I was about to mention the same thing. There are several "old timers" who asked a tier to tie a certain pattern and then named it. I think, in those old days, the "men of means" who fished weren't into tying, but used tiers sort of like PGA golfer's use their caddies today. I'm not saying this specifically about Carmichael as he did tie, but in general, about some of the early "gentlemen fly fishers".
For example, this article about the origin of The Adams. One of several stories has Mr. Adams telling Halladay how to tie the fly to imitate insects he had seen. Not the only story of the origins, mind you, but one of them.
http://hatchesmagazine.com/blogs/Hatches/2010/04/19/the-adams-history-revisited-by-tom-deschaine/
As to McCaw being used as the body of the Whitcraft, that is what the dialogue states. However, when you look at the pattern index in the SAME book by Leonard, the Whitcraft is said to have a body of two brown and one yellow moose hairs..........