Halfback Nymph Fly Tying Instructions by Charlie Craven 

I remember a guy starting out on the internet, wanting to do tutorials of Colorado flies. On some now extinct forum. Maybe 20 years ago. I think his name was Ragin or Cajin something like that. I cant quite remember that long ago. . He asked me via a chat what my go to patterns on the West Slope were. It was about this time of year, and I told him the 20- Incher and the Halfback. He was familiar with both and had tied both for years. I giggled when those two patterns were amongst the first on his site. He went on with a lot of hard work and opened a Fly shop on the front range . He became a kind of big shot in the flyfishing community. Still, he remained humble, and gives back by doing these kinds of videos. Throughout, he was always humble and approachable. I just watched your rubber legged version of the Halfback. As par for the course, I did things backwards a few years ago, and made the tail rubber. 🤪 Great videos Charlie.

Love these old school patterns with all natural materials. And of course the tutorial and tying here are top notch as usual.

This has been my go-to fly for springtime on the Poudre River for 45 years, this old-school guy still uses/ties the old-school flies, I also tie this fly's little brother the full-back.

If my hackles are up, I'm having a good day. 🙂

What a great (and simple) nymph pattern. I think this will be a great largemouth pattern in my lakes here in North Texas. Thank you Charlie for this tutorial and keeping me motivated to work my craft. There’s not much better than catching fish with a fly I made.

That's a Seriously "buggy" fly Very Nice

That’s a buggy looking bugger 😊

Nicely done 👍

Didn’t know this was an actual fly. I’ve been tying this for years, all different colours as a big dry fly, cutties love it.

Looks awesome

Awesome dragonfly nymph for stillwaters!!

Great fly. Would love to see a tutorial, and your take on a Crackleback.

Reminds me of those brown and black wooly catapillars in the fall. Very cool

So buggy I need to tie up a few. Thanks Charlie!!

That is a good fly...often overlooked though.

Looks like one of those patters that just look like something so the fish uses its mouth to see what something it might be and ends up getting hooked =)

Very popular pattern up here in BC. I like the idea of adding some rubbery legs to it.

Nice , could tie it down to a #16 trim the bottom would be a cool sow bug . Thanks for sharing.

Peacock herl and some sort of brown hackle......$$$$$

This halfback pattern was quite popular on the North Platte River several decades ago near the Wyoming and Colorado state line....along with the other variation of this pattern called the "Fullback" which included the shell back covering the full length of the pattern. Thanks for your video clip Charlie.

Well, I like old-school flies that look like nothing, yet are something for the trout to eat. I am always looking for flies that are effective but have not fished much on the heavily fished waters I have here at home. That fly unweighted could be a pretty decent dry fly!

North Platte original.

Love your videos, new subscriber here. Like to see you tie the Hatching Pupa that was a pattern the late Ellis Hatch created. I actually took a fly tying class from him. I've fished the Hatching pupa and its a killer fly. Its a very well known pattern here in NH and Im sure it would be great everywhere else.

Which came first, Shellback or Wooly Bugger? Thank You for the details to show that even an "Old School" pattern can be tied well 👍

What is your prefered bobbin and scissors? Seem to go through a metric fk ton of scissors and bobbins, obviously the bobbins dont dull, but I have everything from a 2 dollar bobbin, to an overpriced 70 dollar smhaen bobbin, and honestly imo the best bobbins I have are the Loon ergo ones. But as for scissors...i am pretty disillusioned with them all! Doesn't seem to matter which I go with with, they are never sharp enough, and never last very long! I have shaky hands and one tiny bump into a hook shank or tungsten bead and that's the end of them!!

I occasionally use synthetic materials, but 98% of the time, I am old school tier

As a new tier, does it make much of a difference how the fly fishies for nymph patterns whether my hook is an up, down or ring eye hook so long as the length & gape are comparable to what the pattern calls for ?