Salmon flies

Tube Flies

Salmon flies can comprise metal or plastic tube with standard salmon flies partterns tied to them including copper tubes (which have more weight to go deeper faster) or nylon tubes which remain closer to the surface. Modern tube flies can be tied on fly fishing systems like Tubeology that are even more flexible. These allow you to take aluminium tubes to the water and swap heads for hot spot colour and size / weight enabling the same Tubeology tube  flies to vary the depth and speed at which it descends across different parts of salmon pools  giving more flexibility to your salmon flies. Tube  flies patterns vary from traditional tube salmon flies patterns like green highlander through newer salmon flies like pot bellied pig tube flies and the ultra mobile sunray shadow tube and monkey tube flies using materials that give maximum movement like cashmere goat.

Hook Based Flies

Salmon flies come in all shapes and sizes and vary according to hooks used. Depending where you are salmon fly fishing and the relevant club or water rules  for salmon flies usage you may be potentially allowed to use salmon flies on double or treble hooks or may not. Many waters are restricting the types of hooks used for the benefit of the salmon.  Arriving with flies that cannot be used would be dreadful. If In doubt take salmon flies based on tubes as salmon flies based on tubes mean that you can swap hooks for salmon flies according to local rules.

Size & Use

Recommended fly hook sizes vary throughout the year. In the early season as this Tubeology seasonal salmon flies chart illustrates in early season size 4 flies with green colour flies are more successful salmon, flies during the mid season colours change from yellow salmon flies (try Allys Cascade Shrimp) to orange salmon flies (try Allys Shrimp) and as the season progresses flies should get smaller. During the hight of summer you may be using salmon flies as small as size 16. At the end of the salmon season red salmon flies (try Allys Shrimp Red) then purples colour salmon flies  (try Allys Shrimp Purple).

Salmon Flies - General Notes

The salmon stops eating when it moves into fresh water from the sea for breeding, it is literally "dying" to reed and reproduce until it retursn to the sea. Indeed vast quantities of salmon die in the act of reproduction.; Because of this we are not catching salmon because it wants to eat to satisfy hunger like the Rainbow Trout we are catching the salmon as we are triggering its predatory nature. Using imitative flies like Ally's shrimps designed by Alistair Gowans which resemble shrimp based patterns or the red francis which using boar hair again resembles a shrimp . There are then  modern flies like monkey tube and sunray shadow tube based samon flies using materials like cashmere goat for maximum movement producing ultra-mobile flies which may look like a small fish to the predatory salmon. come in with an amazing name range from collie dog, green highlander, blue charm, green brahan,  jock scott,  munro killer stoats tail, silver stoats tail,  thunder & lightening, willie gunn,  sunray shadow, monkey,  fatback. have been changed over the years. are triggers not a natural food so need to look like food but stimulate. Don't forget roe egg are useful for other species when salmon are breeding!