The Makings of a Classic Fly

As many readers of my blog know, I am an avid fan of the classic Royal Coachman pattern. In my opinion it is one of the most consistent fish-taking flies and has one of the most ingenious designs. It is also highly visible to the angler, and more importantly, the trout. The fast flowing currents often make flies hard to see, but the distinctive shiny red and green Royal Coachman easily catches a trout's eye. Although the original Coachman was a wet fly, my favorite rendition of the pattern is in dry fly form. Below I have given step-by step instructions concerning the tying of the Royal Coachman.

Royal Coachman:



Hook: 10-18
Tail: Brown Hackle Fibers or Golden Pheasant tips
Body: Peacock herl, red floss, and peacock herl in that order
Wing: Lemon Wood duck or Mallard flanks.
Hackle: Brown

1.


Select an appropriately sized hook. In this example a size 14 Mustad hook is being used.

2.


Crimp the barb either with your vise or with a pair of pliers. Always do this before the fly in case of hook breakage.

3.


Lock on your thread towards the rear of the hook.

4.


Select either several golden pheasant tip fibers or several brown hackle fibers. Generally, I prefer the hackle as it is less expensive and more durable.

5.


Tie them in, taking care not to make the wraps too bulky.

6.


Select a wood duck or mallard flank feather. Although some aficionados claim the wood duck is more effective, mallard usually works just as well and happens to be far less expensive.

7.


Tie in the feather and make a divided post wing. it's a hard process to explain*, so either look it up on the internet or get someone to show you how to do it.

*I was too lazy to take pictures of me doing it.

8.


Select a single peacock herl strand and tie it in.

9.


Next, select a spool of red floss and tie in a suitable piece. It helps to have a floss bobbin, but one is not necessary.

10.


Wrap the peacock herl forward a third of the shank (up to the wing, that is), and tie it off. Wrap the floss over the next third, and tie it off as well.

11.


Wrap the peacock herl for the final third, and tie it off. Be sure to leave some room for the impending hackle.

12.


Select one or two brown or grizzly hackles, although I prefer brown. Two hackles give better flotation, but one is more natural (mayflies only have six legs)

13.


Prepare it by stripping the fuzzy fibers from the base of the hackle, and then tie it in.

14.


Use a pair of hackle pliers to wrap the hackle twice behind and twice in front of the wing.

15.

Tie off the hackle, whip finish, and add head cement.

FINISHED FLY



In addition, there are several other renditions of the Royal Coachman. One is using turkey flat segments as wings, a design more similar to the original duck quill Royal Coachman.




In addition, I used orange foam to tie a post-wing version of the fly which I intend to try next season.

I also made a few soft hackle versions of this fly, time tested favorites in my mind.



Of course, I meant the kind pictured above is a time-tested favorite. The one below I tied for amusement and I doubt will catch a cold. Nonetheless, it's still worth a try and could be effective.