Yup, it works like a charm. I had a tiny (#20) nymph impaled right below my left eye once. (My buddy's backcast + high wind = stuck Rocky. At least he didn't make the forward cast!)
The guide simply used the line already tied to the fly, pulled it back in a loop through the bend of the fly, pushed in on the hook shank and tugged. <bink> There was a tiny bit of "meat" on the barb, which I urged my buddy to leave there as bait, dontcha know?
