The Unique Water Boatman

By Tom Johannesen

Of all the interior insects I have imitated over the years I must admit that the water boatman is one of the most exciting to fish. That said, the water boatman is probably one of the least fished imitations amongst interior anglers due to its limited availability. The water boatman is greatly overlooked due to the fact it is only productive shortly after ice-off and again in the fall when the overnight temperatures start to drop.

When arriving at a lake in the spring or fall, take a little time to observe what insects are inhabiting the lake you are about to fish. With a little exploring along the edge of the shoreline, you can quickly identify which insects are present during the time you are visiting the lake.

Water boatman and backswimmers are present in nearly every lake in the interior due to the fact they can actually fly from lake to lake. These insects go through three stages of life from an egg to a larva and finally into an adult. For anglers the only stage we imitate is the adult stage when they are fully formed. Even though water boatman are not overly popular with anglers they are still considered a staple food source for trout in our interior lakes.

I consider water boatman one of my top six imitations to fish when covering interior lakes in the spring and fall. To date there have been more than a hundred different species of backswimmers and water boatman documented in North American but we generally only need to learn how to fish a few different types to have good success in our lakes. The adults vary from as small as 3 mm to as large as 10 mm in size so tying the same pattern in different sizes is a must to cover them in any lake. Water boatman and backswimmers are considered cousins and are known to be an aggressive part of the insect food chain. They commonly eat small shrimp, snails and even smaller sized nymphs. When not preying on other insects, they also eat numerous types of vegetation that inhabit the lakes.

Must have Water Boatman patterns

When assembling a productive selection of flies for fishing interior lakes, water boatman patterns should definitely be part of that collection. What makes water boatman imitations different from say chironomid imitations is the fact you don’t need hundreds of different patterns to cover this insect. In my personal collection I have hundreds of different shrimp, leeches, dragons’ and chironomids but only a few dozen water boatman.

When building a water boatman collection, a few dozen imitations tied in a couple sizes and colors will get the job done on the water. When it comes to tying water boatman imitations there are a few characteristics that must be high-lighted to make the fly successful. The materials used are not overly important, but the size and shape of the fly is. These insects are quite small and have legs protruding from the body. The name boatman comes from its appearance as they look like a boat rowing across the water as they swim along. As for the body, you can buy plastic silver bubbles which imitate the natural ones that trap air under their bodies. The truth is you can use any type of material, as long as you can wrap it into a tear drop shape. I find I can make the right shape using Lagartun French Flatbraid wrapped around the hook.

When the fly is completed, I apply thick UV clear fly finish to shape it into the right shape. The finish is not only natural looking, but the added clear finish also adds durability. Rubber legs are very common when tying these insects as they mimic the legs on the natural ones. The rubber legs are not only natural looking, but they are also very durable and can withstand fish chewing on them. Over the years I started adding beads to many of my water boatman patterns as they help get the fly in the zone quicker when casting at feeding fish. The most common water boatman colors include tan, silver, brown, and white and are tied on a short #12 hook.

Methods for fishing water boatman imitations

I spoke to several anglers before starting this article and they all agreed on a few key things. These insect imitations are best fished early and late in the year when the water is still cold, and the natural insects are still active. These patterns should be fished using a line or technique that keeps the fly a few feet from the surface. In some cases, this will allow you to use a floating line and a weighted fly. I find the most common lines used are a type 3 or intermediate fly line as they tend to stay in the zone longer. My personal favorite line for fishing water boatman is a streamer tip line as they keep the fly in front of the fish for the entire cast. When it comes to the retrieve, a short choppy one works best as this is the way the natural insects swim. As for leader lengths, I find that a tapered leader from seven to nine feet works best overall.

Best times to fish water boatman imitations

When it comes to imitating water boatman successfully, timing is literally everything. This is not a fly that fishes good year-round. The key to success is cold weather, in fact the colder the better. One of the best times to fish with boatman patterns is after a cold snap or just as the ice leaves a lake in the spring. Once the lakes start warming in the spring the good boatman fishing is over. Many avid anglers agree that the best time to fish water boatman patterns is from late September through to late October. At this time of year trout can often be seen cruising around on the shoals looking for these insects in shallow water. The most productive days to fish boatman patterns are usually calm sunny days with the fishing being most productive in the early afternoon.

The odd thing about fishing boatman patterns is trout feed heavily on them when the timing is right but often ignore them the rest of the day. It seems like it’s a feast or famine type of fishery. For that reason, when fishing in the fall always have a rod set up with a water boatman tied on. An obvious sign of when to fish these patterns is when the female insects crash the surface to drop their eggs. It is easy to detect as it looks like it’s raining even though there are no clouds in the sky. When this occurs, the fish go crazy and start feeding on them heavily.

Next time you are on the water in the early spring or late fall try fishing with a water boatman imitation, if you hit the timing right you will be in for a real exciting day on the water.