Yes - they are often very artificial and can also be some what twee, but they can offer good sport.

Sometimes the small waters are somewhat overstocked and often you can cover every inch of the water, but you can lay down your own rules to make the fishing more difficult and also more stimulating. You might decide to fish only with a floating line, or with only small imitive pattern flies and no big lures. You might even limit yourself to just dry flies once you have got the first brace. You can even make a personnel rule not to stick in a known hot-spot and to move after every fish caught. If the water is clear you might decide to stalk fish, so giving yourself the opportunity to select particular fish or fish of a particular large size. All these ’self inflicted’ rules, are designed to spread your sport over a longer day rather than catching your limit within a few hours. You also get the added buzz of probable having fished in an altogether different way to the other rods fishing alongside you.

Small waters give the older or less fit angler’ the chance to fish. They are also great starting grounds for newcomers who are still learning to cast. You can also make good catches despite your lack of knowledge about fishing flies and fly life. Also you can often find a good still water fishery close to your home, without the need for a long drive. Do not dismiss small water just because they are ‘put and take’. Set your own rules to make it as difficult as you want - then enjoy the day, coupled with a good picnic, and have a good fish to take home.

Good fishing

Barrie Welham
Field Sports Ambassador
The Orvis Company

So let’s try and break it down. If you can afford it Russia is the most prolific place for salmon. Weekly bags on the best rivers will run into hundreds of fish, shared perhaps by groups of 10 to 15 rods. On a good day a single rod could get 10 or more fish with individual weekly bags varying from 30 – 100. Second would come Iceland which has the benefit of being closer with probably more predictable weather conditions and all without using Russian helicopters.

For big fish, Norway would be first choice with some rivers giving truly enormous fish.

For those who do not want a long journey, or even the need to fly, Scotland and the north of England. The main Scottish rivers are all East Coast and while the cost will be less than Russia the cost per fish will be higher as bags are much smaller. Availability is often dead men’s shoes as on many rivers the same parties fish the same beats on the same weeks year in year out and getting a slot may be difficult. Often you have to take a less good week and hope your face fits so that you work up into a better period as vacancies occur.

Now none of what I have mentioned so far is cheap – be it Russia, Iceland, Norway or a private beat in the north, but do not despair. The opportunity to fish some of the best rivers, even at the best times, is still there.

Most major rivers have at least one Association beat where you can get a day or a weekly permit. Sometimes you have to be staying in a hotel or a B&B in the town, but that apart there is normally no difficulty. Naturally you have the competition from locals – particularly when the conditions are good and fish are running – but as you get to know the water you are in with an equal chance as them.

Just as an example. The Spey has two or three Association stretches, the Tweed likewise as has the Tyne and all sorts of smaller rivers. The staff in the John Norris shop will be able to help with a list of addresses and advice on the best times.

Happy fishing – good luck and tight lines

Barrie Welham

The Alta – 300 miles north of the Artic Circle – is undoubtedly the best big fish river in the world. Visitors are allowed to fish from 24 June to end of August. The river is 27 miles long and 10 fly fishing rods are permitted to fish. In June the average weight is 25 lb.

Guiding and boating skills are past on from generation to generation and many men take a vacation from their regular job to act as guides. Fishing is 99% from boats, each with a two guide crew. The angler stands in the middle of the boat with one guide rowing in the stern and the other in the bow. When a large fish is hooked it will often leave the pool, whereupon the angler kneels down in the boat and endeavours to keep in touch with the fish while the boat is brought down, often through fast and heavy water to the point where the battle can be resumed. Fishing starts at 8 p.m. and you fish through the night when the sun’s glare is absorbed by the mountains and woods of one of Europe’s deepest canyons. This year, when I was there, two 50 pounders (5l and 53 1b) and another big fish lost after a nearly two hour battle and three 30 pounders (37, 38 and 38½lb) were landed and all five were returned. With these big fish our average for the week was 31 lb.

For someone who regularly fishes Iceland and Scotland, where a large part of the catch is grilse, to catch fish of this size was truly remarkable. Certainly it endorses the words of the famous hotelier and fly fisherman Charles Ritz – the Alta is the Valhalla of salmon fishing and once you have tasted it nothing in your life is the same.

For me it answered all my dreams.

Barrie Welham
Field Sports Ambassadeur
The Orvis Company

Why is autumn a good time for salmon fishing?

Unlike other times of the year, autumn is a reliable season for salmon fishing. This is due to the fact that the increased rain raises water levels, which in turn encourage fish to run into rivers and streams from the estuaries.

Generally speaking, the equinox of late September is the catalyst for a change in the weather, lower temperatures with strong winds and increased rainfall causing water levels to rise dramatically. The scent of the water encourages salmon from around the coast to swim inland, into the rivers and streams of their birth, ready to be caught.

As the river level begins to fall and clear again, we will see the first salmon run of autumn begin to appear, and what a magnificent sight it is to see salmon porpoising up the river.

Fresh run vs. gravid fish

When fishing for autumn salmon, it is important to make the distinction between fresh run and gravid fish. Fresh run fish that have just arrived from the sea and are therefore of a higher quality, they are of silver colour and firm. Whereas gravid fish, who have been in freshwater for some time and starting to show their spawning livery have used a lot of energy developing eggs/milt and are less suitable for eating. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing until you have caught the fish whether or not it is fresh run or gravid. The best thing to do if you catch a gravid fish is to simply release it again.

Fishing tackle for autumn salmon fishing

Autumn fishing tackle is very similar to spring fishing tackle. You will need the following:

A double handed fishing rod of 14-16 feet, with a line rating of around 10
A fishing reel with 150 yards of rot proof backing
A fast and slow intermediate fly fishing line
A floater for sink tips of various densities and lengths, to be attached to a loop system or a multi-tip fly line

Choosing the right flies

Successfully fishing for salmon involves experimenting with different patterns of fly. Most patterns will work effectively, however, it is how the fly is presented and fished effectively that counts.

Getting the right fly for autumn salmon fishing depends on several factors, which include the flow and depth of the river. If you are fishing in a river with a heavy flow, you should use as fast, intermediate fly-line and a fly with a bit of impact. Go for bright colours, with black, orange and yellow hair wings tied on aluminium tubes and Waddington’s of about three inches.

Slower and clearer waters flies usually doubles around size 8 –12.

Casting

If the condition of the river is high with colour in the autumn, fish will generally be swimming close to the bank, which is an easier route for them to take. Therefore, casting squarely across the river would be pointless. Casting in this manner will mean that before the fly has reached the required fishing depth, it will be swept away and travelling too fast by the sheer force of the current. It is much better to cast at a shallow angle, mend some and keep a few yards of slack. This means that the fly has a greater chance of reaching near the bottom of the river, pay plenty of attention to fishing the fly for longer on the dangle.

Make sure to keep the rod at a right angle to the bank and the fly line under tension, as this will ensure that the line can be guided slowly back toward the bank.

A good tip when the water height is a little lower and clearer is to take the normal one cast one pace down the pool, then throw a square cast every forth or fifth cast and strip, which will return quickly with the aid of the current. This will not only give the chance to attract fish that are at the normal level, but also those which may travel a little higher in the water.

Local knowledge

Having knowledge of the river you are fishing and the surrounding area will help you to fish more effectively. For example, where the fish lie for a short and long period of time will depend on different water heights, knowing this will give you an advantage when fishing for autumn salmon.

Thanks to Glyn Freeman of Cumbria Fly Fishing for this useful article.

There is thirty miles of fishing on the Buitreras Estancia split into four beats that are rotated twice daily between eight rods; the location is around thirty miles from the estuary.

Beautiful Scenery

The sky is big and the sunsets are magnificent.

The first thing one notices when travelling to the beats in four wheel drives is the enormity of the view which is quite stunning and is rarely caught fully on a photograph. There are plains as far as the eye can see interspersed with rocky outcrops and cliff faces. The other thing notable is the plethora of wildlife which does not seem to be as nervous of man as in this country, from the beautiful flamingos amongst many exotic birds and the mammals including guanacos, skunks and thousands of hares and foxes.

The river conditions during the last week of February 2008 were not ideal; four day’s of hot clear blue skies, windless and low water followed by high winds from the North, and a mild flood from the Andes region that brought weed with it made the fishing a little difficult. Even though the conditions were poor, we did catch our fair share of sea trout, the biggest weighing in at twenty pounds.

Fishing Flies

More Fishing Flies

Just 1 of my Catches

This year on week 9 the conditions were for the most part good and we did a lot better doubling the numbers of fish caught. Eight rods on thirty miles of river is pretty much under-fished, so the pools are on the whole well rested. The average weight for the week was 9.3 lbs.

Another Catch

Look What I Caught

Putting it Back

The wind speed can get a bit brisk; the area is renowned for it, on the whole the prevailing wind is a westerly downstream direction and the average angler soon becomes accustomed to that. The sea trout really do respond to a good strong westerly, something I personally do not pray for in this country. As in the UK, east and north winds can make the fishing a little difficult but not impossible.

Nothing special about the fishing tackle and fishing equipment; breathable waders with Aquastealth boots, a windproof fleece, wading jacket, hat, sun glasses and clear glasses for the evenings.

Essential fishing rods are a 9’ 6”-10’ 7/8 weight middle-fast tip action rod. For when the wind picks up a double handed rod of around 12-13’ for an 8/9 weight is adequate and will deal with most wind situations. A must is a very reliable large arbor reel, sound backing and plenty of it.

There is no need to fish the fly that deep on this river system as on the Rio Grande where the use of fast sinking Teeny lines are used, the wading along with the fishing is fairly manageable also. The guides will put anglers into pools that will suit their ability, something they are very good at.

Last year I fished with a floating line plus various densities of sink tip attachments and a full intermediate glass line on both single and double-handed rods. Although that set-up proved to be quite successful, I was still left wanting for something extra in certain pools, so this year the system was altered a little.

The Rio Gallegos has many varied and interesting pools; some are narrow with the fast water on the far bank where a short cast is required, and it is necessities to be able to retrieve the fly fairly close in, as fish tend to follow.

There are big wide-open pools with even flows where a long cast of thirty yards plus is an advantage, and again the fly needs to be worked to within eight yards of where you are stood. A certain amount of fly-casting ability is required to deal with conditions, but the average angler will still do pretty well, the guides will put anglers in pools to suit their ability.

A floating line with a light sink tip is perfect for most of the fishing situations until the wind really picks up (that is when the fishing gets better). The problem is then that the wind speed affects the surface of the water and drags the fly-line and control of the speed of the fly is somewhat lost.

I found that by using a full intermediate to get below the surface drag gave more control in a high wind, but where the running line also sank proved to be very troublesome, after the retrieve had been made the running line became a chore to get it out of the water and organise it for the next cast. Because of the nature of the retrieve it was difficult to loop up as you can when salmon fishing, a stripping basket was tried by one of the group without much success.

This year equipped with shooting head outfits made the fishing a lot more efficient and enjoyable. The fly now could be worked fairly close in and still have enough weight in the shorter head of fly-line to make a cast. The running lines were full floating and easily managed and the bonus only two reels required. The floating heads and sink-tips worked fine in the lighter breezes and the intermediate heads got below the surface drag when the wind blew. As with all shooting heads, long tapered leaders are essential to give the anchorage for Spey-casts and good turnover. The leader set-up was a 13’ salmon tapered leader with a 3’ tippet of 15lbs b.s for the lighter flies a total of 16’. For heavier flies weighted with lead or beads like the Stoneflies, it could be shortened to 12’ to achieve presentation.

The whole set-up from running line to tippet was a loop to loop making everything instantly interchangeable.

Fluorocarbon of between 10-20 pound B.S and a selection of large and medium size nymphs, woolly buggers, various rubber legged flies and some salmon flies like Stoat Tails are all that is needed.

John Norris of Penrith has and can supply everything from the shop you may possibly need for the trip, the professional experienced staff there will make sure you are suitably equipped for the trip.

The attachment of these flies is the Rapala knot that has a permanent loop to give extra movement.

As with the majority of sea trout fishing after the cast has been made, some form of retrieve is necessary to induce a take. Deadline swings in the current will take the odd fish here and there, but to appeal to their aggressive nature some form of movement is required. This may be from a constant twitch to very short strips of four inches for the stonefly/nymph types of fly, or a longer strip and figure of eight for the rubber-legged types such as the Yuk Bug or hair wings.

Bite detection is not as subtle as one would like, watching the fly-line for any abnormal movement, the use of coloured braided loops to make things more obvious, or the occasional pluck does not exist down there. Usually the first indication there may be a fish interested, is a huge bow wave heading toward the end of the fly-line followed by the feeling that the fly has attached itself to a runaway train.

The reel, which is set to a pretty good tension, begins to rapidly spin, you are palming the knuckle-rapping rim, the line is burning your fingers, and the rod is impossible to keep up at any safe angle due to the pressure. As the backing knot attached to fly-line hits every guide on the rod, then disappears out of the tip ring and out of sight; the fish leaves the surface like a Polaris missile, crashes down displacing a lot of water, again and again, you begin to wonder if it will ever stop! With the conditions, location and the stamp of fish to be encountered, this is extreme fishing.

One for me to Take Home

Perhaps you now know the answer to my original question – but I will definitely be back for some more serious enjoyment next year!

Beautiful Sunset

Sent in by Glyn Freeman of cumbriaflyfishing.co.uk.

Fly fishing Rods for Grayling

The ideal rod Length for Grayling fishing is between 9 & 10’ with a 4 or 5 line rating we have been recommending the Orvis Helios as a top end rod a Greys Streamflex as mid priced and as a budget priced rod the Shakespeare Trion is the best bet.

Fly patterns for Grayling fishing

Always use a floating fly line and control your depth with the weight of your fly.

When looking for fly patterns for Grayling fishing, Klinkhammers are widely considered to be the best, other fishing flies to look out for are Griffiths Gnat, Red Tag, Beacon Beige to name just a few.

When water conditions allow, Lightweight Nymphs and Wet Flies work well. Fished downstream, this is a great method to use when you want to cover a big area of water. The patterns to use fishing this method are Gold Ribbed Hares Ear and Pheasant tail nymphs in their various forms. For wet flies try Partridge and orange, red tag, coch-y-bonddu and silver butcher.

In high water conditions Czech nymphing/bugging is the best option. This is a short line method, typically used with no more than 15 feet of Fly Line out of the tip ring and a team of three heavy nymphs or bugs. It is fished upstream allowing the bugs to gain depth under the Fishing rod tip and rising in the water as they go downstream. A sight indicator is useful with this method to detect takes which can be extremely light and you can also watch the end of the fly line to detect takes. The patterns you should use are Czech Nymphs, Pink Goldies, Dub Grubs and D-B Caddis.

If you’d like to share your own fishing tackle hints and tips, we’d love to hear from you. Why not email us at: flyfishingtips@johnnorris.co.uk.

Lake Ullswater

The average size of the fish is 10 - 12 inches and the lake will produce sport throughout the season. Given the right conditions, mid-March to mid-June is the peak period with a light ripple and cloudy skies being the perfect combination for a good day’s fishing.

Early in the season the trout are predominately bottom feeders concentrating on food forms such as cased caddis and hoglouse but they are free rising and you will pull them to the surface with a team of flies fished either traditional loch style or pulled through the wave with floating or intermediate lines.

Getting Ready

Setting Off

There are very good hatches of buzzer from April onwards and small buzzer patterns or spiders on fine leaders can be very effective.

Ullswater gets sporadic hatches of Mayfly (ephemera danica) from mid May and although this is nothing like the fantastic hatches of the Irish loughs, the trout turn on to them as numbers increase towards the end of the month and into June, offering great sport to mayfly imitations fished either wet or dry.

Fishing the lake is free to Environment Agency licence holders, you can fish from the shore but this is slightly restrictive as much of the foreshore is private although there are a number of good areas off the A592 between Glenridding and Pooley Bridge (If wading please beware as there are steep drop offs quite close to the shoreline in many places), the best way to access the lake is from a boat, Jared Smith at St Patrick’s Boat Landing, Glenridding, Tel. 01768 482393 has two fishing boats with engines for hire or guided fishing is available from ‘The Eden Angler’.

What I Caught

Note: There is no bag limit on this lake – at John Norris we care about the fish and their future so therefore we would urge you to either practice catch and release or set yourself a sensible bag limit.

Thanks to Geoff Johnstone ‘The Eden Angler’ for this article.

If you’d like to share your own fishing tackle hints and tips, we’d love to hear from you. Why not email us at: flyfishingtips@johnnorris.co.uk.

Water height and temperature:

Temperature is a critical factor in catching Salmon. The colder it gets, the less active the Salmon become. They also tend to inhabit deeper waters with less strong or variable currents, so less effort is required to retain them at station. This is reflected directly by a reduced desire to move any great distance to intercept your lure, so you have to as they say ‘get down to the Salmon’. This may require terminal spinning rigs with a combined weight of 20-50 grams and overall lengths of up to 13cm. Favoured lures for this type of fishing are:

Devon Minnows - 2 ½ - 3 ½ (6-9cm) extra weight can be added at the swivel to attain and retain at greater depths. Fish these down and across with only sufficient reel winding to stay clear of snags.

Toby Type lures - large spoons and flying Cs - in the 15-20 gram class are also very popular and produce a slightly more active mobile flashy action than the Devons. These lures again should be fished slowly down and across with only sufficient winding to keep the lure out of contact with snags.

Rapalas - These are proving to be one of the most popular lures. Use the 9, 11 and 13cm sizes for the cold water conditions, a variety of weights densities and colours are available. I would also suggest the use of a super braid to enable you to cast these relatively light lures.

Important notes for all spring/early season spinning

Kelts (spawned salmon will be present in some river systems as late as May. Make sure of your ability to recognise these as all unclean fish must be returned. Also as many rivers practice catch and release make sure you have your debarbing pliers ready to use as debarbing hooks can make it much easier to return the Salmon quickly.

Always use ball bearing Swivels which dramatically reduce line twist. Add extra weight to attain and maintain depth by attaching Bouncing Bombs or other weights to or above your swivel.

Late Spring

As the season progresses and the water height and volume decreases and the temperature increases Salmon will tend to rest in areas of slightly quicker and shallower currents 3-5’, your spinning lures can now be reduced in length and weight , say 1 ½ - 2 and 10-15 grams. An increase in speed of retrieve can also stimulate response. This can be achieved by winding the reel quicker or casting more across than down and across. A move to more active lures like Mepps, Vibrax, 10-12 gram Tobies and 7-9 cm Rapalas can prove more effective under these conditions.

Summer

In summer with lower and warmer water conditions the Salmon tend to concentrate in streamy, shallower water where the oxygen content is higher. In these conditions they become more active and prone to chasing faster moving lures in smaller sizes and weights.

You will now have to reduce your spinning line breaking strain in order to cast these lighter lures. Try casting and retrieving round the clock ie upstream, up and across, across and down and across. Also vary your rate of retrieve. Salmon can swim quicker than you can wind. Flying C’s, 5g and 10g can be exceptionally effective under these conditions.

Autumn

You may have to use a combination of any of the previous methods to motivate Autumn Salmon into taking, but the general trend is to use Devons, Rapalas, Spoons and Flying C’s in Red, Yellow and Orange colouration.

Important suggestion

The culinary qualities of Salmon in autumn is dramatically reduced the longer they have been in fresh water. Please be selective and release Hen Salmon and unclean fish.

Catch and Release

John Norris support ethical ‘Catch and Release’ fishing and encourage all of our customers to practice sustainable fishing techniques that will enable us to continue fishing for many years to come.

If you’d like to share your own fishing tackle hints and tips, we’d love to hear from you. Why not email us at: flyfishingtips@johnnorris.co.uk.

When fishing for small fish such as Brown Trout and Seat Trout, the most practical length is a Spinning rod measuring from 7’ to 9′. With a rod like this you should be able to cast 5cm and 7cm Rapalas. The rod will also suit Mepps from sizes 1, 2 and 3. Vibrax baits are also popular and a spinning rod of this length will cast Vibrax sizes 1 and 2 comfortably,

When choosing fishing line for this type of spinning rod, the ideal breaking strain should be between 4 and 8 lbs. Maxima chameleon nylons are a favourite among fisherman, offering excellent performance and value for money.

If you’d like to share your own fishing tackle hints and tips, we’d love to hear from you. Why not email us at: flyfishingtips@johnnorris.co.uk.

Getting Started

If you are keen to start fly tying, one of the easiest fishing flies to start with is a North Country Spider, such as Partridge and Orange or a Snipe and Purple, but be careful not to overdress, 2 turns of Hackle only.

We suggest you buy your own vice such as the Lazzerri Morsetto Omega and then use a Veniards Premier Fly Tying kit which will give some good basic materials to get going.

Salmon Fly Tying

If you are tying Salmon Flies and using a non compressing winging material such as a Squirrel Tail, a drop of superglue at the base of the wing will make the fly more robust.

Hackled Wet Fly Tying

When tying any Hackled Wet Fly a couple of turns of Peacock Herl behind the hackle will make the Hackle stand up and create a Thorax.

Dry Fly Tying

When dressing a Dry Fly or the body of a hopper try palmering the body with CDC so that when fishing with Fluorocarbon you can sink the leader and your fly will bob back to the surface.

If you’d like to share your own fishing tackle hints and tips, we’d love to hear from you. Why not email us at: flyfishingtips@johnnorris.co.uk.