Don's Fly Tying - The Backswimmer

Fall fishing can be most enjoyable on those crisp autumn days when the sun is shining bright with just a bit of a breeze to ruffle the water! There are hatches as well and although I do not profess to be an expert on the differences between water boatman and backswimmers, fly imitations of bugs that rapidly propel through the water using a set of long legs can be a wonderful answer for fall fishing. One of my favourite lakes is Lumdbom as it is little more than an hour's drive from my home in Kelowna. On a recent trip to Lundbom, I met a North Vancouver angler who had success fishing a backswimmer pattern designed by Phil Rowley. My backswimmer pattern worked as well although it is rather gaudy because I have made liberal use of those modern bright fly tying materials that retailers now carry, sometimes I think just to tease the home fly tier! At any rate, I will share my space age backswimmer pattern with you for this month's fly tying pattern.

Materials

• Hook--Mustad 9671 size 8 to 10
• Tail--None
• Body--Pearl olive chenille; underside holographic tinsel; back olive Swiss straw
• Rib--None
• Hackle--None
• Legs--Black olive super floss
• Head--Holographic tinsel
• Wing--None
• Thread--Invisible Mending

Instructions

Start by winding a body of pearl olive chenille hook bend to hook eye. Now flip the hook in your vise and secure two legs around mid point, one on each side, of black olive super floss. At the hook eye, attach a piece of holographic tinsel, run it back to the hook bend where you will tie it down with invisible thread before running the tinsel back to the hook eye and tie off to complete the belly. A wrap or two of the tinsel at the hook eye (or even at the hook bend) before cutting adds additional flash to the fly. The next step is to place the hook upright in your vise and this time secure a length of olive Swiss straw at the hook eye. Wind the invisible tying thread back to the hook bend so you can tie down the Swiss straw and then fold the straw over to the hook eye where you will half hitch it firmly in place. Cement, tie off and you have finished a backswimmer fly that will catch autumn fish in Lundbom Lake!

Your comments are welcome at "dhaaheim at telus dot net"