Crazy Charlie

The fly that started it all. When Bob Nauheim tied the original Crazy Charlie in Andros in the late 1970s, he changed bonefishing forever — hook riding point-up, small dumbbell or bead-chain eyes for a soft entry, sparse craft fur wing, tapered mylar body. Every serious bonefish pattern tied since is a variation on the Charlie.

This is the classic Crazy Charlie, hand-tied on a Gamakatsu SL11-3H. Small silver dumbbell eyes for a controlled sink and hook-point-up ride, tapered pearl or metallic mylar body, sparse craft fur wing with a few strands of holographic flash. The dumbbell eyes give you a little more weight than a bead-chain Gotcha, which matters when you're fishing a slightly deeper flat or want the fly to punch through wind.

Five proven colors:

• Tan — the universal starting color. Matches spawning shrimp, marl bottom, and tan sand. Every bonefish angler needs a stack of tan Charlies.
• Brown — for darker bottom, turtle grass, and coppery light. Also devastating on redfish and specks on the marsh.
• Gold — bright metallic gold body for maximum flash in murky water, low light, or on the deeper edge of a flat. Triggers reaction eats.
• Pink — hot pink wing on pearl body. The "come look" color when bones are on grass or when you need to trigger a fish that ignored your tan.
• Pink Pearl — pearl body with subtle pink underflash and a white wing. Softer than straight Pink — for spooky fish in gin-clear water.

What eats it: Bonefish, first and always. Small permit will inhale it. Redfish and specks on the marsh in brown and tan. Baby tarpon in mangrove creeks. Sheepshead when they want a shrimp.

How to fish it: Lead the fish six to eight feet, let the fly settle, then short strips with pauses. The dumbbell eyes make the Charlie hop and drop — most eats come on the drop. Watch for the flare or turn. Strip-set hard.

Sizes: #6 (Brown, Tan, Gold) and #4 (Pink, Pink Pearl). Hand-tied on Gamakatsu SL11-3H.

Build a Bahamas box. Fish this fly with the rest of the FINATICS bonefish set:

• Gotcha Light (bead chain)
• Gotcha Heavy (lead eye)
• Christmas Island Gotcha
• X-Mas Charlie
• Crazy Charlie Light (bead chain, pink)
• Bonefish Puff