In 1998, John Barr had tried bullet head hoppers to suspend his CopperJohns, but found it problematicobtaining elk hair that was of sufficient length.Turning to foam, John tried the new Charlie Boy Hopper,but quickly foundeven that lacked sufficient buoyancy.

John then enlisted the wondrous tyingskills ofCharlie Craven – the Charlie Boy’s designer – and they went to work.Actually – John mostly talked andtested (he fished) while Charlie did thework (the tying). The finished flies are truly wondrous creations,the result ofcollaborative problem solving and tying at the very highest level.
Bullet proof: these flies will last though tussles with fish after fish.
Unsinkable: that was the whole point to begin with. These have suspendedup to 5 Copper Johns at atime.
TMC 5262: good gape and enough iron for the biggest pig in the river.
High visibility: visible at the end of the longest cast, in the heaviest riffle, inall light conditions and,lest we forget, it must be easily seen: it’s also anindicator.
Stealth: doesn’t seem to disturb indicator-shy fish.
Imitative: want to fish one dry? This fly will stand – and fish – alone.
Combo Fly Attraction: somehow the three flies in combination (Foam B/Cdry, the Copper John, and the Dropper Fly) are mutually enhancing. Theyoften perform better in combination than when fished alone – teamwork. Oneplus one plus one equals FOUR.