I was looking at some photos of this fly the other day, and thought it would make a quick and easy baitfish immitation for smallmouth fishing. I thought one with olive hackles might be a good color,and I tied a few with green christmas tinsel under the clear rib. Anybody else use this fly for this species? If so, what color combos, and sizes have been effective for you?
I’ve never used them for bass,but have had great success with them for crappie. I usually tie them on a slightly longer shank hook and in just about any color scheme I can think of. Most colors seem to work some of the time so I just keep switching til I find the one they want that day. You might also check out Al Campbell’s Crappie Candy fly in the FOTW archives. Tie it two or three sizes larger and it becomes bass candy.
Match the colors for the bait fish where you fish.
Tie a few up in wierd colors as they can act as attractor flies.
Rick
Ah, Al Cambells CC. The fly that got me to start tying my own. I have so many of these it’s not even funny. 
I have one of those Whitings variety packs with several unusual colors of feathers, plus I have a supply of “Flashabou” from the Christmas clearance section at the local Dollar Tree. I think I will go a little nuts tonight.
Absolutely a great SM fly. I’ve tied and caught fish with white, silver flash, and chartreuse. Basically it is just a minimalist Clouser. I haven’t tried natural colors, but why not?
Looking around the net, I have seen a number tied with calftail or bucktail for the wing. Very much in the clouser vein. I really like the look of the flashabou under the clear ribbing. Have to try to incorporate that into other flies.
I tie Crazy Charlies in brim size, #8-#12, and call them Panfish Charlies. I like them in all white, all yellow and black. In addition to large brim, I’ve caught a lot of LMB in the 1-2 pound size. I don’t see why they wouldn’t work well for smallies in a river or lake setting. 8T 
I use Larva Lace hollow body material for the body of my Crazy Charlies. Stick a medium (28 gauge) colored wire in the hollow material. Wrap the material on the hook for the body. Red and green have worked for me. Other colors should also work.