catching atlantic salmon,bigsalmon salmon fishing and fly-fishing for salmon

Catching Atlantic Salmon

Perhaps the two most important factors in fishing for salmon, are applying local knowledge and using good quality terminal tackle.

For a combination of reasons which include genetic, climatic and local river systems, salmon have developed certain idiosyncrasies, which can only be gleaned by years of fishing and close observation to detail, as to the benefit of certain techniques and lures over other others. Although it’s possible to disprove local knowledge, a wise fishermen will always listen intently, to the lies, and takes of a salmon, on any new river system. Quality terminal tackle which is discussed later, relates to using good hooks and leader material.

Salmon lies have been documented in fishing texts from Victorian times and in this respect nothing has changed. Certain features on the river bed encourage salmon to hold in a certain fishing lie, and it is worth, listening to local advice or in the absence of such, looking for such clues to determine the likely lies.

Salmon will often move to these lies from the sea and remain anywhere from hours to months before moving up to spawning beds, (redds) in the late autumn/ winter.

Characteristic Lies
3-8 ft water
gravel, or rocky slab river bed rather than silt.
Infront of behing a rock or boulder.
Behing a rocky depression in the river bank.
Between current flows, but always out of the full river force.

Salmon have been caught on a range of lures and all have their advantage. When the rivers are in spate and coloured a worm works well, spinners and spoons will cover most conditions, whereas the fly, works best in clearing, to clear water. For the purist, the fly is the quintessential lure for Atlantic salmon and is the only method discussed here. Flies vary in name size description and tactics, and there are books written solely on the subject. The Victorian multi-feathered flies using ingredients from every rare bird have been replaced by the more effective, hair winged flies. These are often of simple dyed colours, sparsely dressed on either a hook or plastic tube. The size perhaps is the most notable variable, the largest for the coldest water, and the smallest in the warm oxygen depleted conditions found in low water, even down to a sized 18.

Many notable adages exist tested over the years, ‘bright flies on bright days’ and larger flies in coloured water. Whatever fly you use, ensure it’s a good quality hook. Partridge or Gamagatu are some of the best forged hooks. It doesn’t matter a jot if you are using a £600 Sage rod, if the leader is poor quality and the hook bends and the fish is lost. lifetime fish will be a transient memory.

	Above: Classic salmon salmon fly on a 2/0 hook and Tube flies of dyed squirrels fur.

Debates of fly dressings have gone on for eons, here are a few.

‘the controversy as to whether fish can distinguish colours was unknown to our ancestors. I am inclined to believe that, for salmon, size and perhaps shade , light or dark with more or less tinsel, are the only important points’ Forward to the Complete Angler. Andrew Lang 1896.

Hair flies are preferable to feathers and squirrel and produce ‘vivid animation’ along with goat hair. Arthur Oglesby.

‘Some dyed squirrel tails , a few feathers and a twist of silver or gold tinsel with furnish any number of killing salmon flies’ … ‘black hair winged flies are as good as any for salmon and make an excellent first choice’ Hugh Faulkus.

‘When making coffee , use twice as much as you think you need; when tying flies , use half as much’ T.R.Henn

The body should be lightly dressed , and never obscure the body of the fly The Fisherman’s Vade Mecum 1952

So good forged hooks, with a silver or gold tinsel and hair wings of the correct size will be a good bet.

Types of Fly. A range of sizes are the most important variable, some dark others light, to name a few you should not be without, Silver stoat, Stoats tail, Munro Killer, Gary Dog, Thunder and Lightening and a range of Shrimp Flies. Shrimp flies were first designed by Pat Curry in Coleraine Ireland who tied the original Curry’s Shrimp. The original shrimp fly patterns have golden pheasant hackles for the tail with two hackles along the shank. Most of these are tied on a 10-12 treble hook. The golden pheasant tail should be the length of the main fly which gives it an animated appearance. Shrimp flies have stimulated many variations most notably Ally Gowan , Ally Shrimp, Cascade shrimp, Yellow shrimp …..which all have in common a long tail up to twice the length of the fly. More recently new materials like pot bellied boar bristle, and crystal boar have added to movement of the fly. On the right is my hybrid fly the 'Shroat' this has the classic shrimp fly tail of golden pheasant a holographic tinsel body and a stoats wing front. The fly is intentionally bushy to accommodate the heavy Michael Frodin single tube fly hook, which will never bend on a big salmon.

The Floater. These are used in Russia, Canada and Scandinavia bur rarely in the UK. There are many patterns but the Bomber or yellow Bomber seems to work best. This is gently cast on a light leader and well dressed with Mucin to ensure a high profile as it is presented over the salmon lies. Skatting the fly works well, to attract fish but to really hook a large fish, it should be cast on a dead-drift,with slow repetition and as the wind dies and the light fades, the salmon will rise!

Leaders. There so much written about leaders, but hands down, Maxima, which is used by virtually all the North American fishermen, is superb. A 10lb line will land a 30 lbs salmon, as it will stretch and flex unlike a fluorocarbon of three times the cost. Mountaineers don’t climb with strong but non-forgiving rope!

Covering the water. Probably only 10% of rivers have holding lies, the rest is ‘dead’ water. Where the lies are known from experience or by using a guide, these areas can be covered comprehensively but in unknown rivers, all likely runs need covering, which is achieved by casting a short line and then extending it gradually into to a long cast so as to cover all the water.

Consider the 4 S's of Salmon Fishing

Sink of the Fly. Traditionally summer salmon involves a floating line, however dropping the line below the surface film will often catch more fish. Slow intermediates are particularly useful, through to sinking polyleaders and sink tips which are ideal in cold water, bright sunshine and North or East wind. Generally sunk flies are used for <45 F and Smaller floating flies >50 F.

Salmon often need to feel threatened to take a fly and in the late season, when fish are deep in the pools, and territorial,a deeply fish fly will invariably out-fish a fly on the surface.

Speed of the Fly. There appears to be an ideal speed which attracts a salmon to a fly, generally faster rather than slow. In fast water the fly may need slowing by one or two upstream mends,in slow water the converse is true where the fly is accelerated with downstream mends. In slack water it is useful to slowly 'figure of eight' the line, to maintain movement in the fly, but not to quickly as to remove the fly and hence threat to the salmon.

Swing of the Fly . A fly has to appear annimated to induce a take. A fly-fly swing across the current will out-fish a fly on the 'dangle'. It is often better to cast at 90 degrees to the river, instead of the conventional 45 degress and allow the fly to swing without mending to achieve such enticing movement. In Canada the saying goes ' If it ain't got a swing you won't hook a thing' , and it certainly appears true.

Size of the Fly . Altering fly size is far more critical than altering the pattern. It's probably only necessary to have a couple of fly dressings, like a silver stoat, and shrimp fly, but it is essential to have a range of sizes from size 2 -14, and to vary these sizes when the salmon aren't taking.

Shape and Shade are probably also important, to a lesser degree. The animated tail of the Alley's shrimp can be excellent in fast water especially with fresh salmon.

Rods Reels and Landing

Rods. A rod is merely a tool to cast a lure with ease, and any that works is fine. It is possible to catch 40lbs salmon on a trout rod, which is rather hairy but with modern graphite is certainly feasible. Despite this, long double-handed rods, will, in large rivers, out-perform a single handed rod. They will cast the fly further, and spey casting will allow the ability to cast the fly with ease off either shoulder and so cover more water. The exceptions to this are in smaller river, boat fishing and fishing the floating lure, where the single handed rod, with outperform it.

Reels Always fish with a large capacity reels with at least 200 yards of good quality backing, the modern large arbour reels have the edge with their rapid retrieval of the line.

Hooking Playing & Landing. Salmon generally hook themselves, certainly if fished on a wet fly, an upstream dry-fly, by converse, needs striking. It is important to give giving salmon a few seconds to return to the lie from tacking the fly, before setting the hook ensures a better hook-up. One method is to drop a loose yard of line the second the take is felt and then tighten only after two or three seconds, to set the hook. The salmon is then caught in the side of the mouth and not lipped, which often with soft mouthed grilse will be a lost fish.

Playing the fish in the current in optimal, with the salmon either opposite or upstream, as the fish tired more easily. Standing back from the bank is wise , so the salmon can then be either netted, with a knotless net for grilse, or tailed for a large salmon, without it fighting frenetically, in the shallows, with fishermen standing over, and so preventing it throw the hook, in the shallows.

Catch and release. The UK still lags behind North America, and the Kola Peninsula with it’s catch and release ideology. It seems irresponsible to kill large, breeding stock, atlantic salmon when the species is now on the endangered list. Releasing such a specimen, is to me more enjoyable, than watching the fading lustre depart, from the silver deity, as it lies on the bank.