Fly Fishing for Salmon - With Chapters on: Which Flies to Use and How to Make Them and Instructions on How and Where to Fish

SALMON FLIES, KNOTS, GUT, AXIOMS, ETC.

Salmon flies—List of flies—Hooks—Flexible eyes—Metal eyes—knots—Useful axioms and hints when fishing.

The salmon can by no means be classed as the lowest of its order in the scale of the vertebrata, and, quite apart from instinct, memory influences to a greater or less degree the life of every vertebrate; this may explain why a salmon will allow certain flies to pass by unmolested, but will, without hesitation, attack a different coloured or a different sized fly.

It is, I think, generally agreed that fish are able to distinguish colours and tones. In every salmon river, there are certain flies which are tried over and over again by the fisherman as being the ones most likely to succeed, and the salmon, after being some time in fresh water, will naturally remember the size and the colour of the nasty prickly things by which it has so frequently been startled, and however much its instinct might compel the destruction of moving aqueous life, it—as a consequence of its former experience—will be unlikely to tackle these particular flies. I think it is important therefore, as the season advances, or some time after a run of clean fish has ceased, to try flies other than the popular few.

Those whose water is so situated as to give them the first chance at fish as they enter a river may, with every possibility of success, content themselves with some ten or more flies, say—the Thunder and Lightning, the Black Doctor, the Durham Ranger, the Silver Doctor, the Jock Scott, the Popham, the Black Dog, the Blue Doctor, the Silver Grey and the Butcher.

But it is because these flies are so frequently used that they must be familiar to a salmon who has run any distance up a stream, and they will therefore probably inspire caution or fear. For this reason I think that for those who fish late in the season and higher up a river, salmon flies such as those included in the following list might supply one whose appearance would provoke aggression and not caution.

SALMON FLIES

I do not think it necessary to give a complete list of the names of the many (about 140) Salmon Flies known to the fishing world, but I think it will be useful to my reader if I give the names of some twenty of the most generally used in Great Britain and Northern Europe.

If the beginner will be content to stock these flies in the sizes I recommend, I think he will probably find that he has all that are necessary on any stream he may visit and, that though the number and variety of his flies will increase, he will not, with the flies I have suggested, be likely to find his book stocked with specimens upon which his gillie or his friends will frown.

When ordering flies under the new numbering, for 2/0 read 16, for 1/0 read 15, for 1 read 14, for 2 read 13, and so on.

HOOKS

The hooks which I think preferable to all others are the Cholmondeley-Pennell Limerick Hook, with turn down eyes and upturned shanks.

The numbers used with the list of flies I have given are those commonly used with reference to the salmon flies supplied by dealers. The sizes range from Nos. 5/0, 4/0, 3/0, 2/0, 0, 1, 2, and thereon down to 17, which represents the 000 hook, the smallest sized trout fly hook used.

The catalogue of most fishing tackle dealers will show the sizes of the different hooks, and when ordering flies through them, it is advisable to use whatever system of numbering they adopt.

The size of the hook, i.e., the fly, to be used when fishing will depend to a large extent on the time of year and on the state of the water. In the spring the larger salmon flies are generally used and found to be most effective. In the early summer the medium sizes are preferable, while in the full summer and in the autumn, the smallest flies are generally the most killing. In flood waters, the sizes used should be relatively larger. When possible, however, obtain the advice of those who are acustomed to fish on the water to which you are going.

PLATE XXXIV

SPLICING THE ROD.

1.—PASSING THE END THROUGH THE LOOSENED TURNS.

2.—THESE TURNS DRAWN TIGHT.

3.—THE SLACK LINE PULLED THROUGH.

MAKING THE LOOP.

THE LOOP FOR THE STEEL EYE OF THE SALMON FLY.

An assortment of nine or ten of the different flies most likely to be suitable on the river and to the conditions of each day, can be carried by the fisherman in a small Japanned fly box.

The salmon fly book in which are kept the main stock of flies can generally be left at your sleeping quarters. The fly book is to the salmon fisherman, what the trout fly cabinet is to the dry fly fisherman.

If possible salmon flies should be thoroughly dried before being put back into the case, or returned to the salmon book. It is not a bad plan to have a large safety pin, on which to string the flies as they are taken off the cast, securing the pin to the cap.

If the feathers, etc., used in the flies are of the best material, and if these be carefully tied on the best quality of japanned and eyed steel hooks, each fly dried after use and before being placed in the fly book, box or cabinet, and protected against moth in the off season, the usefulness of each fly will extend over many years of active fishing.

Shop dressed flies are things of beauty, but rarely a joy for ever; and a considerable portion of their top dressing can frequently be dispensed with (see Captain de Winton’s letter, page 348).

KNOTS AND GUT. FLEXIBLE AND METAL EYES

Salmon flies, the eyes of which are made with flexible material, are readily and easily attached to your cast, and if the end of the final strand of your gut cast be made into a loop, the lower bight of this loop can be threaded through the eye of the fly, and passed down and over the body of the fly. The loop can then be drawn close up to the neck of the eye.

The loop in the end of your salmon gut cast should be formed as follows. The gut is well soaked. It is then doubled, being turned up for about three inches. A single overhand knot is then made on the bight (Plate XXXIV., Fig. 4) and drawn taut (Fig. 5). It is a good plan to hang a weight of three pounds or so, for a couple of hours on to the loop thus formed. It will draw the softened gut well together, and the end can then be cut short off, or whipped with fine waxed silk.

If the end of your cast be single, then for a flexible eyed fly no fastening is more effective than a single sheet bend, with the end brought up round behind the gut, over the eye, and down between the loop of the sheet bend. (See Plate XXXV., Figs. 1, 2 and 3).

Remember always that it is in the flexible eye of the fly, and in the end of your cast, that the greatest play will occur, and in which the greatest danger may be feared.

A loop in the end of your cast, so long as it is carefully tested each day, lessens some of the dangers, for it is strengthened by being doubled, but it will then be the flexible eye of the fly which will require the greatest attention, that is if the fly be frequently used.

It is for this reason that many fishermen prefer a metal eyed fly; no danger of deterioration occurs, and the metal eye adds to the sinking qualities of the fly. If the steel eye of the fly be sufficiently large and a loop be used on the end of your cast, this can, when soft, be passed through the eye and over the body of the fly, and then drawn taut just below the eye. (See Plate XXXIV., Figs. 6 and 7).

To avoid danger see that both the end of your cast and the flexible eye of your fly are softened and pliable before attaching them to one another.

A metal-eyed salmon fly, unless it is properly shaped, has a greater tendency to weaken or break the end of your gut than a flexible eye. The inflexible character of the metal eye lends no assistance to the gripping nature of the end of the gut cast.

PLATE XXXV

FIG. 1, 2, 3.—SHOWING THE METHOD OF ATTACHING THE SINGLE END OF A CAST TO THE GUT EYE OF A SALMON FLY.

FIG. 4, 5, 6.—THE KNOT FOR FASTENING THE DIFFERENT ENDS OF GUT TOGETHER WHEN MAKING UP A CAST.

The knot which I advocate for the small trout fly is not a safe one for larger hooks, for the single turn through the metal eye of the salmon fly subjects the gut at the bend to much too severe and abrupt a strain. Another disadvantage of this knot when used for a salmon fly is that some portion of the end of the gut point has to be sacrificed, i.e., cut off, when the fly is changed.

The most simple method of fastening gut to gut is that shown in Diagram 7, but the most reliable one is that which should be used when making up a gut cast. It is formed in a somewhat similar manner to the blood knot made by sailors, formerly used in the cat of nine tails, but is made with two ends instead of one, as follows:—

1. Place the two strands of gut together, end to end, but over-lapping a few inches, then twist the ends round one another six complete turns.

2. Divide these turns in the centre by the pricker of your knife.

3. Bring each end back and pass them in opposite directions through the opening made by the pricker. (See Plate XXXV., Figure 4).

4. Take the other parts of the gut between the smaller fingers of the two hands, and, gently pulling on them, work the turns closely together with the fingers and thumbs (see Figure 5).

5. Draw this knot quite tight (see Figure 6).

6. Cut off the short ends close to the knot.

The gut should always be well soaked before this knot is tied.

USEFUL AXIOMS AND HINTS WHEN FISHING

The quality which will prove invaluable to the salmon fly fisherman is that of perseverance. By persistently presenting his lures throughout a long day in every possible position likely to harbour a salmon, and by continuing to concentrate his energies with care and attention on the purpose of fishing, he will with average luck eventually establish his position as a successful salmon fisherman.

It is the billiardist who can continue to concentrate his attention on each effort he makes, who will compile the biggest break.

The probable average response of the salmon to the efforts of the fly fisherman throughout the year does not exceed more than two per diem, and the fisherman does not secure more than one fish for every four rises at his lure. That is to say, however careful he may be in his methods of casting and fishing out his cast, and however persistent he may be in presenting his lure to the fish, the average fisherman is not likely to secure more than one fish for every two hundred casts he makes, and therefore 196 of these casts will, so far as he is aware, fail to move a fish.

As it is impossible to say at what time of the day, at what part of his water, or at which moment of any cast, he may be lucky enough to meet with a response, the patience required in order to continue casting with unvaried attention to every likely spot, and without any view of his quarry, or any certainty of there being a fish in the pool he is fishing, may be well imagined.

The moments when a salmon will take are as uncertain in their occurrence as those of trout. They seldom take when a mist is on the water. They will both take at the commencement of a rise in the river, but neither will take during a rising flood. With these exceptions, however, no hour between dawn and night may be looked upon as being an impossible one for salmon fishing

Salmon are taken on the fly during the night, but after dusk—a favourite hour—I must confess to losing my interest in fly fishing.

As with trout, I think the best hours for salmon fishing are between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

No place in any salmon river can be regarded as being an impossible lie for salmon, and while local knowledge and experience are valuable, instinct and general experience are factors which should always influence the salmon fisherman. The state of the river, the time of year and day, also the meteorological conditions, are potent factors in determining the position of salmon in each pool.

Salmon frequently take well in rainy weather, and for this reason it is well to carry with you a light waterproof coat.

It is better to vary your method of working the salmon fly when fishing out your casts. Not only will this be instructive and possibly lead to success, but it will help to relieve the monotony attendant on a long and possibly blank day’s salmon fly casting. Unless one is fortunate in getting fish, patience is very much wanted when salmon fishing, as long days of unrewarded and possibly unrecognized effort lead to weariness of mind and body.

It is the extreme end of your line and also of your cast which is the first to deteriorate. It is to the condition of these that your attention should be directed.

Force in Salmon fly casting should be derived from the weight of the body through the arms to the rod, and not from the exclusive action of the muscles of the right or the left arm.

Do not cast your fly any further than is necessary to cover the likely water of the pool or river you are fishing. Try and fish your water by casting as much as possible down stream. The more you throw your line across the stream, the greater the chances of a sagging line. Across and down you must cast, but down as much as possible.

The salmon fly which is most deadly is that which is fished on the straightest line.

When into a fish have your line well reeled in and keep as near to the fish as possible; also do not let your line drag in the water.

A slack line leads to danger, and it also prevents your bringing pressure to bear at once on a fish which has taken the fly.

As the salmon comes in towards you, be as still as a statue, and when you are certain of your fish then gaff it.

Keep the point of your gaff sharp.

Carefully examine and test your fly and cast after killing a fish.

Movement can most easily be given to the fly at the end of a straight short line. With a long line much of the impulse given to the rod will