Water boatmen?

Brian in OR.

Steelhead
Ive been using a pattern that Sportsman's carry and i like it... Dont be afraid to fish it under an indicator.... picked up some foam ones and will try those when conditions warrant.

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Gyrfalcon22

Life of the Party
I like teeny nymphs. I guess I could say some sort of pheasant tail without a bead head or tail, but might as well give a nod to the "I SPOT 'em, I GOT 'em!" fisherman.
 
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Old406Kid

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Last fall I started using these Airflo polyleaders in the 8' Hover and Intermediate with good succcess when fishing Boatmen patterns over shallow weedbeds.
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The Cortland Ghost Tip Line is another good option if you want a dedicated line.
 

troutpocket

Stillwater strategist
I don’t have any special patterns for boatmen. But I have seen them more frequently, or at least noticed them, in recent years. A couple of times right after ice off in the basin I’ve been in the midst of a “hatch” when they splash down hard, sometimes impacting the bottom of my boat. Sometimes I’ve had success with a boatman pattern. Other times a micro leech under an indicator has been as good as anything.
 

iveofione

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Boatman patterns were hot last fall. My granddaughter caught her very first fish on one. You need to have some on board, when boatman are active the fish are looking up and the action is frantic. My experience has been that the pattern isn't terribly critical as long as the legs are right, good legs seem to be the trigger.
 

Northern

Seeking SMB
Forum Supporter
I don’t have any special patterns for boatmen. But I have seen them more frequently, or at least noticed them, in recent years. A couple of times right after ice off in the basin I’ve been in the midst of a “hatch” when they splash down hard, sometimes impacting the bottom of my boat. Sometimes I’ve had success with a boatman pattern. Other times a micro leech under an indicator has been as good as anything.
Maybe that explains one place I fish out there where the trout like a black microleech stripped really fast. I should tie short, fat ones!
 

Buzzy

I prefer to call them strike indicators.
Forum Supporter
Dr. Chan's peacock chenille pattern is very simple (of course I don't have that particular body material). I often dub a lighter colored body but include a flashback for the air bubble. I use Larva Lace for the legs and often include a bead head for shallow water applications. When I fish a boatman in deep water, I use the countdown technique he describes.

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Oops.
 

Kilchis

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Sort of related….boatmen may have incredible scenting abilities. I used to deer hunt the juniper/sagebrush country in central Oregon, always the first week of October -summer's end. By then everything was parched and arid. About 1/3 mile south of our regular campsite was a “reservoir”, a cattle watering hole that had diminished that year to an opaque sludge of mud, cow pee and water about 10 feet in diameter. After one morning hunt we were sitting in front of the tents eating lunch and heard “tink”. Then again, “tink,” “tink tink.”. As one of the kids I got assigned to solve the mystery of the sound source. On the chuck table the chef du jour had left a couple inches of water in a 15” white enamel wash basin. Boatmen were apparently abandoning the drying mudhole and following the scent of the fresh water to dive into that small basin at full speed. A few more crashed into the metal bowl as we watched. Tink! Sorry for the hijack.
 

Northern

Seeking SMB
Forum Supporter
Sort of related….boatmen may have incredible scenting abilities. I used to deer hunt the juniper/sagebrush country in central Oregon, always the first week of October -summer's end. By then everything was parched and arid. About 1/3 mile south of our regular campsite was a “reservoir”, a cattle watering hole that had diminished that year to an opaque sludge of mud, cow pee and water about 10 feet in diameter. After one morning hunt we were sitting in front of the tents eating lunch and heard “tink”. Then again, “tink,” “tink tink.”. As one of the kids I got assigned to solve the mystery of the sound source. On the chuck table the chef du jour had left a couple inches of water in a 15” white enamel wash basin. Boatmen were apparently abandoning the drying mudhole and following the scent of the fresh water to dive into that small basin at full speed. A few more crashed into the metal bowl as we watched. Tink! Sorry for the hijack.
Wow - that's crazy!
 
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