Hats off to Mr. Dale Beamish for his fantastic Waterboatman. I nearly reached for my can of RAID! It also reminded me of just how much it hurts when these buggers bite ya.
Fantastic fly Dale, those fish don’t stand a chance : )
PS - Of course I love your hook choice : )
I thought it was a realistic fly tying post instead of a fly to be fished…actually both
You might be interested in this:…might not need Raid 
It’s so realistic as to be creepy! A great tie. Hats off from here, too. DANBOB
Great topic and what a beautiful fly pattern Dale! I have Backswimmers in our horse water troughs in the summer. Some can get to be very large. Never have bothered the horses and I don’t spend much time in the horse’s water so they get to stay. I also put 2 to 3 gold fish in each trough to fight on the mosqitoes. As a young boy I would spend hours watching the Waterboatman laying on my belly at the rivers edge. Ducksterman, good site you threw in there too. FAOL is the best site for fly patterns and how to tie them ! Jonezee
Sounds like - or reads like - if I combine Dale’s excellent recipe with Duckster’s info, I should crimp the legs so they ride close to the body and try plastic or pearl mylar layer on the underside.
Very interesting. Thanks to both. And howdy to Dr. Fish.