The pattern notebook · wet
Crazy Charlie
How do you tie a Crazy Charlie?
Crazy Charlie is a wet fly pattern for Bonefish, Bass. Find its 7 materials and 4 tying steps below.
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5
- Target species
- Bonefish, Bass
- Pattern designer
- Bob Nauheim
Added to catalog · Updated
At the vise
Materials
- Saltwater Hook, Gamakatsu SL11-3H, sizes 4-8
- Thread (140 Denier), Pink
- Bead Chain Eyes, Medium, Silver
- Silver Tinsel
- Monofilament Or Vinyl Rib, Clear
- Calf Tail, White
- UV Resin
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Tying instructions
Color Selection - While originally tied to mimic a glass minnow, this pattern quickly evolved to imitate shrimp and small crustaceans. With that in mind, pink (as shown) as well as tan, gold and even "apricot" have become go-to colors for crazy charlie fans.
Weight - I tied the above example with fairly heavy Dumbbell Eyes. Bonefish are notoriously spooky, however, so don't be afraid to tie this fly with lighter bead chain eyes when targeting skinny water.
Flash Optional - While not shown above, consider tying a few strands of Krystal Flash into the wing if you're looking
Substituions - As always, don't overlook material substitutions if you don't have exactly what is called for above. While Vinyl Rib has become the ribbing material of choice for this pattern, I reverted to Monofilament as was used in the original prototype. Similarly, any variety of flash (either clear or matching the wing) will suffice for the body. Don't worry too much if you lack the necessary Flashabou or Flat Tinsel.