Royal Coachmen of PAFF.

gfen

gfen

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Apr 8, 2007
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No fly better represents this freewheeling era [late 19th century] in fly tying than the Royal Coachman, which among the general public may be the world's best-known fly. Its name has the right combination of romance and class to appeal even to people who don't fish, and the fly has such a commanding appearance that few fly fisherman can resist having some permutation of the pattern in their fly boxes, even if they never use it. Most of them don't know it, but the Royal Coachman is the first great American fly pattern. Paul Schullery, Lore and Legends of Fly Fishing.
Click to expand...


Is there any more iconic fly in the fly fishers' arsenal than the aptly named Royal Coachman? It would seem anytime a casual display of fly fishing is mentioned, one can often find the tell tale scarlet band of the Royal Coachman in evidence. Wether it be displayed, or its classic lines drawn in any number of impressionistic displays, the Royal Coachman stands tall, a symbol and ambassador of the sport of fly fishing to the masses seemingly since its inception in 1878.

As one of the crown jewels of fly fishing patterns, the Royal Coachman's beginnings are even more interesting. The story of the pattern can be traced to... Rest of the article and full gallery including additional examples from some tyers...

Gallery of submitted flies:
 
Actually, the royal wulff - which uses white calf hair for the wings instead of of mallard wing sections - is a lot more popular now IMO.
And it is a very beautiful fly, and deserves all it's accolades for sure

But I rarely use them. They are a little more time consuming to tie.
And the peacock herl on the body is kinda fragile. I've had them get pretty messed up after catching a fish or 2.
I think there are flies that are easier to tie, and more durable - that work just as well
 
Nice flies! I also like the blog. Wit and wisdom. :pint:
How do you find the time?
I will have to add it to my favorites.
 

Well, hell, all y'all tied the flies. I just stuck 'em in a vise and pressed some buttons.
 
Awesome flies everyone. I'm kicking myself now. I should have joined the swap.
 
Agreed. I've seen a good handful of swaps over the years on here and this looks to be the best one. I never use the flies I received in swaps so stopped joining them, but the nostalgia of the "royal" really made it a step above the others. Great idea!
 
Nice job putting that together. I neva knew you had a blog but I enjoy it and will visit it frequently. Thanks for putting this swap together I gotta catch up with you to get my flies.
 
Gary - You did a great job with this swap. I agree with Ryan - this was the neatest swap I've seen here, or anywhere else.

Commendable work, for a Crooked River sucker fisherman. :lol:
 
Any way you can post who tied what on the pictures? I mean I know what I tied and I know what Jdizzle tied, but no one else.
 

I did, look at the comments in the flickor gallery. Nothing on the blarg page coz that just seemed kinda weirdish.
 
That was a awsome swap. Very nicely done.
 

Nice job gents, some good lookin flies.

I've had some luck over the years with the, Royal Coachmen streamer!

PaulG
 
Actually, the royal wulff - which uses white calf hair for the wings instead of of mallard wing sections - is a lot more popular now IMO. And it is a very beautiful fly, and deserves all it's accolades for sure But I rarely use them. They are a little more time consuming to tie. And the peacock herl on the body is kinda fragile. I've had them get pretty messed up after catching a fish or 2. I think there are flies that are easier to tie, and more durable - that work just as well
Click to expand...

i agree that there are definitely alot of more durable flys out there today :) but it has alot to do with tradition using this fly. i rarely use this fly but me best friend uses the royal coachmen wulff ALL the time on native brookie streams and slams em. its a cool feeling even watching someone make a fish rise to one of these classic flys.
 
Sweet! Thanks for hosting!!

JH
 
Great job with the presentation Gfen! Thanks for hosting.
 
Gfen,
I enjoyed this thread and the end presentation.
Great Royal Coachmen flies!

Have to go back and reread my Paul Schullery copy again.
 
There is just something about red and green. I think trout like Christmas.

Nice collection.
 
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