1988

This was the year of the Yellowstone fires. The first day was cloudy and threatening rain. Thinking that the day was going to be stormy, most anglers went for the wet flies, but not top angler John Flick of Durango, Colorado. John wanted a fly that could be fished both wet and dry and thus chose a Western Coachman, a Trude-style fly tied with white-rump deer hair for the wing and stiff brown hackle and peacock herl for the body. On Saturday, John built a lead so large that nobody was able to catch him. His two days of fishing the Western Coachman earned him top honors and a place in history for the fly.