Overview

Charlie Craven made the Big Fat Angie because he found standard Chubbies plain boring. He calls it a more realistic, upscale replacement for foam balloon-style flies, and says it is more buoyant than any other fly he has fished.

A chunky foam head lets it skate or twitch rather than pull under, double Spanflex legs add movement, and a macramé yarn wing creates a large, buoyant surface. A curved hook sets the body low in the surface film, so it looks like an insect stuck on the water rather than floating on top of it.

How to Fish It

• Dry-dropper: its buoyancy lets it hold up a heavy nymph.
• Skate and twitch: the foam head lets you move it without drowning it.
• Banks and seams: drift it along banks and foam lines in summer.
• Tippet: 3X to 4X in the larger sizes.

Choosing Color and Size

Olive is a natural color for hoppers and stoneflies. Purple is a proven attractor color that trout often eat when nothing is hatching.

Size 8 carries the heaviest droppers, 12 is a good middle size, and 14 matches smaller terrestrials and pressured fish.