Exactly. (It was whatfly's point - I was only trying to explain it, although I agree with it.)

Yes, many attractors have specific situations where they do double duty as imitations. Renegades make good midge clusters; they also work well when certain dark caddis are on the water, but they're still generally thought of as attractors.

OTHOH, an elk hair caddis is designed to be an imitation of a caddis -- I don't think anybody calls it an attractor -- but for many people it's their goto searching pattern.