I gave this pattern video a like. I usually don't like to mess with original patterns too much, but I liked a couple of your ideas on this fly. Having fished the California delta for stripers with Dan's original whistler pattern in his stomping grounds, with a few of his close friends, I have had the chance to see first hand how effective a properly tied whistler can be. I can see how your version would be great for pike. Possibly more durable, quicker and easier to tie and a longer flash tail makes for more flash and a slimmer profile. For my everyday fishing, (Strpers and spotted bass) I would add the originally prescribed 10 wraps of lead wire behind the beadchain to ensure the jigging motion that the original pattern has. I would also shorten the flashtail back to original to reduce short strikes, and possibly add back the original heavily hackled collar to ensure that a large amount of water displacement occurs with each strip. I believe it is this last feature that makes a whistler so effective. Fish can feel (hear) it a long way off. It emulates a wounded fish and the sound of fish feeding subsurface.
![Chino Pacas - Modo Capone (with Drake & Fuerza Regida) [Video Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zjv8TQ0gBkg/mqdefault.jpg)
I gave this pattern video a like. I usually don't like to mess with original patterns too much, but I liked a couple of your ideas on this fly. Having fished the California delta for stripers with Dan's original whistler pattern in his stomping grounds, with a few of his close friends, I have had the chance to see first hand how effective a properly tied whistler can be. I can see how your version would be great for pike. Possibly more durable, quicker and easier to tie and a longer flash tail makes for more flash and a slimmer profile.
For my everyday fishing, (Strpers and spotted bass) I would add the originally prescribed 10 wraps of lead wire behind the beadchain to ensure the jigging motion that the original pattern has. I would also shorten the flashtail back to original to reduce short strikes, and possibly add back the original heavily hackled collar to ensure that a large amount of water displacement occurs with each strip. I believe it is this last feature that makes a whistler so effective. Fish can feel (hear) it a long way off. It emulates a wounded fish and the sound of fish feeding subsurface.