The standard CDC & Elk is an all-time favorite fly and usually the first thing I'll try if

A. it's new water that I have no info on
B. nothing's happening hatch-wise
C. I really need to get the skunk off and touch a fish
D. caddis are pouring off the water, or doing their egg-laying thing, and heads are up (duh - the no-brainer choice)

Only problem I have with mine is that once they've cycled through a few fish's mouths the ungulate wing (I actually use deer far more than elk) mats and no amount of false-casting, blotting, blowing, re-floatanting (?) gets it to more than a semi-mat position. Not an issue in daylight, the fly's still pretty visible and remains effective. The problem comes in the late evening, well past dusk, when the hatch I fish most, hydropsyche, can really get going; then finding the fly on the water becomes problematic and I end up striking at any rises in the general vicinity.
Looking at some of the other flies I use at that time of evening I found Barr's Hi-Viz Rusty Spinner, with it's synth (I use Congo Hair) wing to be the most visible, floatable and effective, so I borrowed that idea and replaced the wing with tan CH.



then took it a step further and added a hot orange Egg yarn indicator








Hook - Dai Riki 305 #16
Thread - MFC 8/0 sand
Body - CDC tan
Wing - Congo Hair tan
Indicator - Egg Yarn hot orange

Haven't had a chance to fish them yet, but fingers are crossed. A couple strong blows and a shot of Dry Magic floatant re-charges the wing even after it's been chewed on.


Regards,
Scott