Crazy Charlie Fly

The beauty of The Crazy Charlie is they are 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. It is a shrimp imitator, so any fish that eats shrimp will eat this fly. In fact I know of some people who tie a variation of this fly for sunfish in the fresh water. Im not sure what it represents there.

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.

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Materials
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Hook: Gamakatsu SL11 (Size 6) – amzn.to/3C2pPZt
Thread: Veevus 6/0 (Pink) – amzn.to/3Lyk8Wx
Eyes: Beadchain Eyes (medium, silver) – amzn.to/3C2Ks7W
Glue: Loctite Brush On – amzn.to/3BBuKz5
Rib: Vinyl Rib (Clear) – amzn.to/3dyC078
Body Flash: Saltwater Flashabou (pearl) – amzn.to/3Lza3IT
Wing: Calf Tail (tan) – amzn.to/3Ss26qY
Antenna: Midge Krystal Flash (pearl) – amzn.to/3r5mZMU
Cement: Solarez Bone Dry Ultra Thin UV Resin – solarez.com/product/fly-tie-ultra-thin-bone-dry/

Tools
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Vise: Renzetti Traveler – amzn.to/2t2FFmo
Bobbin: Stonfo Bobtec – amzn.to/2YWOf39
Scissors: Risen 4.5″ Straight Hair – www.risenfly.com/collections/fly-tying-tools-and-accessories/products/4-5-straight-hair-scissors
Whip finisher: Dr. Slick brass – amzn.to/2tGYwDW
Fly Tying Bench: Oasis Walnut Compact Bench – www.oasisbenches.com/oasis-benches/compact-bench/
UV Light: Solarez UV Cure (high output) – www.solarez.com/product/uv-cure-flashlight-high-output/

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