Post by castlikeaghille on Apr 5, 2007 6:59:15 GMT
Greetings Knights of The Rod & Line
So the last thread wasn’t detailed or original enough for some of you?
Let’s try a different tack then; place the following in yer bong, and remember to smoke responsibly. X-Man I have even added a couple of pictures for you 
I look forward to reading about other's adventures, observations and tips.
I wasn’t sure how best to describe this thread. ‘Conditions’ could be a New Order album title so I’ll run with that. Anyway, first four things that this thread is not about:
1) Text book good conditions. You know 1 ½’ on the gauge falling gently, light south westerly, overcast, jumpers for goal posts etc.
2) Conditions that are so extreme that salmon, and fish in general, sulk quietly until they pass by e.g. critical deoxygenation of the water when the water temperature exceeds 72 degrees; periods of high electrostatic charge in the atmosphere; and biblical bank busting drowned livestock festooned floods.
3) The times, for no apparent reason, when we can’t induce a take whatever we do. This is nothing peculiar to salmon. IME it is true of all fish from Black Marlin to Gudgeon. However, the salmon has such a jaundiced reputation that the following adage has become lore “if the salmon are on anyone can catch them and when they are off nobody can.” That is true some of the time. Indeed it is true of all fish I have fished for to varying degrees, but to hypothesize there is no cause and effect in salmon fishing is false witness peddled by autopilot fishers.
4) This thread is only about rivers. Loch/Lough fisherman know that even if you have the perfect water and runs of fish you may also have to contend with flat calm or force 10, or even worse either of these combined with a cloudless blue sky. These extremes, if water level is good and there are fresh runs of fish, rarely impact the river fisherman to the same degree, and even less so all day. However, that is a different thread.
This thread is about giving you an edge in ‘difficult’ conditions. Difficult conditions don’t tend to lend themselves to bumper catches. However, IMO, if you can winkle out a fish when it is hard going it is worth 5 caught chucking and chancing at 45 degrees when everything comes together to make it easy. The thread doesn’t cover every scenario, simply ones commonly encountered. This is a quick canter through a lot of tactics. The devil is in the detail; so happy to elaborate on anything anyone is interested in.
There are three core variables:
· Weather
· Water
· The Fisherman
Brilliant Sunshine
Firstly, on rivers, that the sun shineth brightly generally has little impact on salmon fishing (save where prolonged heat waves cause water temps to rise too high) – see picture of Collie Dug with a 12lb sea liced silver tourist below and note conditions. Brilliant sunshine is usually an issue when the sun shines straight down the river (like most afternoons on the Dee and any other West – East flowing river). Perceived wisdom is that salmon will not take when the sun is at this angle, especially in low water. Certainly the low water adds to our woes, but the perceived wisdom is bad wisdom. You can catch fish on the fly in these conditions, although upstream single worm on the fly rod or quill minnow is much more effective. Do they still allow it on Granton AA, the regulars there were demons with both tactics?
Anyway the flee. Anyone who has fished saltwater flats knows the conditions you want are bright blue cloudless skies so you can spot the fish (cloud cover is not good news). The fish Bones, Baby Tarpon, Baracuda, Permit (well more chasing Permit for not so CleverCLaGs) Snook are in 3 feet of water. However you fish the fly right on the bottom or just off the bottom unless you are fishing a huge wake creating Popper. The secret is to present the fly at eye level so the fish don’t have to look up into a thousand disco ball mirrors.
IMO a similar logic and principle applies to salmon; push a fly in its face – so to speak. In the main pools, Czech Nymph is good, the buoyant fly is in the experimental stage (although promising). Alternatively, fish a floating line with a 20’ leader and a small cone head with extra lined cones (see picture which is also what we use for Czech Nymph) to get a dense flee which, with plenty of mending on the J-Curve [sic Grant] will get the fly right down. Tip, if you are adding extra cones on the leader to get the fly down, make sure the cones are lined (or you can kiss your cast and flee goodbye). Also attach a leader ring two inches up from the fly to stop the cones shooting up the line and knackering your grace and style casting.
Standard sinking line techniques don’t usually get the flee down deep enough except in low water, and sunk line work in low water (to avoid constantly hanging up) is the hardest skill of all to master. If you want a half decent fly collection start with a decent one and go low water fishing with a Wet II. The other alternative, in summer and autumn, is to fish a big fly square in fast broken water and strip it back, other than with the Collie I’ve never tried this earlier than May. Try a teeny line or a Hi-Di head and a two inch fly.
Multi-Tip & Micro Flies
With apologies to all the gifted photographers and fly tiers on this site, these are CLaG’s Czech Nymph and micro fly boxes. We use two types of small cone head and bottle tubes tied with a black hen hackle to flutter when fished sink and draw. One tube has the cone attached. The other is a fly tied on a hollow tube. We then take a length of liner tube, and burr the end of the liner tube with a flame. Slip a cone on the line to the burr, and thread the liner tube down the inside of the tube. With a couple of different tubes, you can create the flee of dreams to your spec on the cone colour and weight. You can add fluro beads, tungsten, all sorts. Think of all the permutations of profile, weight and colour you can create without having to carry or tie vast numbers of flees – we think of it as the flee equivalent of a multi-tip.
The micro flies and tubes speak for themselves. I carry a Richard Wheatley box for when I need to pass myself off as a neo Tweedie, and hence gain entry into the hut, on my occasional visits to the Dark Ages Valley
Cloudbusting
Generally a good thing except on days when it is broken and blowy so the sun is constantly covered and uncovered creating shadow spots on the river, a bit like a strobe light for salmon. The fish aren’t really fans of this primitive disco (continuing the theme) lighting. See tactics above for more joy.
The North Wind Shall Blow…
Wind is something that leaves us equally cursed (especially if a medical condition) and blessed. Most winds (speed and direction) seem to have more impact on comfort for casting than fish taking behaviour. However, an easterly, or north easterly IMO has an impact on catches. Here are two factors that contribute to this, and there may be more. Firstly, these winds, more often than not have a chill factor. This often reduces the air temperature below that of the water; and certainly the top few inches sending the fisher deeper and thus rendering conventional tactics pretty harmless (to silver tourists). The second is that they tend to be variable in speed and direction so create swirling ‘scud’ i.e. it is blowing steady and suddenly you can see the black shadow of a mini whirlwind flying across the water surface as the wave is flattened. This plays absolute havoc with casting. We all remember well the swirling downstream gust that comes out of nowhere just as you’ve formed your D on the single spey. Hence not only are the fish less inclined to respond, but the joy of fishing is reduced. This is the one time it does pay to be fishing with a Malt Whisky Canyon clothes pole, coupled with the Crawford Clothes Line top arm casting because you can use the hoof it override function.
In spring the tactics identified above won’t necessarily be deployable in higher water. Can’t say we have found a consistent remedy for this one. So it is time to look at this problem in a slightly different way. On many days like this somewhere around 4ish the wind will drop; sometimes for as little as 10 minutes. Whatever you are doing get yer flee in the water then because that 10 mins or so of calm will usually bring salmon on the take. It also follows that you should keep a very wary eye out for any other drop. Around 12.30 – 1.30 is another likely time for this calmer period. I am expecting a barrage of that’s an obvious thing to say. That may be true, but I wish I had £10 for every time I have seen fishers chatting to mate/gille for the one or possibly two periods of the day when there has been a significant positive change in weather conditions. If people actually did the obvious half the time rather than talk about it as if they did afterwards they might catch more salmon.
Finally, there are times when no wind is a drag even on a river. Slow moving glassy glides usually suit a ripple. The picture below shows the landing a grilse in the Badlands of GFC on the Isla. Look at the water and see how glassy calm it is. It had been conventionally fly fished for an hour before hand for not so much as a sniff. However, the 6 grilse caught sharing a rod in the next 45 minutes, before we stopped fishing, happily hammered the upstream flying C. Back to flee fishing. In these conditions on a slow moving river we are looking to experiment with the upstream shooting head later this year. On a bigger river with flow, but a glassy glide e.g. The Cellar at Park, Czech Nymph and other tactics above are worth serious consideration.
You may also find your presentation is improved in these situations by overhead casting to avoid line stick, particularly if there is no great requirement for distance. Beware Tweedies who tell you can’t scare salmon off the take with casting….OH YES YOU CAN, and you almost certainly will if you spey cast in these situations.
Snow, Grue and Leaves
When the snow falls the air temperature usually rises and will often bring fish on the take to whatever tactic you are fishing with. Conversely, a blizzard is usually combined with an NE wind – see notes above. Grue, like leaves on the Tweed in autumn is just a right royal pain. However, the impact is more on whether you can actually fish or not. On the Tweed when the water is full of leaves, watch how a Willie Gunn disappears in a mass of yellow and orange, and then see how a Blue, Black and Red Tube or Junction Shrimp stands out. The jury is still out on how sensitive fish are to colour. There was an interesting article by Stan Headley on colour for trout flies based on the impact of refraction of light a few months ago in T&S. So whether it makes any difference to the fish I don’t know for certain, but psychologically I suspect it will make a lot of difference to your confidence. Also, a big single hook gathers fewer leaves, and we have started experimenting with the weed guards used on Pike lures (but still too early to report anything meaningful back on that front).
The Rain In Spain
Drizzle and light rain doesn’t seem to make any difference at all. However, salmon don’t seem to be great fans of heavy rain. I think, perhaps, it is a combination of a sudden downward temperature change and atmospheric pressure. Conversely, provided the rain doesn’t affect the water level ten minutes after it stops can be a great taking time.
Thunder, Lightning, They Way You Love Me Is Frightening….
The impact of thunder on fish behaviour is reasonably well understood. It is difficult to think of any type of fishing that is good in a thunder storm unless you are a thrill seeker playing will I be electrocuted or not as I waive this 15’ of lightening conductor about. Same is usually true of the hours immediately preceding it. Fascinated to know if anyone does well in these conditions – please do share your secret.
Relationship between the Air and Water Temp
I would be surprised if there was anyone who would prefer the water to be warmer than the air except swimmers. However, the myth that salmon will not take when the water temp is higher than the air is just that, a myth. Once again it does seem to make salmon less willing to move to a fly. So if salmon won’t go to the mountain, bring the mountain fly to the salmon – see tactics above. However, if in late spring or early autumn your river becomes a sauna because of a sudden temp drop at night or in the morning (in this case the water may well be at 50 and the air at 31degrees – hence the steam) I’d go to the pub or stay in bed.
At some point around 1927 someone decided that the water had to be greater than 48F for salmon to take a flee on the floating line. As an absolute that is, to give it a technical term, tosh. What is probably more true is that salmon rise to the floating line more willingly when the water temp is 50 – 54F. However, particularly if the water is on the low side, even when the water temp is 40F, try J-Curving on the floating line as a change tactic. We have had salmon on a small fly and floating line in water temperature of 41F. At the other end of the spectrum sunk flies and sinking lines become far more effective again as the water temp starts to rise above 55F, although you don’t see that many people using them.
Water Condition
Colouration
Basic water colour is not particularly important. The Avon runs like Gin, the Spey like Malt (funny that) and the Halladale like Guinness. What fish don’t seem to like is when there is an unusual change in the normal colouration, usually driven by suspension of something in the water. Middle Tweed anglers know only too well the misery of seeing the Leader pump in orange coloured water after a spate. Snow melt can sometimes make the water in the Dee run the colour of milky tea. A spate from The Little Isla eventually turns one half of the Tay from Islamouth down black. In these conditions, the conclusion we have reached so far (hoping to be proved otherwise) is the flee man can only persevere stoically in a triumph of hope over expectation. However, if you have the option of the snakes…
High Water
Most success in high water fishing will be with any fish right under the bank you are fishing. So two suggestions for that. Approach with care, don’t stumble about on the bank and fish a short line (certainly first time down) as it will be much more effective at fishing right into your bank without hanging up. You can tiptoe quietly right up to a salmon, but they will also disappear if they feel they are being disturbed. If you cast 30 yards+ it is much less likely to fish right into your bank and even if it does you are far more likely to hang up causing lots of unnecessary disturbance. When we are fishing the Greenbanks on Borrowston at 4’ salmon are more likely to be caught with a fifteen yard cast than anything else.
Prolonged Low Water
From mid-spring through autumn is the time of the micro flee (see photo above). Grilse, Sea Trout and Troots (can be a bit of a problem) love them, but so do 2SW fish. They can be fished conventionally on a long leader or fish a hitched tube on the dropper and the micro fly a foot behind (no more than a foot). The foot link should be fluro carbon and the main leader copolymer joined by a 1mm leader ring. Haven’t experimented with the hitched fly on the tail – anyone tried it? The other possible tactic untried is fishing the micro fly on a sinking line even in March and April. I understand the Scandinavians are experimenting quite a lot with this set up on the Dee – usually pays to give your full attention to how the Vikings are pillaging our salmon rivers.
Global Warming
The above is a flash shot of conditions we might have to deal with on any given day. However, more importantly there are macro changes afoot in our climate. Last year there was a new weather record set in the UK for every month. Anyone who shoots and stalks deer knows the impact our changing weather is having on sport (ask any keeper who has to hold in his pheasants these days).
The same is true of our fishing. It is depressing how many fishing writers describe tactics and fish behaviour for Spring 2007 in almost exactly the same way as were described for Spring 1977. Ask KC, when he’s not practicing with his sunshine band, and he’ll tell you until the late eighties they still had to break ice to fish at Park right up until April. On the Tweed in autumn we used to expect the first frost by mid-October (and nobody wants to miss fishing the day of the first frost). Now to see a whole autumn season pass without a frost is normal. Last year we had water temps in the 50’s on the Tay in mid October even with 3’ on the gauge.
So this thread is not just about adapting your tactics to meet the challenge of tougher conditions on any given day. You need to re-programme yourself. Oh it’s March, or October so I must fish like this because I have since 1971 needs to be re-visited. Our environment has changed, so has salmon behaviour, so why have so few anglers?
The Fisherman
And finally, as Billy Ocean noted, when the going gets tough the tough get going. The single most important factor to achieving success in difficult conditions is your mental attitude. Beware Tweedies running around spouting old wives’ tales both about salmon fishing generally and more specifically when conditions are hard going. You have to believe you can catch a fish long after the Dark Ages Valley set have become ensconced in their (usually) palatial hut
It takes persistency to master the tactics highlighted above; it takes even more persistency to keep going when you blanked the last time and the time before that in similar circumstances. And this brings me to the final point, is the endurance, effort and frustration worth it? The simple answer is yes if you enjoy it. You will remember vividly every detail of a hard earned fish long after the shadows of your mind have passed over the fish of the day you caught five kamikaze salmon in an hour.
Later fuishiers
CLaG
So the last thread wasn’t detailed or original enough for some of you?
Let’s try a different tack then; place the following in yer bong, and remember to smoke responsibly. X-Man I have even added a couple of pictures for you 
I look forward to reading about other's adventures, observations and tips.I wasn’t sure how best to describe this thread. ‘Conditions’ could be a New Order album title so I’ll run with that. Anyway, first four things that this thread is not about:
1) Text book good conditions. You know 1 ½’ on the gauge falling gently, light south westerly, overcast, jumpers for goal posts etc.
2) Conditions that are so extreme that salmon, and fish in general, sulk quietly until they pass by e.g. critical deoxygenation of the water when the water temperature exceeds 72 degrees; periods of high electrostatic charge in the atmosphere; and biblical bank busting drowned livestock festooned floods.
3) The times, for no apparent reason, when we can’t induce a take whatever we do. This is nothing peculiar to salmon. IME it is true of all fish from Black Marlin to Gudgeon. However, the salmon has such a jaundiced reputation that the following adage has become lore “if the salmon are on anyone can catch them and when they are off nobody can.” That is true some of the time. Indeed it is true of all fish I have fished for to varying degrees, but to hypothesize there is no cause and effect in salmon fishing is false witness peddled by autopilot fishers.
4) This thread is only about rivers. Loch/Lough fisherman know that even if you have the perfect water and runs of fish you may also have to contend with flat calm or force 10, or even worse either of these combined with a cloudless blue sky. These extremes, if water level is good and there are fresh runs of fish, rarely impact the river fisherman to the same degree, and even less so all day. However, that is a different thread.
This thread is about giving you an edge in ‘difficult’ conditions. Difficult conditions don’t tend to lend themselves to bumper catches. However, IMO, if you can winkle out a fish when it is hard going it is worth 5 caught chucking and chancing at 45 degrees when everything comes together to make it easy. The thread doesn’t cover every scenario, simply ones commonly encountered. This is a quick canter through a lot of tactics. The devil is in the detail; so happy to elaborate on anything anyone is interested in.
There are three core variables:
· Weather
· Water
· The Fisherman
Brilliant Sunshine
Firstly, on rivers, that the sun shineth brightly generally has little impact on salmon fishing (save where prolonged heat waves cause water temps to rise too high) – see picture of Collie Dug with a 12lb sea liced silver tourist below and note conditions. Brilliant sunshine is usually an issue when the sun shines straight down the river (like most afternoons on the Dee and any other West – East flowing river). Perceived wisdom is that salmon will not take when the sun is at this angle, especially in low water. Certainly the low water adds to our woes, but the perceived wisdom is bad wisdom. You can catch fish on the fly in these conditions, although upstream single worm on the fly rod or quill minnow is much more effective. Do they still allow it on Granton AA, the regulars there were demons with both tactics?
Anyway the flee. Anyone who has fished saltwater flats knows the conditions you want are bright blue cloudless skies so you can spot the fish (cloud cover is not good news). The fish Bones, Baby Tarpon, Baracuda, Permit (well more chasing Permit for not so CleverCLaGs) Snook are in 3 feet of water. However you fish the fly right on the bottom or just off the bottom unless you are fishing a huge wake creating Popper. The secret is to present the fly at eye level so the fish don’t have to look up into a thousand disco ball mirrors.
IMO a similar logic and principle applies to salmon; push a fly in its face – so to speak. In the main pools, Czech Nymph is good, the buoyant fly is in the experimental stage (although promising). Alternatively, fish a floating line with a 20’ leader and a small cone head with extra lined cones (see picture which is also what we use for Czech Nymph) to get a dense flee which, with plenty of mending on the J-Curve [sic Grant] will get the fly right down. Tip, if you are adding extra cones on the leader to get the fly down, make sure the cones are lined (or you can kiss your cast and flee goodbye). Also attach a leader ring two inches up from the fly to stop the cones shooting up the line and knackering your grace and style casting.
Standard sinking line techniques don’t usually get the flee down deep enough except in low water, and sunk line work in low water (to avoid constantly hanging up) is the hardest skill of all to master. If you want a half decent fly collection start with a decent one and go low water fishing with a Wet II. The other alternative, in summer and autumn, is to fish a big fly square in fast broken water and strip it back, other than with the Collie I’ve never tried this earlier than May. Try a teeny line or a Hi-Di head and a two inch fly.
Multi-Tip & Micro Flies
With apologies to all the gifted photographers and fly tiers on this site, these are CLaG’s Czech Nymph and micro fly boxes. We use two types of small cone head and bottle tubes tied with a black hen hackle to flutter when fished sink and draw. One tube has the cone attached. The other is a fly tied on a hollow tube. We then take a length of liner tube, and burr the end of the liner tube with a flame. Slip a cone on the line to the burr, and thread the liner tube down the inside of the tube. With a couple of different tubes, you can create the flee of dreams to your spec on the cone colour and weight. You can add fluro beads, tungsten, all sorts. Think of all the permutations of profile, weight and colour you can create without having to carry or tie vast numbers of flees – we think of it as the flee equivalent of a multi-tip.
The micro flies and tubes speak for themselves. I carry a Richard Wheatley box for when I need to pass myself off as a neo Tweedie, and hence gain entry into the hut, on my occasional visits to the Dark Ages Valley
Cloudbusting
Generally a good thing except on days when it is broken and blowy so the sun is constantly covered and uncovered creating shadow spots on the river, a bit like a strobe light for salmon. The fish aren’t really fans of this primitive disco (continuing the theme) lighting. See tactics above for more joy.
The North Wind Shall Blow…
Wind is something that leaves us equally cursed (especially if a medical condition) and blessed. Most winds (speed and direction) seem to have more impact on comfort for casting than fish taking behaviour. However, an easterly, or north easterly IMO has an impact on catches. Here are two factors that contribute to this, and there may be more. Firstly, these winds, more often than not have a chill factor. This often reduces the air temperature below that of the water; and certainly the top few inches sending the fisher deeper and thus rendering conventional tactics pretty harmless (to silver tourists). The second is that they tend to be variable in speed and direction so create swirling ‘scud’ i.e. it is blowing steady and suddenly you can see the black shadow of a mini whirlwind flying across the water surface as the wave is flattened. This plays absolute havoc with casting. We all remember well the swirling downstream gust that comes out of nowhere just as you’ve formed your D on the single spey. Hence not only are the fish less inclined to respond, but the joy of fishing is reduced. This is the one time it does pay to be fishing with a Malt Whisky Canyon clothes pole, coupled with the Crawford Clothes Line top arm casting because you can use the hoof it override function.
In spring the tactics identified above won’t necessarily be deployable in higher water. Can’t say we have found a consistent remedy for this one. So it is time to look at this problem in a slightly different way. On many days like this somewhere around 4ish the wind will drop; sometimes for as little as 10 minutes. Whatever you are doing get yer flee in the water then because that 10 mins or so of calm will usually bring salmon on the take. It also follows that you should keep a very wary eye out for any other drop. Around 12.30 – 1.30 is another likely time for this calmer period. I am expecting a barrage of that’s an obvious thing to say. That may be true, but I wish I had £10 for every time I have seen fishers chatting to mate/gille for the one or possibly two periods of the day when there has been a significant positive change in weather conditions. If people actually did the obvious half the time rather than talk about it as if they did afterwards they might catch more salmon.
Finally, there are times when no wind is a drag even on a river. Slow moving glassy glides usually suit a ripple. The picture below shows the landing a grilse in the Badlands of GFC on the Isla. Look at the water and see how glassy calm it is. It had been conventionally fly fished for an hour before hand for not so much as a sniff. However, the 6 grilse caught sharing a rod in the next 45 minutes, before we stopped fishing, happily hammered the upstream flying C. Back to flee fishing. In these conditions on a slow moving river we are looking to experiment with the upstream shooting head later this year. On a bigger river with flow, but a glassy glide e.g. The Cellar at Park, Czech Nymph and other tactics above are worth serious consideration.
You may also find your presentation is improved in these situations by overhead casting to avoid line stick, particularly if there is no great requirement for distance. Beware Tweedies who tell you can’t scare salmon off the take with casting….OH YES YOU CAN, and you almost certainly will if you spey cast in these situations.
Snow, Grue and Leaves
When the snow falls the air temperature usually rises and will often bring fish on the take to whatever tactic you are fishing with. Conversely, a blizzard is usually combined with an NE wind – see notes above. Grue, like leaves on the Tweed in autumn is just a right royal pain. However, the impact is more on whether you can actually fish or not. On the Tweed when the water is full of leaves, watch how a Willie Gunn disappears in a mass of yellow and orange, and then see how a Blue, Black and Red Tube or Junction Shrimp stands out. The jury is still out on how sensitive fish are to colour. There was an interesting article by Stan Headley on colour for trout flies based on the impact of refraction of light a few months ago in T&S. So whether it makes any difference to the fish I don’t know for certain, but psychologically I suspect it will make a lot of difference to your confidence. Also, a big single hook gathers fewer leaves, and we have started experimenting with the weed guards used on Pike lures (but still too early to report anything meaningful back on that front).
The Rain In Spain
Drizzle and light rain doesn’t seem to make any difference at all. However, salmon don’t seem to be great fans of heavy rain. I think, perhaps, it is a combination of a sudden downward temperature change and atmospheric pressure. Conversely, provided the rain doesn’t affect the water level ten minutes after it stops can be a great taking time.
Thunder, Lightning, They Way You Love Me Is Frightening….
The impact of thunder on fish behaviour is reasonably well understood. It is difficult to think of any type of fishing that is good in a thunder storm unless you are a thrill seeker playing will I be electrocuted or not as I waive this 15’ of lightening conductor about. Same is usually true of the hours immediately preceding it. Fascinated to know if anyone does well in these conditions – please do share your secret.
Relationship between the Air and Water Temp
I would be surprised if there was anyone who would prefer the water to be warmer than the air except swimmers. However, the myth that salmon will not take when the water temp is higher than the air is just that, a myth. Once again it does seem to make salmon less willing to move to a fly. So if salmon won’t go to the mountain, bring the mountain fly to the salmon – see tactics above. However, if in late spring or early autumn your river becomes a sauna because of a sudden temp drop at night or in the morning (in this case the water may well be at 50 and the air at 31degrees – hence the steam) I’d go to the pub or stay in bed.
At some point around 1927 someone decided that the water had to be greater than 48F for salmon to take a flee on the floating line. As an absolute that is, to give it a technical term, tosh. What is probably more true is that salmon rise to the floating line more willingly when the water temp is 50 – 54F. However, particularly if the water is on the low side, even when the water temp is 40F, try J-Curving on the floating line as a change tactic. We have had salmon on a small fly and floating line in water temperature of 41F. At the other end of the spectrum sunk flies and sinking lines become far more effective again as the water temp starts to rise above 55F, although you don’t see that many people using them.
Water Condition
Colouration
Basic water colour is not particularly important. The Avon runs like Gin, the Spey like Malt (funny that) and the Halladale like Guinness. What fish don’t seem to like is when there is an unusual change in the normal colouration, usually driven by suspension of something in the water. Middle Tweed anglers know only too well the misery of seeing the Leader pump in orange coloured water after a spate. Snow melt can sometimes make the water in the Dee run the colour of milky tea. A spate from The Little Isla eventually turns one half of the Tay from Islamouth down black. In these conditions, the conclusion we have reached so far (hoping to be proved otherwise) is the flee man can only persevere stoically in a triumph of hope over expectation. However, if you have the option of the snakes…
High Water
Most success in high water fishing will be with any fish right under the bank you are fishing. So two suggestions for that. Approach with care, don’t stumble about on the bank and fish a short line (certainly first time down) as it will be much more effective at fishing right into your bank without hanging up. You can tiptoe quietly right up to a salmon, but they will also disappear if they feel they are being disturbed. If you cast 30 yards+ it is much less likely to fish right into your bank and even if it does you are far more likely to hang up causing lots of unnecessary disturbance. When we are fishing the Greenbanks on Borrowston at 4’ salmon are more likely to be caught with a fifteen yard cast than anything else.
Prolonged Low Water
From mid-spring through autumn is the time of the micro flee (see photo above). Grilse, Sea Trout and Troots (can be a bit of a problem) love them, but so do 2SW fish. They can be fished conventionally on a long leader or fish a hitched tube on the dropper and the micro fly a foot behind (no more than a foot). The foot link should be fluro carbon and the main leader copolymer joined by a 1mm leader ring. Haven’t experimented with the hitched fly on the tail – anyone tried it? The other possible tactic untried is fishing the micro fly on a sinking line even in March and April. I understand the Scandinavians are experimenting quite a lot with this set up on the Dee – usually pays to give your full attention to how the Vikings are pillaging our salmon rivers.
Global Warming
The above is a flash shot of conditions we might have to deal with on any given day. However, more importantly there are macro changes afoot in our climate. Last year there was a new weather record set in the UK for every month. Anyone who shoots and stalks deer knows the impact our changing weather is having on sport (ask any keeper who has to hold in his pheasants these days).
The same is true of our fishing. It is depressing how many fishing writers describe tactics and fish behaviour for Spring 2007 in almost exactly the same way as were described for Spring 1977. Ask KC, when he’s not practicing with his sunshine band, and he’ll tell you until the late eighties they still had to break ice to fish at Park right up until April. On the Tweed in autumn we used to expect the first frost by mid-October (and nobody wants to miss fishing the day of the first frost). Now to see a whole autumn season pass without a frost is normal. Last year we had water temps in the 50’s on the Tay in mid October even with 3’ on the gauge.
So this thread is not just about adapting your tactics to meet the challenge of tougher conditions on any given day. You need to re-programme yourself. Oh it’s March, or October so I must fish like this because I have since 1971 needs to be re-visited. Our environment has changed, so has salmon behaviour, so why have so few anglers?
The Fisherman
And finally, as Billy Ocean noted, when the going gets tough the tough get going. The single most important factor to achieving success in difficult conditions is your mental attitude. Beware Tweedies running around spouting old wives’ tales both about salmon fishing generally and more specifically when conditions are hard going. You have to believe you can catch a fish long after the Dark Ages Valley set have become ensconced in their (usually) palatial hut
It takes persistency to master the tactics highlighted above; it takes even more persistency to keep going when you blanked the last time and the time before that in similar circumstances. And this brings me to the final point, is the endurance, effort and frustration worth it? The simple answer is yes if you enjoy it. You will remember vividly every detail of a hard earned fish long after the shadows of your mind have passed over the fish of the day you caught five kamikaze salmon in an hour.
Later fuishiers
CLaG
The trebbles you see are no bigger than size 16. Withoot gettin' into all the debate about how to hook fish on mini hooks, it is hard enough to hold enough a 2SW salmon on the trebble that size never mind a single
