The Parachute Adams is without a doubt, one of today’s most popular patterns. The high visibility wing coupled with the lower floating parachute hackle team up to provide a solid fish-catching silhouette with angler appeal. The PA can imitate any type of mayfly, even though it is too dark for some and too light for others. It also
The Pheasant Tail is the quintessential mayfly nymph pattern. The dark brown color and slender profile create a highly realistic mayfly imitation. Although it can be tied in larger sizes, I prefer this fly in sizes 16 through 24 because smaller sized Pheasant Tails match blue wing olive and pale morning dun nymphs. For bigger mayflies, I lean
What the pigsticker lacks in beauty it makes up for with its incredible effectiveness. While it seems simple to tie, a few details like keeping your thread flattened and smooth and proper placement of the lead wraps are important considerations. Everyone I know likes to make fun of this fly, yet the Pigsticker really is one of my
The Poison Tung Midge was conceived one winter after reading about the power the color blue has over unsuspecting trout. I tried a variety of different patterns, with varying amounts of blue and found that a simple rib was just enough. I think this fly is best represented by the sum of its parts. The gray Ice Dub head
The Prince Nymph was developed by Doug Prince in the thirties and in the past fifteen years or so has become a ‘go-to’ pattern for many anglers across the country. The addition of a brass or tungsten bead has made this fly even more popular and effective. The original fly was known as a Brown Forked Tail but has
The Royal Wulff has become the standard attractor dry in the years since its inception by the legendary Lee Wulff. Hair wings and tail, a multi-colored body, and a heavily hackled collar make this a buoyant, highly visible fast-water fly. I have no idea what makes this fly so attractive to the fish, but perhaps Lee Wulff had
When I guided on the South Platte River it seemed that at least one of my clients always had an RS2 on, and I would bet that half of the fish my clients caught were victims of this fly. Confidence in a pattern can make all the difference, and I have a lot of confidence in the RS2.
This pattern is a variation on the standard rusty spinner that has a good bit of added floatation and visibility. The addition of the palmered thorax hackle makes the fly much more visible and helps keep it afloat. I have used this pattern everywhere from the Henry’s Fork to the Frying Pan and it turns heads everywhere. I
This is a fun little pattern I came up with last summer designed as a skating caddis pattern. Modeled after some old time steelhead skater patterns, the Banshee features a forward facing planing wing that allows the fly to skate and skitter unlike anything else you’ve seen. While it does indeed skate wonderfully, the wide profile and surface area
I call this pattern the Plain Old Scud, because there is really nothing fancy about it. Of course you can tie it in a flashback version by adding a strip of pearl sheeting to the back in place of the Swiss Straw I will use here, and I suppose you could even add a bead if you wanted,
The Sno Ball Beetle is another great pattern from Dennis Collier. Dennis is simply one of the most creative tyers I know and is a pleasure to watch tie and fish with. Dennis developed this fly as a smaller more streamlined version of the popular Chernobyl Ant, for use up in Rocky Mountain National Park. The Sno Ball
A variation of my Two Bit Hooker Pattern the Two Bit Stone uses three beads (one Tungsten and Two Brass) to get the fly down to the fish. This golden stone fly pattern works great in a dry-dropper rig or on its own. Tie some up and see what you think. Two Bit Stone Fly Tying Recipe: (Click
The Soft Hackle Emerger is an old pattern for me that I originally came up with back in my guiding days. I developed this pattern as an alternative to the ubiquitous RS-II. I have since discovered why this pattern has produced so well for me. It seems that Baetis do not fall onto the water in the spinner
The X-Caddis comes from Yellowstone fishing guru Craig Matthews. Craig is the guy who brought us the Sparkle Dun and a host of other effective patterns, trademarked by their simplicity. The X-Caddis is no exception, and can be whipped out by the dozens! I like the X-Caddis in smaller sizes, from 18-24, although it certainly holds its own
Finally, we are able to start up our famous Charlie Craven Basic Fly Tying Classes again! This class will be on Tuesday nights from 6:30 until 9:30 here at the shop. The classes run six consecutive Tuesday nights and the cost is $300. Once signed up, students receive a 10% discount on tying tools and materials as well.
Good news! With our freshly arrived and long awaited building permit in hand, we anticipate re-opening the shop mid- to late- next week (December 18-20) if all goes according to plan. We'll have a soft opening then and we're planning our belated 15th Anniversary Party and Grand Re-Opening Party for Saturday, January 11th. We can't thank you enough for your
Exciting News from Charlie’s Fly Box! Dearest friends and devoted customers, WE ARE MOVING!!! For the last 15 years Charlie’s Fly Box has always been dedicated to being the premier fly shop in the state of Colorado and the mountain west. With that goal and vision in mind, we are excited to announce that we have recently taken a
We have spent nearly every available moment of the last several months building and populating this new site and man, am I ever glad it's finally done! The new site features an updated shopping cart, with our own hi-resolution photos of nearly every product we carry, and that includes all of our flies, hooks, and materials as well as
By Charlie Craven for FlyFisherman Magazine 2017 There is a lot of good information about fly tying out in the world these days. Between books, magazines and the internet, there is no shortage of adequate instruction and advice on almost all aspects of fly tying. Except for the apparent step child of fly tying tools; thread. Not only
