Brad Befus' fly was inspiration for Gibby's Bonefish Fly

I created a new bonefish fly that paid off on my recent trip to Grand Cayman.

Actually, I borrowed a few ideas from Brad Befus. I used the Befus Carp Fly (right)  with great success last summer while fly fishing for carp on Grand Traverse Bay near Traverse City, Mich.

I liked the fly. I liked how it cast. I liked how it looked in the water. And I especially liked how the carp and smallmouth bass loved it.

So, when I began tying flies for my bonefish trip, I tied the usual: Gotchas, Clousers and the like. Then, I remembered the Befus Carp Fly.

I changed it a little bit. I added mini-lead eyes so that the fly would ride hook up (that's important when fishing heavy turtle grass for bonefish). I added two tufts of rabbit fur toward the eye of the fly. In addition, I added a weed guard (imperative).

The fly worked well. It cast good. It looked good in the water. And the bonefish seemed to like it just fine.
I call it "Gibby's Bonefish Fly." My fly is shown at the bottom. Even though the pattern was inspired by the Befus Carp Fly, I feel that I changed it enough that I could call it what I want.
The late George Rose, who was one of my early fly-tying mentors, once told me, "Steve, there are no new flies. They're all variations on the same theme."
I agree.