Fordhead Farm: Hints and Tips

Salmon Flies

Salmon flies are tied using exotic feathers and use the largest hooks. There are a number of proven patterns, some of which are shown below.

Salmon flies also come in a variety of forms, from the traditional single hook type to double and sometimes treble hook versions. Another fly type is the tube fly, where the pattern is tied onto a metal or plastic tube which slips over a wire trace and terminates in a treble hook. On some designs, small plastic fins (rather like a propeller) are incorporated which makes the tube fly spin as it is worked in the water.

Salmon rarely feed during their run upstream and the fly must be acting like a lure more than anything else. Perhaps it just annoys the fish, or, as many people believe, it triggers a response to what may appear as a shrimp or small fish to the salmon. In any case, the salmon fly certainly catches fish and the patterns definitely have an effect on the potency of the fly.


Akroyd	Thunder and Lightning	Jock Scott

Blue Doctor	Silver Doctor	Silver Torrish

Sea Trout Flies

Sea Trout flies are a hybrid of salmon flies and trout wet flies in that they share the same patterns. The hook sizes are a lot smaller than those used for salmon, but fairly big compared to normal trout flies.

Sea Trout flies are fished in the wet fly style and are worked in a sink and draw fashion across pools and runs.

Many of the popular patterns for sea trout are versions of the more common trout flies and the fish could be perceiving them as lures, small fish or aquatic insects. When a fly is in the water, it takes on a different appearance from its dry state (as shown in the images below). The 'wings' will flutter in the current and the hackles (the hair-like feather that is wound around the front of the fly) could easily be mistaken for insect legs. As a fly is drawn through the water, it will flatten then expand as the pull on it strengthens and weakens. This action may be the trigger for the fish to strike as this movement, combined with the erratic sinking and drawing motion may mimic an injured fish.


Black and Peacock	Butcher	Claret Bumble	Dunkeld

Grey Monkey	Bibio	Black Connemara	Watson's Fancy

Trout Flies (Wet)

Wet flies for trout are basically fished in the same manner as the flies for salmon and sea trout. They are usually tied onto a number 12 or 14 hook and use the softer hackle feathers of the hen bird. These feathers allow the fly to enter the water easily and also impart greater mobility to the leg-like feather fibres.

The art of wet-fly fishing for trout is often more involved than fishing for the larger sea trout and salmon. This is due to the variety of habitats where good sized trout can be found. This includes small rivers and streams with pools and rivulets from their source high up in the hills right down to the larger rivers.

Some patterns of wet flies seem to act as lures to the trout, but the majority are specifically designed to emulate aquatic life - be it small fish and fry or one of the many stages in the life-cycle of insects.


Black Pennel	Blue Zulu	Grouse & Claret	Loch Ordie	Professor

Red Spinner	Wickam's Fancy	Soldier Palmer	Teal Blue & Silver	March Brown

Trout Flies (Dry)

Dry fly fishing for trout is regarded by many as the ultimate test of skill and understanding.

A special floating line is used and the flies are attached by fine monofilament to this. Some people like to use just one fly, some prefer up to 3 on their trace line. Regardless of the number of flies, the principle of dry fly fishing is simple - emulate insects on the surface of the water.

Feeding trout will readily take insects from the surface of the water and evidence of their activity is seen in the rings they make as they suck in the insect. This feeding is known as a 'rise' and rising fish are the best news a dry-fly angler could want.

Dry flies are tied using the stiffer hackle feathers of the cock bird. These hackle feathers are wound around the hook, just behind the eye and form a collar of protruding fibres. Dry flies also have a pair of wings, tied upright, that help to slow the decent of the fly when it is cast. This allows a dry fly to gently land on the surface of the water and only the hackle fibres and the curve of the hook will actually pierce the surface tension.

To the trout, the fly looks like an insect perched on the surface of the water. The hackle feathers may look like legs and the tail of the fly might look like the long hairlike structures of the mayfly. Even the hook that has entered the water might fool the fish into thinking the fly has punctured the surface to lay eggs. Skilled dry fly anglers can cast a fly right over a rising fish. This has to be done with great care so that the fly lands naturally.

Dry flies are all about mimicking naturally occurring insects and there are a variety of types that emulate the various stages of the insect life-cycle. Since the dry fly is fished on the surface of the water, the stages that can be exploited are seen in the 5 images on the second row below.

The Olive Dun is a typical winged dry fly. This type gently rests on the surface and mimics an adult fly - possibly laying eggs.
The nymph type will actually enter the water and mimics a rising insect at the nymph stage of its development.
The emerger fly type attempts to emulate a hatching fly from the nymph stage and is designed to protrude the majority of the fly just under the surface of the water.
The parachute type is really a reference to the way the hackle feather is wound onto the body of the fly (rather like the blades of a helicopter). The parachute style will gently float the fly onto the surface of the water and attempts to mimic a dying insect.
Spinners have wings that are tied flat so that they will lie on the surface of the water when the fly is cast. As with the parachute type, the spinner attempts to emulate a spent fly that has mated and has fallen back to the water.


Black Palmer	Butcher	Iron Blue Dun	Tups Indispensable	Mayfly (emerger)

Olive Dun	Olive Dun (nymph)	Olive Dun (emerger)	Olive Dun (parachute)	Olive Dun (spinner)

Lures

There are a bewildering number of artificial lures that are available to the angler. As far as the Fordhead beat is concerned, the following lures work well with Trout, Sea Trout, Salmon and Pike.

To fish with lures, you need a basic spinning rod and reel loaded with nylon monofilament line - this is probably the easiest and cheapest way to start fishing. Lures come in a variety of types, the common ones being spoons, spinners and plugs. Each type is fished in a different way and in some cases they are designed to target a specific type of fish.

Spoons

Spoon lures are made of solid metal and are bent into shapes that wiggle in the water.

The most famous spoon to date is the excellent Toby. This spoon was designed and manufactured by the ABU company in Sweden (now ABU-Garcia), and is the most popular spoon with anglers in every branch of the sport worldwide.

The action of the toby is irresistible to predatory fish and is therefore extremely effective when fishing for Salmon, Sea Trout, Trout and Pike.

The lure is available in a number of weights and patterns (three of which are shown on the left). The weight of the lure is all that is needed for a successful cast.

The toby can be fished in slow deep water or fast flowing shallows. The rate of retrieval will dictate the level it is fished at and the speed of the spoons action.

Spinners

Spinners are lures that rely on a blade mounted on a swivel to rotate in the water to create the attraction. The most popular spinners in the world are the Mepps range and the ABU range.

There are a variety of types that claim to enhance the basic model. One such modification uses specially formed blades that send out vibrations as they spin. Another adaptation is to use a treble hook that has a known fly pattern tied onto it, or just a bright feather wound around it (which seems to be just as effective). Other adaptions focus on the shape of the blade to determine the drag, spin speed and the angle the blade rotates relative to the body of the lure.

Retrieval speed will affect the speed of the spinning blade and at slow retrieval speeds will also affect the depth the lure is fished. As with all lures, a swivel should be tied in-line about 3ft above the lure, (this will avoid the line twisting into a horrible mess).

Plugs and Wobblers

Particulary effective for pike, Plugs and Wobblers have an action in the water that mimic the jerks and sporadic lunges of an injured fish.

Plugs come in a variety of shapes and sizes and usually have a blade at the front. This blade causes the lure to swim downwards as the line is retrieved. Add to this the ability to float and you have a perfect lure for sink and draw fishing - but in reverse. In other words, the lure is cast over the water. The plug is allowed to float to the desired spot and then the line is retrieved. As the plug moves through the water, the blade makes it dive. At some point, the line retrieval is stopped (or slowed right down) and the plug begins to rise, ready for another dive. This action is extremely close to the movement of an injured fish. Plug variants include a two-part body to enhance the wiggling action, luminous patterns, modified head shapes and an adjustable blade to set the diving angle.

Wobblers share many of the properties of plugs. The two wobblers shown on the left are attached to the line high on the back of the lure. This tilts the wobbler in the water so that it points its nose downwards. The shape of the lure causes it to vibrate and wiggle as the line is retrieved giving an extremely life-like mimic of an injured fish.

Devon Minnows

These lures are fish-shaped tubes with a treble hook assembly inserted through their length. Angled fins on each side near the front act like the blades of a propeller and the lure spins as it is retrieved.

Devons have been around for a long time and there are floating versions and sinking versions available.

Common Fishing Knots

Albright Knot

This knot is used to join two lines of different thicknesses. It is used to attach a heavier 'leader' (rather than a double) to a lighter main line. It requires careful forming of the loops.

Blood Knot

This is a high strength knot to join two similar thicknesses of line. It's main advantage is it's low profile enabling it to run smoothly through rod line guides.

Centauri Knot

This knot is principally used to attach hooks through the eye to the line. It works well on a wide range of line strengths and claims to retain 96% of breaking strain.

Clinched Half Blood Knot or Trilene Knot

This is a high strength multi purpose knot. It's main use is attaching swivels, lures or hooks to the main line.
Formation should be assisted by pulling down to the base. The extra strength of this knot is due to the double loop around the eye of the swivel (or hook).

Drop Loop Knot

This is a high strength loop for the main line. It's main use is to form a loop for attaching sinkers to the main line.
As with all knots remember to lubricate the line before pulling tight.

Dropper Loop

Creates a stand out loop for attaching a hook to a trace. Handy in that it can be tied anywhere along the line.
Use a matchstick or similar tool to make the twists.

Grinner Knot

This is a multi purpose knot that is more securely clinched than it's relative the Blood Knot. It's main use is for attaching swivels, lures and hooks to the main line.
Assist its formation by pulling down to the base.

Hook Snell

Quick and simple method of attaching line to a hook with an up or down turned eye. This knot can only be made with a free length of line as both ends must pass through the eye of the hook.

Hook Snood

This is a high strength knot for attaching trace line to a hook. It's main advantage is the fact that the hook will lay along the direction of the line.
Note that the final length of the trace will be the length of the loop.

Longliner's Knot

This knot is useful for attaching a hook line to a continuous heavy main line. It will not slip up or down the line

Palomar Knot

This is a high strength knot used to tie hooks (usually flies) to a line. Because the line loops over the eye of the hook and is tightened behind it, the knot works best on larger flies (sea trout and salmon) which have more room behind the eye.

Perfection Loop

One of the better loop knots and can be used on lighter lines although best suited to the heavier. The main benefit of this knot is that the loop formed lies directly in line with the main line and does not kill the action of the lure or fly.
Retains 70%+ strength.