| Mike LaFleur's Charlie |
Mike uses this fly in the marsh and surf for redfish and speckled trout. In dirty water, he uses the chartreuse version
and in clear water, the pink version. The following tying instructions were provided by Mike. I tied the fly in the
photos.
Materials List:
Hook: #2 Mustad 34007 or #2 Mustad Signature C71S SS circle streamer
Eyes: Lead dumbell eyes painted red with black ends. Mike prefers the Wapsi brand sold in flyshops and catalogs.
The size and weight are important. He uses size X-SM with a 5/32 diameter and a weight of 1/50 ounce. The
correct weight is critical for the up and down motion of the fly.
Thread: 3/0 light pink or chartreuse.
Body: Pearl colored Long Flash Crystal Chenille. He buys his from Dan Bailey's Catalog (800)356-4052.
Umpqua's pearl Estaz can be substituted.
Wing: Pink Fly Fur. If you buy from Orvis, he says to make sure that the entire hair strands are pink, not just the
base. Mike gets his from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone (406)646-7642.
and in clear water, the pink version. The following tying instructions were provided by Mike. I tied the fly in the
photos.
Materials List:
Hook: #2 Mustad 34007 or #2 Mustad Signature C71S SS circle streamer
Eyes: Lead dumbell eyes painted red with black ends. Mike prefers the Wapsi brand sold in flyshops and catalogs.
The size and weight are important. He uses size X-SM with a 5/32 diameter and a weight of 1/50 ounce. The
correct weight is critical for the up and down motion of the fly.
Thread: 3/0 light pink or chartreuse.
Body: Pearl colored Long Flash Crystal Chenille. He buys his from Dan Bailey's Catalog (800)356-4052.
Umpqua's pearl Estaz can be substituted.
Wing: Pink Fly Fur. If you buy from Orvis, he says to make sure that the entire hair strands are pink, not just the
base. Mike gets his from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone (406)646-7642.
| 1. Place hook in the vise with the hook down (normal way). Tie in the thread behind the eye of the hook and wrap down about half of the hook shank and then back towards the eye to about one lead eye length from the eye of the hook, leaving enough room for a nice head. Tie in the lead eye using figure-eights, etc. 2. Tie off the thread and remove the hook from the vise. 3. Coat the lead eye on the hook with super glue. Mike uses Zap-A-Gap CA+ and he usually does a batch at a time. Let the glue dry. 4. After the glue is dry, put the hook back in the vise with the hook point down and the lead eye on top. Tie in the thread behind the eye and wrap back to the bend above the barb. The fly should look like the above at this point. |
| 4. continued...Tie in the Crystal Chenille using several tight wraps to make sure it is secure. |
| 4. continued...Advance the thread to behind the lead eye. Wrap the chenille forward in close wraps to the lead eye. Make several tight wraps of the thread and cut off the excess chenille. Bring the thread in front of the lead lead eye and then take the hook out of the vice and turn it over so that the eye is down and the hook point is up. |
| 5. Take the patch of Fly Fur and grab some of the strands that, when twisted together at the base, will be about 1/8" in diameter. Cut off as close to the base as possible. This will give you a length of about twice the length of the hook shank. Tie in the fur between the lead eye and the eye of the hook, on the hook point side of the hook (on the top as it is sitting in the vise). Continue wrapping the thread between the lead eye and the eye of the hook to form a nice conical head. Whip finish and cut off the thread. Coat the head with head cement. Mike uses Hard as Nails. |
| The pink version. |
| The materials needed to tie the fly. |
| Field testing the chartreuse version. |