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After mysteriously losing all of his dad’s lures in a single day, Charlie was gifted a fly tying kit by his parents for his eighth birthday.

He’s tied flies pretty much every day for the forty years since then and has figured out a few things pertaining to fur, feathers, and fish along the way. At this point, it’s becoming well known that he’s opinionated, outspoken and sometimes brash when it comes to flies and techniques but his passion lies in sharing the skills he’s developed.
Over the years, Charlie has been a prolific commercial fly tyer and, for a time, a pretty mediocre fishing guide, due to his insistence on liverwurst and onion lunch sandwiches instead of grilled prawns like all the other sissy guides.

He’s been an Umpqua Feather Merchants Signature Tyer for over 18 years with several fly box mainstays like the Jujubaetis, Two Bit Hooker and Baby Gonga among his over two dozen commercially available patterns.

All this experience finally culminated in 2004 with the opening of his own fly shop, Charlie’s Fly Box, in Arvada, Colorado, where he is the head bookkeeper, order taker and fry cook in addition to president and CEO.

He’s written three books, Charlie Craven’s Basic Fly Tying, Charlie’s Fly Box and Tying Nymphs with plans for several more when he gets around to them.

After beating Ross Purnell in a prolonged and brutal arm wrestling match, he became the Fly Tyer’s Bench columnist for Flyfisherman Magazine and still maintains this title to this day. He was recently named to that magazine’s 50 Most Influential People in Flyfishing, and it is thought that his number 45 ranking was specifically chosen to keep his head from growing any larger.

Charlie lives in the hills of Palmer Lake, Colorado with his lucky, patient and loving wife, Lisa, their two gigantic dogs and somewhere between three and six young adult children. He still likes quiet time, the Parachute Adams, Colorado whiskey and dry-dropper fishing from a boat. His favorite number is five and his favorite color is red and he doesn’t care what yours are.

“It’s not simply enough that a fly catches fish, it has to do all that’s asked of it, well….and style matters”


~Charlie Craven

Matt joined us this past year and has been a great addition to our shop staff, even though we are still working on him to eat something other than a salad for lunch. He’s a little shy but if you take the time to get to know him you’ll find out he’s an expert stillwater angler with a vast knowledge of the lakes throughout Colorado and Wyoming as well as an award winning competitive quilter. He’s done extensive DIY saltwater fishing and has some great stories to share relating to these tropic adventures. Matt is a Signature Tyer with Umpqua Feather Merchants and has some fantastic streamer patterns with his name on them. He likes babies, puppies, sunshine and snuggling by the fire. Grab him the next time you’re in and get him talking…it’s always a good time.

You’ll never really find Matt in the shop because he’s just plain not very good at this stuff. His claims to fame are being a pretty good oarsman and telling the funniest stories you’ve ever heard. He’s also a beautiful caster and accomplished angler, as well as a golf pro, downhill skier and aficionado of anything with an engine. You think he’d get it together sooner or later. Matt lives in Edwards, Colorado with his wife, Bean, and two boys she swears are his.

“Little Charlie”, aka Junior, is a passionate fly tyer and angler who earned his way onto the shop staff by showing up back during quarantine and helping his old man out. Char is a dry fly snob and thinks worms and eggs are for the dirty people. He likes motorcycles, fast cars, trucks and mayfly hatches. You can find him here in the shop most days gettin’ it done and being super patient and helpful. He makes his Pop proud and I’m glad to have him here in the shop with me.