The Atlantic Salmon Fly Passion

Big colorful Dee flies are great patterns for spring fishing  Does the choice of fly matter in Atlantic  salmon fishing? There is endless debate amongst fishermen on both sides of yes and no. We all have our own opinions on the matter. I fall in the middle ground category. My answer is always, "depends on conditions". "The fly that's fished most will be the most successful", holds true for the most part. We fishermen tend to follow the trend of what has been successful in the past and that could be enough to fool salmon.  Classic feather wings, hairwings, Spey and Dee flies, tube flies and shrimp flies....they all seem to catch fish.  Flies for Atlantic salmon are ever evolving with new trends and a plethora of new tying materials available, a next day, home delivery away.  It seems the type of fly doesn't matter. Or does it? Mathieu fooled this chunky Springer with a white winged Ackroyd In  part one , I outlined how early, migrating spring fish, will take...

This spring salmon was hooked in unseasonably low but cold water using an intermediate tip line and medium sized fly  In  Chapter 1 , we looked at some ideas on how to approach early Spring fishing for Atlantic salmon.  In this chapter, I'll focus on how I decide on the right tackle to choose. The idea of "success", when it comes to fishing, is different for everyone, but for argument's sake, let's say that here, success is defined by hooking a spring salmon or Springer!  Adaptability is a recurring theme in my blogs. Adapting to conditions that present themselves when your knee deep in a salmon river will bring success more times than not.  We'll look at some scenarios where adapting to conditions should be considered.  Tackle: Rods Springers are, for the most part, the largest of the run. They use their size and strength to migrate during the highest river levels of a season. Our tackle should reflect that. The 7 or 8 weight rods that we use in summer sho...

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...

Fishing the inside seams of a swollen pool Early spring here in Eastern Canada has got to be the most frustrating and/or rewarding time of year to fish for fresh run Atlantic Salmon. Predicting the very first runs of the year is like picking the winning lottery numbers. Most of us that are not lucky enough to live close to a salmon river will plan our fishing trips months in advance. We plan time off from work and family and book lodging and guides based on what we hope will be that magic time when the biggest and strongest of the gene pool will be running. Thanks to nature's predictable unpredictability and the narrow window of time that these fish will run, we often find ourselves on the wrong side of lady luck even if we base our decision on previous years' records of runs, lunar phases, ocean tides and whatever else we can think of that will better our chances. Even if we happen to get the timing of the run right, other unforseen variables can get in the way of success...

  RL Winston’s Boron III technology combined with its proprietary nano resin formula push the limits of blank strength, taper, wall thickness, and diameter resulting in the powerful but extremely light weight Winston AIR TH. When I first received the AIR TH, I couldn’t believe how light the rod tube was. I thought that they may have forgotten to insert the rod in the tube before shipping.  I planned to test Winston AIR TH (8 weight, 14'6") with multiple fly lines in a Great Lakes tributary for migratory steelhead. Initial notes: I removed the four-piece rod from the tube and put it together. The finish on this rod is perfect. The impeccable, translucent ‘Winston green’ color, hand inscribed rod information and serial number on each ferrule is a small but personal touch that Winston rods are known for.  The stripper guide is satin finished with a Silicon Nitride ring and the snake guides are hard chrome. All are perfectly aligned. The anodized aluminum reel seat is do...