The Atlantic Salmon Fly Passion

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...