Fly Tying Talk, with Charlie Craven
The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast
James Hathaway
4.8 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 March 2026
⏱️ 92 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
I have been meaning to get Charlie Craven [37:41] of Charlie's Fly Box in Denver on the podcast for quite some time and we finally connected. Charlie talks about what new materials and tools excite him and also how to approach the topic of assembling essential materials for the beginning fly tier. We also explore some other topics as only a couple of geeky fly tiers can when given the chance.
In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips from listeners, including:
I have been using a clear floating line for sight fishing for striped bass but noticed the fish sometimes shy away from the fly. Do you think this is because the clear line reflects too much sunlight?
A tip from a listener on another way of taking fishing photos without risking losing your valuable smartphone in the water.
My leader lands in a pile when I am casting. But you say that sometimes you want your leader to land in loose coils. Is it too much to expect my leader to fully straighten?
Advice from bamboo rod guru Shawn Brillon on cleaning cork grips.
I was using mouse flies at night and got strikes but could not connect. What did I do wrong?
Is it true that you can shine a red flashlight at night to see your fly because the fish won't notice it?
Is it worth it to go from a mid-priced fly-tying vise to a really expensive one? What do you get in a $500 vise?
What is your take on using non-standard, "buggy" variations on standard fly proportions?
Is the Double Davy Knot stronger than an Improved Clinch Knot?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi and welcome to the Orvis Fly Fishing podcast. |
| 0:17.3 | This is your host, Tom Rosenbauer. |
| 0:19.4 | And this week, my guest is Charlie Craven. |
| 0:22.9 | And guess what we're going to be talking about? |
| 0:25.3 | Fly tying. |
| 0:26.9 | We're going to talk to Charlie about what he's excited about as far as new materials in the fly |
| 0:32.9 | tying space. |
| 0:34.1 | And we're going to talk a bit about tools. |
| 0:36.1 | And then we're going to talk about kind about tools and then we're going to talk about |
| 0:38.0 | kind of what the what the basics are what you what you might need for a basic fly tying setup |
| 0:45.1 | and of course we we ramble about various aspects of fly tying as as happens when any two |
| 0:53.0 | fly tires get together. |
| 0:55.4 | So I hope you enjoy it. |
| 0:56.9 | I know a lot of people have asked me to have Charlie on the podcast, |
| 1:00.6 | and I finally got him to spend an hour with us, |
| 1:04.8 | so I hope you enjoy it. |
| 1:08.1 | Now, before we do anything else, you know, occasionally I like to tell you about products that I'm |
| 1:17.1 | particularly excited about. And one of them is the new hydros reels. And these reels are just absolutely |
| 1:26.5 | beautiful. There, I love the way they look. I love the way they look i love the way they feel i |
| 1:30.9 | love the sound of the reels and um the the hydros reels are now fully sealed which means that you know |
| 1:39.5 | when you're when you're landing a fish and you have to put your rod down you can you can throw it in the mud or throw it on the bank or in the water or whatever, and it's not going to affect your drag. It's not going to get inside there and do anything to your drag system. All you have to do, even if you get mud and sand all over your reels, just dip it in the water a couple times, it off and you're ready to go i know that um |
| 2:02.3 | mark melnick of the new fly fisher who i um i film with quite a bit um had recently been raving |
... |
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