Tip next time you are in that situation , take a pic of the fly or don't fish it til you can copy it.

It took me over a year to reproduce a simple Elk Hair Caddis for my brother in law because he didn't know the name of it and is a lousy describer.
One day I was tieing some and he happened by . He said that's it thats it! then accused me of trying to keep it from him. So I didn't give him any lol.