Conversations With Carp - Charlie's Biter Critter

The hot fly for carp, here of late, has been Charlie's Biter Critter.  I say hot fly for carp... it's been hot for everything that swims it seems.

According to Charlie, it's an easy tie and the interpretation is left to the tier.  Colors and material can vary from tie to tie. 

One note on this fly that was noticeable as soon as it was tied on is the beadchain eyes.  These eyes are glossy and really stand out. 

Charlie sent the ingredient list and tying instructions and again the tie is up to interpretation. 

It fishes quite good.

Material list for Critter:

Scud hook size 8,10
Bead chain eyes gloss iridescent med/large (yes they came from Walmart)
Dubbing of choice (contrast off hair) or peacock herl
Deer or elk hair (this flairs, but any hair likely will do)
Rubber leg (I use spinner material)

Tying:

1. Mount bead chain eye on outside of hook close to hook eye. Placement is important as the shank bends slightly at the hook eye and you want the bead chain to capture the slight bend so the hook gap will ride up toward vertical. Mounting on the outside kicks a little debris when stripped.

2. Cover the hook shank with contrasting dubbing of choice or peacock herl.

3. Flip hook in vise so the point is up.

4. Stack hair of choice, cut length from front of bead chain to rear of hook bend. The amount of hair controls the fall and helps hook point to stay up.

5. Place cut end of hair at the front of the bead chain and tie in at rear of bead chain. The wrap is about 1/8 inch from cut end. This wrap will cause the hair to flair putting a head on the eyes and covering the hook gap.

6. For a touch of contrasting rubber, just add a couple of rubber strands to the top of the hair stack before tying in. Cut so that one end crowns the head and the other ends roughly at the hook bend.

Charlie