The Crazy Charlie is not difficult to tie. In fact they are down right easy and quick flies to tie. There are some challenges that come into play when tying them, but once you get them down, you can tie them fairly quickly and fill up a flats box in no time.
They are small, and therefor very common to fish for small mouthed fish like Permit and Bonefish. However they also get eaten regularly by other fish you can find in flats like Redfish, flounder, speckled trout, and more will eat this fly. I also fish these in freshwater for sunfish, and hear of people using it for carp as well. It is a shrimp imitator, so any fish that eats shrimp will eat this fly, but can mimic other bait as well.
When tied correctly the fly will sink slowly and hook point up, and will rest upright down on the bottom. The calf tail wing looks like the head of a shrimp. Basically the entire fly looks like just the head of a shrimp, without a body. I know kinda weird, but the fish do seem to eat this. Some say also it is made to look like a sand crab, which I can kinda see that as well. Either way its a popular fly for flats fishing.
This is one of those flies that has had many many variants. The Gotcha, Christmas Island special, and many more patterns originated from the Crazy Charlie, and still look like it in many respects, just material changes and a few things added. Of course some of these could come from the Clouser Minnow also, which is tied very similar as well. Either way, its a pattern that has sparked lots of creative juices from many tiers out there to create their own unique versions that become specialized patterns over time.
As you all know, I work closely withwww.risenfly.com and they have offered every one of my subscribers a discount. So go to their shop, and type in "McFly" at checkout for 15% off of anything you buy on their site.
Materials
______________
Hook: Risen O'Shaughnessy saltwater hook (size 6) - www.risenfly.c...
Thread: Veevus 6/0 (Pink) - amzn.to/3Lyk8Wx
Eyes: Beadchain Eyes (medium, silver) - amzn.to/3C2Ks7W
Body Flash: Krystal Flash (pearl) - amzn.to/3P98vaN
Rib: 25lb flourocarbon - amzn.to/48gflnF
Wing: Calf Tail (pink) - amzn.to/3PqxaI3
Cement: Solarez Bone Dry Ultra Thin UV Resin - solarez.com/fl...
Tools
________
Vise: Renzetti Traveler - amzn.to/3sEJhJE
Bobbin: Stonfo Bobtec - amzn.to/2YWOf39
Scissors: Risen 4.5" Straight Hair - www.risenfly.c...
Whip finisher: Dr. Slick brass - amzn.to/2tGYwDW
Fly Tying Bench: Oasis Walnut Compact Bench - www.oasisbench...
UV Light: Solarez UV Cure (high output) - www.solarez.co...
Check out my other RU-vid channel where I do gardening and raise chickens with my kids. Those videos are a bit easier to make so I put out about 1 video per day. So if you want more content from me, and enjoy gardening and raising chickens, then check out that other channel. It's called escaping the daily grind, you can check it out here - / @escapingthedailygrind
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ My Shirts and other Merchandise! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
T-Shirts/Jackets/Stickers/iphone cases and more: teespring.com/...
Patreon: / mcflyangler
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Follow Me on Social! ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Facebook: / mcflytier
Instagram: / mcflyangler
27 авг 2024