To properly learn the techniques and flies presented in this website, work your way through the Basic Skills sections and then do the listed flies in the recommended order. Each fly builds on previously learned skills. They become harder as you move along. Make sure you build several of each fly to solidify your skills at each step.

Importance to Fly Fishing

Water boatmen live in the shallow areas of the lake near the shore. When the ice goes off the lakes in the Spring, fish will spend time near the shore. At this time water boatmen are handy food. In the Fall the females, after mating, return to the water to lay eggs. This activity attracts the fish’s attention and creates a feeding focus on this aquatic food.

Gary Bailey, who helped with this project, suggested the following pattern as one that was simple and used the materials that are listed. He learned the pattern from a fellow club member when he was with the Kamloops Flyfishers. It was the first boatman pattern that he fished and caught a trout with. The only change made is the addition of the plastic shellback to provide the sheen that the boatman’s shell has. Again if you wish to leave out the shellback, that is not a problem.

In the Basic Skills sections you learned how to

• smash down the barb
• put the hook in the vice
• start the thread

Please do the above. Make sure the thread is at the bend of the hook.

Prepare and tie in a plastic shellback as was done for the shrimp pattern.

Next take 5 - 6 strands of peacock herl. Trim about 2 cm off the butt end. Place them over the hook as shown. About 3 cm of the herl should stick out behind the hook. It is better to have the stem ends to your left (to your right if left handed).

Use the Pinch to tie in the strands of herl at the bend. Secure with a few more wraps.

With your left hand, lift up the herl that is over the shank of the hook. With your right hand, wrap the thread 1/2 way up the shank.

Now grip the herl that is to your right. Give it a single twist to keep it from spreading apart as you wrap. Wrap it around the hook to form a body as shown. Tie off the strands and clip off the extra material.

Tie in another bunch of herl, clip the excess, and move the thread to the front.

Give the herl a twist, wrap it to the front, tie it off and snip off the excess.

Peacock herl is delicate material easily cut by fish teeth. To make it more durable wrap thread around it (but not too much). Make wide wraps to the bend and then back to the middle of the body. Here you will tie in the legs.

Take a single herl and snip 2 cm off the butt end. Cut the remaining long piece in half. Throw away the tip end. Take the other piece and place it across the body as shown.

With two criss cross wraps secure the leg in place. Then wrap the thread forward to behind the eye.

Now pull the strands that haven’t been wrapped over the body and tie off at the front. Secure with a few extra wraps. Snip off the extra material.

Next take the plastic shellback and pull it over the fly to the front. Tie it off and secure with a few extra wraps.

Snip off the excess shellback material.

Here is a view from above. Trim each leg so it is about 12 cm long

Build a thread head, secure with 5 half hitch knots, snip the thread and add head cement.

Here is the completed Water boatman

Click Here for more Water boatmen patterns

Teacher Support Materials for this Section

How to Fish the Water boatman Fly

How to Troll Flies