Salmon flies

Salmon Flies - Tube Flies

Salmon flies can comprise metal or plastic tube with standard salmon flies partterns tied to themincluding copper tube salmon flies (which have more weight to go deeper faster) or nylon tube salmon flies which remain closer to the surface. Modern tube salmon flies can be tied on fly fishing systems like Tubeology that are even more flexible. These allow you to take aluminium tube salmon flies to the water and swap heads for hot spot colour and size / weight enabling the same Tubeology tube salmon 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 based salmon 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 salmon flies and monkey tube salmon flies using materials that give maximum movement like cashmere goat.

Salmon Flies - Hook Based Flies

Salmon flies come in all shapes and sizes and vary according to hooks used, you can get salmon flies on single hooks, salmon flies on double hooks and salmon flies on treble hooks. 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 salmon flies for the benefit of the salmon.  Please check local water rules whether salmon flies based on single hooks, salmon flies double hooks or salmon flies treble hooks can be used. Arriving with salmon 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.

Salmon Flies - Size & Use

Recommended salmon flies hook sizes vary throughout the year. In the early season as this Tubeology seasonal salmon flies chart illustrates in early season size 4 salmon flies with green colour salmon flies are more successful salmon, flies during the mid season salmon flies  colours change from yellow salmonn flies (try Allys Cascade Shrimp) to orange salmon flies (try Allys Shrimp) and as the season progresses salmon flies should get smaller. During the hight of summer you may be using salmon flies as little 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  breed and reproduce until it is able to return 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 a fly to eat to satisfy hunger like the Rainbow Trout we are catching the salmon as we are triggering its predatory nature. We can stimulate the salmons predatory nature using imitative flies like Ally's shrimps designed by Alistair Gowans which resemble shrimp based salmon flies patterns or the red francis which using boar hair again resembles a shrimp . There are then  modern flies like monkey tube salmon flies 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. Salmon flies come in with an amazing name range from collie dog salmon flies, green highlander salmon flies, blue charm salmon flies, green brahan salmon flies,  jock scott salmon flies,  munro killer salmon flies stoats tail salmon flies, silver stoats tail salmon flies,  thunder & lightening salmon flies, willie gunn salmon flies,  sunray shadow salmon flies, monkey salmon flies,  fatback salmon flies. Salmon flies have been changed over the years. Salmon flies are triggers not a natural food so salmon flies need to look like food but stimulate. Don't forget roe egg salmon flies are useful for other species when salmon are breeding!