As
with many of the worlds most successful patterns there are a huge number
of variations on the original pattern. The Crazy Charlie is one of those
patterns. Crazy Charlie’s can represent anything from shrimp to small
baitfish of which the pearl variation represents these very well.
Although this pattern was designed for warmer climates it works well in UK
waters. Fishing this fly from rock marks produces mackerel, Pollack and
garfish and when those elusive bass are on small fry there are few
better patterns.
From
a tying design perspective the Crazy Charlie offers some noteworthy
points. The first in the heavy dumb bell eyes ties in at the top of the
hook shank. This ensures that the fly will fish ‘up side down’
giving the advantage of the hook point has less chance of getting fouled
by water debris. The dumb bells also give the fly a ‘jigging’ action
in the water which predatory fish find attractive. Lastly when the fly
is fished over sand the dumb bells create small puffs of sand similar to
both sand eel and shrimp. I have used this method to great effect on
trout flies such as cat’s whisker which can produce when other methods
have failed. The second noteworthy point is the heavy mono rib in
touching turns. This gives not only a protection for the delicate tinsel
body but also a segmented effect. This method is an excellent
alternative to epoxy.
As
said earlier I have had great success with the fly in the UK but also overseas catching species form Spanish mackerel to bonefish.
Bed
the hook with tying thread; tie in a tail of pearl crystal flash. Return the thread to just before the eye of the hook. Tie in some more
pearl crystal and a length of 25lb mono. Bed the materials down to the
bend of the hook and then return the thread back up the hook to the eye
position. Wrap the shank of the hook with pearl tinsel in touching tie off and
trim. Do the same with the 25lb mono. Here you will need to tie in the
mono plenty of times otherwise the mono will unwrap. Tie in the dumb bell eyes on the top of the hook shank with figure of
eight wraps ensuring that the eyes are 90 degrees to the hook shank
otherwise the fly will twist in the water when fished. Tie in a throat hackle of pearl crystal flash. Tie in a neat head whip
finish and varnish. For extra durability I varnish with Sally Hanson’s
hard as nails including the figure of eight wraps over the dumb bell
eyes.For an extra hitting spot
why not paint the end of the eyes with fluorescent paint (as pictured).
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