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IMPORTANT
SITE UPDATE:
Visit the relaunched
Fish & Fly at fishandfly.com
A
Season of Salmon Flies
Our December 2000 contribution from Ally Gowans
Last time I tried to explain how salmon are affected by temperatures
of water and air and by water height. Now I will try to apply some sort
of reason to the selection of flies. Something of a mystery to the novice
salmon angler this subject is sometimes also a mystery to experts! My
intention is attempt to bring order to the thought process, to provide
a set of rules that will help you to choose a fly type and pattern that
will be reasonable for whatever conditions apply. Of course never and
always have no place here and it is always wise to listen and watch carefully
what successful local anglers do, wherever you fish. One of the most important
things to realise is that in addition to the prevailing conditions, the
size of the river itself and the speed of the current also influence selection.
In general salmon in larger rivers or fast water will take bigger sizes
of fly than in small rivers and slower water.
Basically,
the relationship works like this. Cold water requires large flies fished
fairly slowly and the salmon's taking zone that your fly must infringe
is small. That means that you should aim to get the fly within a few feet
of the fish to stimulate it into attacking. In the coldest of conditions,
flies of three inches or more may not be not out of place. Tubes, Waddingtons
and the like are favourites.
Yellow is the colour that has the most impact on salmon in cold water.
Yellow, orange and green are excellent choices of colour to include in
an early spring pattern. Silver, gold or holographic body materials increase
the fly's visibility. As the water warms, black becomes more important
and many successful patterns have simple black bodies with bold silver
or gold ribbing. There is no need to stick to detailed patterns if you
tie your own flies, a simple yellow and orange wing with a silver body
will catch plenty of early springers. However if I had to choose one fly
to get me through springtime it would be a Willie Gunn or something similar.
By varying the mix of yellow, orange and black and changing the body between
silver and black a whole range of effects can be produced to suit conditions.
Tube sizes between one inch and two inches are usually sufficient allowing
for the wing to extend up to twice the body length and I like to have
a range of brass, copper aluminium and plastic tubes to suit the depth
and current speed.
True
down and dirty sunk line techniques begin to loose their effectiveness
as the water warms and levels fall. The fly then moves too slowly and
becomes too obvious to the salmon. Temperatures around 8 to 10 degrees
C usually mean that fly fisher faster and closer to the surface will bring
better results. Smaller tube or Waddington type flies are suitable but
most anglers prefer to switch to dressed flies from size 4 down to size
10 as the water warms up. The warmer it becomes, the smaller and higher
the fly is fished until a full floating line is required. Preferred fly
colours change, with a tendency towards darker flies, silhouette patterns
like Stoats Tail fished close to the surface. This does not mean that
brighter flies will not work, but there are times during low water when
the most subtle and sober offerings are the only ones likely to be accepted.
During the late spring and summer period I would feel deprived if I did
not have a few of the following flies at my disposal. Munro Killer, Arndilly
Fancy, Executioner, Silver Stoats Tail, Tummel Shrimp, Cascade and Yellow
Ally's. If I only had two flies to choose from they would be a Stoats
Tail with a black body and a broad silver rib with jungle cock cheeks
and a fluorescent yellow tail and Ally's Shrimp. Of course you will have
noticed that some of these flies are brightly coloured. There are two
reasons for this. One is that when summer spates occur a brighter fly
is often required to combat the coloured water and the other is that in
bright conditions salmon and grilse will occasionally take a bright fly
like the Yellow Ally's or Cascade after they have refused my first choice
Stoats Tail, Arndilly or the like.
I the low warm water of summer, micro tube flies can be very deadly and
they are equally effective for sea trout. Dressed on fine plastic tube
down to 3mm in length and armed with tiny trebles they will often take
fish in "impossible" conditions. Stoats Tail is favourite. A silver or
black body can be used and the wing can be brightened up with a few strands
of yellow or orange if desired.
And so the year wears on into autumn and again the colours change. Red
becomes an attractive colour as the salmon themselves colour up, but still
the yellow, orange and black combination as represented by Willie Gunn
and the Munro Killer are reliable. Red Ally's Shrimps compete with the
original orange version for the top honours. In coloured water yellow
and black or orange and black tube flies with silver or holographic bodies
are excellent and indeed as the water cools and sunk fly again becomes
a necessity, tubes once more become the first choice. As days shorten
and light becomes a problem flies with a good proportion of white in the
dressing help to make best use of the available light. Junction Shrimp
and various White Wing patterns are important to the November angler as
the last of the rivers draw to a close and another season enters the record
books.
Next month I will look at the basics of salmon fly casting to help you
to prepare for the season ahead.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact
me or visit my website at http://www.letsflyfish.com/
Ally Gowans
A few anglers cut their teeth with salmon but for most of us trying to
catch a salmon becomes an ambition during the later years of our apprenticeship
Advice on catching that first elusive salmon
from Ally Gowans
Based in Perthshire, Ally is a regular contributor to Fly Fishing & Fly Tying, Trout and Salmon, Atlantic Salmon Journal and others. He's also a qualified instructor, holding both Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructor (APGAI) and Salmon and Trout Association National Instructors Certificate (STANIC) qualifications.