BBBB - AKA Big Ben's Brown Bugger

A fly you should ALWAYS have in your box.

The BBBB

Ben Porter...  You are a true American hero.

Uncle Drew with a nice BBBB fish

I had to start this article with that line because this fly has turned many mediocre trips into great trips.  One in particular came on one of our favorite stillwaters in Eastern Utah.  Several times a year we go to this lake in hopes to find hungry, fat, and aggressive rainbow trout that fight like crazy.  Ben has come along with us several times, and one thing we learned about Ben is that the dude is just plain fishy.  Not only does he smell like fish on a daily basis, the guy has stillwater fishing dialed in.  On this particular trip, the water was a bit off color, so we heard Ben say "Time for the BBBB in this tea colored water."  Ben started out fishing an opposite shore line, and we saw that he was hooking up about twice as much as everyone else.  A few hours of this, and we ashamedly drifted our way over there to have our piece of humble pie.  Luckily, Ben was gracious enough to share a fly or two, and our catch rates went up enough to get our egos back in check.  

BBBB Rainbow Trout

After that trip I was asking Ben about the pattern and it's origin, and he told us that he developed it on a trip to Canada.  He had tied it on a whim, and it ended up being the top producer on the trip.  Later known as the BBBB (or Big Ben's Brown Bugger), it has become a staple in my stillwater boxes, and if I'm ever having a slow day I know that I can tie it on to start catching fish.

~ Cheech

Recipe:

Hook: Allen S402 #6 to #10 BUY HERE

Bead: Allen brass bead 4mm BUY HERE

Under body: Lead free round wire .020 BUY HERE

Thread: Black MFC Premium 3/0 BUY HERE

Tail: Simi Seal dubbing - golden peacock BUY HERE

Body: Simi Seal dubbing - golden peacock 

Rib: UTC wire - size sm - copper brown BUY HERE

Hackle: Whiting Euro Saddle - brown

Flash (tail/body): Krystal flash - root beer BUY HERE

Note:  This fly can be tied in a variety of colors.  The majority of my BBBBs are some shade of olive.  My favorite colors of simi seal to use on this are: peacock, bronze peacock, golden peacock, dark olive, and DW brown.  You can also spice it up with a different colored bead.