..."That's salmon fishing..."

A deep bodied bright spring salmon fresh from the ocean

When someone asks, "what's your favorite time to fish for Atlantic Salmon?", my obvious answer is anytime, but spring salmon fishing ranks up high on the list!
It may be the longing for the the season to start after a long, cold winter, or the scents of flowers, cedar, & damp leaves only springtime can bring, or the anticipation of fishing new flies tied over the winter months.
All of it makes the experience on a salmon river in springtime feel like what heaven would be for me.
But, the true reason, is & will always be the chance to fish for big, bright salmon! The first to enter the rivers still loaded with sea lice! At their peaks of size, power, & beauty! Eager to take your offerings with reckless abandonment! And give you memorable battles that only a worthy opponent could!


 Spring tube flies


BUT......................

These are the things you dream of over a long winter. Reality sets in after 6 full days(sunrise to sunset) of casting in cold & high water in pools void of life. Jumping from pool to pool over miles of river to look for that one, just one, player that will hopefully accept your offerings only to refuse every perfectly tied , perfectly presented, fly you have to show him.
Covering water


You stumble back to your room on your last day cold, full of back, leg, arm, shoulder pains, drained & defeated, wishing you had just one more day. It could be the day that brings in the fish, but you crack open a beer & say.......

"That's salmon fishing......"
Defeated on the last day. Nothing left to do but warm your bones beside the fire

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tying Atlantic Salmon Flies

Image
Taking a hiatus from tying, can really make you realize how much you can miss it & how it can be a really important part of your life. When one comes to such a realization, it is only natural to ask yourself why "it" is so important to someone. Let's face it, tying flies & fishing is not the end all, but it can be & is a sort of escape from reality or a stress relief from our overwhelming daily duties. Let's call it fly tying yoga! The Art of Tying The beauty of tying, specifically salmon flies, is that the art of tying is what you make it. Like all art, it is subjective. Much like salmon flies. Most salmon flies are not meant to imitate a specific food item like trout flies are intended to do. Salmon do not feed when they are migrating up rivers to spawn.They will take a fly for reasons unknown.Which in part lies some of the mystery & joy of salmon fishing.  You start with a blank canvas, or in this case a hook. You chose & blend your materi
Read more

Scientific Anglers TC Skagit Lines Review

Image
Skagit lines have come a long way in design and efficiency since they were first commercially available. The older, shorter and fatter "beer can" floating level lines made turning over heavy sink tips and large flies easy and they’ve caught a lot of fish since, but they lacked the smoothness and aesthetic of a well cast, tapered spey line. Scientific Anglers has redesigned and improved their Skagit head series from the level lines of past to new, fully tapered heads. Compared to the level lines, tapered ones are more efficient in driving and holding a loop through the air before rolling out for maximum distance.  I tested both of Scientific Anglers’ new Skagit heads. The Floating head and Intermediate head paired well with SA's Third Coast Textured Spey Tips, the industry’s first fully tapered, fully textured, double-density sinking tips. The lines were tested on a recent late fall steelhead outing. Air and water temps were hovering a few degrees above freezing, so a low
Read more

GAELFORCE EQUALIZER G + 15' 10 WEIGHT REVIEW

Image
  I have cast many two-handed rods and reels in hopes of finding what equipment best suits my style of casting and fishing. My two-handed journey seemed to edge towards the rod tapers and reels made or designed in the United Kingdom.  The Brits have always had a knack for producing long lasting, practical fishing gear that gets the job done. Gaelforce is no exception: their rods and lines are of superior quality and will exceed the expectations of the beginner or seasoned professionals. I am a fishing caster, which is to say that I will adapt my casting style to the fishing conditions presented in real time (competition casting isn’t really on my radar, but I do look to these professional casters for inspiration and to see what are the latest trends in equipment and techniques that are pushing the boundaries). Gaelforce two-handed fly rods and lines have garnered a lot of attention among the two-handed competition casting and fishing communities the last few years - some of the top cas
Read more