Intro

Another stunner out of the Fly Fish Food camp! The Baby Fat Minnow was originally created by Clark "Cheech" Pierce to solve a problem faced by trout anglers across the country: stillwater streamer snubs.

If you don't have much stillwater experience, the trout can be notoriously picky when it comes to streamers. They'll chase them, inspect them, maybe even swipe at them; but getting them to commit to the eat can be tricky. The proportions, colors, and movement must be on point. Sometimes, especially in the alpine, you'll watch trout chase down a larger streamer pattern aggressively, only to nip at its tail. It's almost as if they want to scare it off instead of eating it. That's when Cheech came up with a solution, as documented in a blog post on the Fly Fish Food website written back in 2018:

Applications

CATEGORY: Streamer

TARGET SPECIES: Trout

The Baby Fat Minnow was designed to perform in stillwater. Here’s how we’ve put this streamer to work in Colorado’s high mountain lakes:

Using an intermediate sink tip fly line and the butt section of a 0X fluorocarbon leader connected to 12”-24” of 12 lb. RIO Big Nasty tippet, tie the Baby Fat on using the Tommy Loop knot. Unlike a traditional clinch knot, the Tommy Loop allows your streamer to move freely and swim more erratically; similar to a small baitfish struggling to swim.

Target structure. Look for rocky points, submerged boulder fields, laydown trees, drop offs, etc. Shoot as much line as you can and send the Baby Fat into deep water near the structure you’re targeting. The goal is to give the streamer a chance to get down before starting your strip. Always keep your line tight, but take your time: make the cast, open a beer, and look around for a bit.

When starting the retrieve, you want to go low and slow. If the streamer is on the bottom, you need to be feeling that. Long, slow strips, mixed with brief pauses and quick jerks will usually produce a strike.

About the Tyer

Clark ‘Cheech’ Pierce, Fly Fish Food / Fulling Mill

Clark (Cheech) originally from Vernal, UT is relatively famous from his days as a steer wrestler in Elko Nevada. He ties a few flies now and again when he's not busy modeling plus size clothing.  He has tied for many years, and got his start in fly design with Rainy's flies, where he created the Cheech Leech, Grumpy Frumpy, and other effective patterns.  He is now an innovator for Fulling Mill, and many of his fly patterns are available through them. His most notable accomplishment in fly tying is that he once tied 65 San Juan worms in 20 minutes, and eating a Big Mac in 4 bites.

(via FlyFishFood.com)

Material List - Baby Fat Minnow (Chub)

• HOOK: Fulling Mill Bonio Barbless Carp Hook (#8)

• BEAD: Danville Flat Waxed Nylon Thread (70 Denier, White)

• BEAD: Plummeting Tungsten Beads (Nickel, 7/64" [2.8mm])

• TAIL: Spey Chickabou Pelt or Bird Fur (White)

• COLLAR: Ice Dub (Callibaetis)

• HEAD 1: Bruiser Blend Junior Dubbing (Gray Holo)

• HEAD 2: Bruiser Blend Junior Dubbing (Cream)

• EYES: 3D Holographic Eyes (Super Pearl, 1/8")