Western Coachman

Western Coachman

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Tying Instructions

1. Attach the thread behind the eye and lay a thread foundation to the bend of the hook. The bend is located just above the midpoint of the barb.

2. Select a tippet feather in which the spacing between the two black bars is about the same as the shank length. Trim off 5-6 barbs. Even the tips in a stacker if they do not align. Tie in the tippet barbs at the bend of the hook with the lower black bar showing using a pinch wrap to keep the barbs together on the top of the shank. Secure with thread wraps to the midpoint of the shank..

3. Trim off the tag ends of the tippets and attach a fine Gold Wire to the bottom of the hook shank and secure with thread wraps.

4. Secure the wire with tightly spaced thread wraps to the bend of the hook. Keep the wire on the bottom of the shank.

5. Secure four strands of Peacock Herl to the side of the shank at the midpoint of the shank and secure with thread wraps to the bend of the hook.

6. Twist the herls into a chenille and wrap forward to the 3/4 position of the shank. Secure the herls with thread wraps.

7. Trim off the tag ends of herl and reverse wrap the gold wire forward with 5-6 wraps to help protect the herl. Secure the wire tag end with thread wraps at the 3/4 position.

8. Trim off the wire tag and secure a hackle feather by the base just in front of the body. Select a hackle that is 1-2 sizes larger than the hackle guage indicates for the hook size. This is a wet fly and you want the hackle fibers to sweep back, partially covering the hook point.

9. Wrap the hackle 3 times with a tight spacing. Secure the tag end with a couple of thread wraps behind the eye.

10. Trim off the hackle tag and trim the errant fibers that got locked forward. Place a couple of thread wraps tight against the base of the hackle fibers to help them sweep back.

11. Cut a small portion of White Deer Hair from the hide. Clean the fluff away from the hair, leaving it clean. Even the tips within a stacker and place the hair so that the tips extend about the midpoint of the tail. Secure with pinch thread wraps keeping the hair on the top of the shank.

12. Trim off the hair butts and secure with addtional wraps going through the trimmed butt section.

13. Wrap a thread head hiding all of the butt ends and Whip Finish.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	Daiichi 1560 #14-20
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Ribbing	Small Gold Wire
Body	Peacock Herl ,4-6 strands
Tail	Golden Pheasant Tippet
Wing	Bleached Deer Hair
Hackle	Furnace Hen Neck

Western Coachman

The Western Coachman was designed by Wayne “Buz” Buszek of Visalia, CA in 1939 or 1940 as a wet fly. Buz would fish this pattern extensively throughout the Southern Sierra, particularly the Kings River, for both Rainbows and Browns. He had a fly shop in Visalia and this was his number one pattern.

Olive Promotion

The pattern became more popular by the promotion of the Pacific Coast Olive Company as they purchased 2,000 Western Coachman flies in 1949. When you purchased their olives, you would receive one of Buz’s flies in a metal container. A little later, the Orvis Company marketed the Western Coachman within their inventory of fly patterns.

A Hair Wing version

Wayne “Buz” Buszek

The Western Coachman was patterned after the wet version of the Orvis Company’s Royal Coachman which was designed in 1878. Buz redesigned the wing using coarse white deer hair that extended over the body to the center of the tail. Buz would even the tips of deer hair with a copper pipe which was the forerunner to the hair eveners we use today.

The term “coachman’ goes back even further as the original coachman designs were from the 1830’s when the coachman to the Royal Family of England, Tom Bosworth, came up with the basic pattern design, the Coachman. Today, Buz is remembered by the “Buz Buszek Award” given by the International Federation of Fly Fishers recognizing the finest Fly Tiers in the world.

Presentation

Dead drift through deep, fast moving runs and especially at the head of pools. Fish fly down tail-outs with a quick lift at the end of the drift causing the fly to lift rapidly as if emerging (as caddis do) to escape the water quickly. In both cases, you’ll feel a strong take, especially when rising the fly at the end of the drift, so be sure to have a heavy tippet.

Variations include the Flashback Western Coachman designed by Colorado Fly Tier, Paul Prentiss and Hans Weilenmann’s version of the Wet Wire Western Coachman designed by Dennis Collier.

Flashback Western Coachman

Hook	Daiichi 1560 #14-18
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Weight	Lead-free wire , 6-10 wraps
Ribbing	Small Gold Wire
Body	Peacock Herl ,4-6 strands
Tail	Golden Pheasant Tippet, 5-6
Flashback	Peacock Krystalflash
Wing	Z-lon, white
Hackle	Brown or Grizzly Hen Saddle Hackle

Wet Wire Western Coachman

Hook	Daiichi 1560 #10-16
Thread	Gordon Griffith's Black 14/0
Ribbing	Small Gold Wire
Body	Copper Wire, small
Thorax	Peacock Herl, single strand
Tail	Golden Pheasant Tippet, 5-6
Wing	White CDC
Hackle	Furnace Hen Hackle