During the spring and fall, you can find an abundance of water boatman and backswimmers habituating in still water fisheries oblivious to the trout. These bugs can make up a good portion of a trout's diet during these months, and especially into the fall when bulking up is a priority.
Bob states that he has been offered many Corixa (Water boatmen) and Notonectidae (backswimmer) patterns over the years, but has had most of his success with this backswimmer fly pattern while fishing the lakes of Saskatchewan.
Bob also points out the misnomer that the bugs leave a trail of bubbles behind as they dive, the initial reason for the crystal flash tail. While this may not hold true, he opted to include this feature in order to add a little bit of stabilization to the otherwise tail-less fly and to give predators another trigger to gaze upon.
Bob's Backswimmer fly pattern recipe
Hook: Firehole 315 #10-16
Weight: 4-6 wraps of non-lead wire (0.035)
Thread: Olive 8/0 (70d)
Tail: 2 strand pearl or olive crystal flash
Shellback: 12-16 pheasant tail fibers
Body: Olive Senyo’s Laser Dub or sub
Legs: Brown goose biots
Head: Olive Senyo’s Laser Dub or sub
Coating: Bone Dry UV resin
