Fly Tying Hub

Steelhead Coachman

Developed by Oregon steelhead angler and guide John Hazel, the Steelhead Coachman is a Pacific Northwest summer-steelhead hairwing that carries the peacock body and contrasting light wing associated with the Coachman family. It is an attractor rather than a precise imitation, although its peacock herl and soft brown hackle give it a distinctly buggy appearance in the water. The fly is typically swung across and downstream for summer steelhead and is closely associated with rivers such as the Deschutes, Snake, Grande Ronde, and Clearwater. The source demonstrates a simplified variation using a yellow hackle-fiber tail, pearl-flash underwing, white calf-tail wing, and red thread rather than the golden-pheasant crest, polar-bear hair, jungle-cock cheeks, and black thread found in some traditional dressings. Keep the wing sparse and reinforce the fragile peacock-herl body with evenly spaced tinsel ribbing.

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Recipe

Tying Instructions

  1. 1

    Secure the hook in the vise, start the red thread behind the eye, and lay a smooth thread foundation rearward to the tail tie-in point.

  2. 2

    Select a small bunch of yellow hackle fibers and tie them on top of the shank as a short, centered tail.

  3. 3

    Tie in the oval silver tinsel at the rear of the body and leave it extending behind the hook for later ribbing.

  4. 4

    Tie in several strands of peacock herl and wrap them forward in close turns to form a full, even body.

  5. 5

    Wind the oval silver tinsel forward in evenly spaced open turns to rib and reinforce the peacock-herl body, then secure and trim it.

  6. 6

    Tie in a sparse brown saddle hackle immediately in front of the body.

  7. 7

    Fold the hackle fibers rearward and wrap the feather to form a mobile collar, then secure and trim the stem.

  8. 8

    Tie a sparse amount of pearl Flashabou or Krystal Flash on top of the body as an underwing.

  9. 9

    Clean and align a small bunch of white calf tail, remove the short underfur, and tie it on top of the hook as a sparse wing extending approximately to the end of the tail.

  10. 10

    Trim the hair butts at an angle, cover them with thread, and form a neat tapered red head.

  11. 11

    Whip finish and apply head cement or clear varnish.