Nasty Charlie

Developed in the bahamas by guide, Captain Charlie Smith and an angler Bob Nauheim. It gave us the shape of most other bonefish flies people use nowadays thanks to Charlie Smith lashing bead chain to clients' flies- he's often credited with being the first to do this. This combination of weight and drag from the wing gives us the for that guarantees a hook-up presentation.

Although most people nowadays tie the Crazy Charlie with the calf tail wing or its derivatives with other hairs, the hackle tips actually move beautifully in the water. Although they need a bit more care to get to sit right, hackle tips will never slip free, a problem I've seen people experincing with wings of solid hair. The nylon wrapped body which protects the tinsel and has a lens effect magnifying and adding refraction, is something many patterns still call for. Many others now have D-rib or Vynil rib over the tinsel which is more lensy, thicker and softer making it easier to work with than monofilament. It's less durable, but it's not a meaningful difference when it comes to non-toothy fish like bones.

Here's the pattern for the Nasty Charlie
Hook: Saltwater size 8-1
Thread: Danville's Flat Waxed Nylon
Weight: Beadchain
Tail: Silver flashabou
Body: Silver tinsel wrapped with mono
Wing: 2 hackle tips tied splayed

Hook: Saltwater size 8-1
Thread: Danville's Flat Waxed Nylon
Weight: Beadchain
Tail: Pearlflashabou
Body: Pearl tinsel wrapped with clear D-rib
Wing: Calf tail

Obviously, tie them in the colours that suit you and where you're fishing. ditto weights, there's nothing stopping you replacing the beadchain with a tungsten dumbbell for example.

You could stick with the Crazy Charlie and/or its variants, but the Nasty Charlie really is a good fly, and it's just a marginally longer tie. One thing I do know is that it's every bit as useful as any other bonefish fly I've seen.