Swim Coach Articulated Streamer - Fly Tying Instructions by Charlie Craven

Fly Tying Recipe:
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Hooks: #2 and #4 Daiichi 2461
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Beads: Gold 5mm and Olive 3D Bead (For Articulation)
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Eyes: 6mm gold Holographic Dome
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Weight: .020" lead wire
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Connection: Senyo’s Intruder Trailer Wire, thin
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Thread: Olive 8/0 Veevus
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Spreader: Gold Ice Dub
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Collar: Yellow and olive possum
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Hackle: Olive and chartreuse mallard flank feathers
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Body: Gold Ice Dub
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Wing: Light olive, sand, and yellow Ripple Ice Fiber
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Head: Light Olive Possum
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It was only when my wife and I went up to Cody to fish with our friend, Blake Clark of Wyoming Trout Guides, that this little gem saw the light of day again. We’ve fished with Clark for a few years now, and we have always had a blast with him. He’s a wonderful guy to spend the day with, knows his water like the back of his hand, and is an outstanding oarsman. On this particular day, he suggested a float on a less traveled piece of water that “may be fishing really well, or maybe we’re just going on a nice boat ride.” Sounded perfect to us.

We set out through an astonishingly beautiful valley, Lisa up front and I, nestled tightly in the back of Clark’s raft. We began with dry/dropper rigs and waylaid a fish here and there, but it was starting to look like it was gonna be more of a boat ride than a fishing trip, as the river was still just a bit high to be fishing well.

I decided to toss a few bigger bites from the back of the boat, and asked Clark to take a look in my box and see if there was anything that caught his eye. He quickly pulled out the then-unnamed Swim Coach. I tied the tan version onto a dropper behind a bigger Gonga, and we pushed off into the current.

I’d like to say I immediately started a streamer-fishing clinic, pulling fish and follows on every cast, but that would be an exaggeration. It was only on say, every third or fourth cast. Maybe fifth or sixth. Maybe. But yes, the streamers worked. While the big Gonga did its fair share, the smaller trailing fly closed the deal more often.

The day was highlighted by a nice brown that came from behind a midstream boulder to take a solid swipe at the Gonga in full sight of everyone in the boat. As is often the case when I have an audience, I blew the hook-set and ripped the flies out of the water, leaving the poor fish hanging up near the surface literally searching for his lost meal. Being a true fly-fishing professional, I immediately threw my rig right back in there and was rewarded with a crushing strike on the trailing fly, and in this instance, I actually got the hook-set into a beautiful and now angry brown trout. It was an aggressive and perfectly visible eat, and just the kind of thing that makes memories forever. I still smile when I think of it.

We spent the rest of the float teaching Lisa to throw streamers, her interest piqued by the aggressiveness of the strikes while we all discussed the world in general with a bit of flies and fishing banter thrown in for good measure.

Clark and I talked about the new fly, and he shared a few thoughts on what he looks for in a good streamer pattern. I filed all of this away and promised myself I would revisit this pattern once I got home.

When we returned to Colorado, I did indeed sit down and start playing with the pattern again and came up with the final version you see here.