medium or large dumbbell
• HEAD: Sparkly chenille