Jim McVay, (creator of this fly) "is a retired oil well driller and a fixture of the Andros Island Bonefish Club. He first tied this pattern while enroute to Andros, us ing yellow carpet fibers he snipped out of the back of a Cargill Creek-bound taxicab. He later found a shade of blond craft fur that worked equally well. Jim estimates he has taken thousands of bonefish on this mirrored miracle, and credits it with more t hirty-to fifty-fish days than he can remember. Many anglers consider it one of the best bonefish patterns ever devised."

Ted McVay, Jim's son, modifies the Gotcha when fishing calm, deep waters, (in particular, those around Andros' Moxey Creek and Loggerhead Cay) for big fish that are often mixed in with schools so they have to be pulled out. He tie s the Gotcha with a thinner wing than his father for fishing such calm conditions because he says the heavy dressing seems to soak up too much water, making it splat too much on impact.

According to Jim McVay, "I think Rupert Leadon [of the Andros Island Bonefish Club] named this pattern. Every time one of us would throw the fly and a fish would hit it, he would say 'Gotcha.' After a while, he'd said it so many t imes, it just seemed like that was the right name for it."

"Tied with 1/8" or 3/16" bead chain, this is a good medium-depth shrimp pattern, and with lead eyes it is often effective in deeper water. It is very productive in low light and - suprisingly - also in bright light. Apparently, sm all-faceted materials make this bright fly less prone to "bright-light spooking" than shinier Charlies. The Gotcha is especially effective in Andros, the Berry Island, and other Bahamas locations. It should be in every flats angler's box."