Ray
I tie a ton of them and have for years. It has been a favorite dolly varden fly which I thought of as a smolt pattern, particularly for streams with pink salmon runs. Then last summer I watched dollies picking sea lice off silver salmon and realized they may well take the thunder creek as a sea louse.

I usually tie them on 3XL hooks in 8, 10 and 12 with bear hair and bead chain eyes. They really work! The eyes seem just about right for weighting them for the smaller streams I often fish.

Bigger ones in the 4-2/0 sizes on mustad 36890 or Gami T10 hooks have been really good on lake trout feeding on salmon smolts. The eyes are not used on these. Salmon are not afraid of them either...

There are a number of serious fly fishers/tyers here that consider them a top 10 fly for AK.
art