As a fly tier, you get to see a lot of very interesting fly patterns. Most are designed to represent a particular insect or bait fish, while others are designed to replicate nothing that occurs in nature, they just look “buggy” or “fishy.” So was the case in January of this year. A really good friend of mine had been fishing in Cherokee, North Carolina on the private waters of the reservation. He was having a so-so day of fishing. The “regular” assortment of flies for a pay stream were working for him and his party but nothing was producing anything considered spectacular. As their day progressed, they past by a fellow that had a really nice pay stream kind of fish on and watched as he landed the overfed behemoth to be released back into the shallow waters. My friend asked the fellow what he was using and the guy replied “here, try this one..” Being of sound mind and wanting to land some larger fish, he thought what the heck I will give it a try. He tied the fly on and proceeded to be the envy of his crew. The fly fished like a top and the fish were eagerly taking the pattern. He liked it so much in fact, on his way home he sent me a picture of it and asked if I could make him four dozen of them. Upon examination of this “new tremendous dry fly,” I determined the make-up to be of a soft webbed feather, wrapped incredibly tightly around a size eight streamer hook with a quarter inch stick of foam running lengthwise up to the eye and a little square protruding from the back.Since my introduction to this pattern, I have been using it as a strike indicator and I have to tell you, it is working like a top. I believe this for several reasons. First and foremost, it floats like a cork. Secondly, it is highly visible, very easy to throw and gives me something to do with larger hen neck feathers. Thirdly, it can be fished as a dry and at the end of a drift, it can be submerged and stripped back like a streamer. I know your asking why does this matter. I will tell you. Last year, myself or my clients had well over thirty takes on, what was my favorite, Bighorn Indicators. In almost every instance, it was a very nice fish that took the indicator and of course none of them were landed. Thanks to a good friend, a little work and a fair amount of testing, I can guarantee you that will not happen this year!Tight LinesJeffery Sharpe Holston River Anglershttp://www.holstonriveranglers.com