Bright yellow was a key colour in Victorian fly patterns and remains a staple in modern salmon and trout flies. The yellow flies are particularly effective one or two days after a flood and especially effective in rivers with slightly murky water. Fly: Bulldog # 7/0

The bright red tag has become a timeless feature in salmon and trout flies, frequently used in modern low-water patterns and those patterns designed to be fished near the surface. Often paired with a bright yellow or green wound tag, it creates a striking and highly effective design. Fly: Black Doctor # 2/0

Tinsel: Shimmering threads of gold or silver add just the right amount of sparkle. Often, small amounts of tinsel create a greater impact than larger quantities, offering a glimmer that attracts fish.

Peacock Feathers: The iridescent green peacock herl has long been used in fly patterns due to its ability to add depth and visual attraction, elevating any salmon or trout fly.

Contrasting Colours: The Dual-Coloured Design

Many successful fly designs feature contrasting colours, such as a dual-coloured body with a lighter rear and darker front, as seen in the Rusty Rat. This design, first created by Mr. Joseph Clovis Arseneault in the 1940s, draws inspiration from the classic Jock Scott pattern and remains effective for both salmon and trout anglers today.

The Jungle Cock Feather: Known for its striking contrast and unique wavy structure, this feather was a staple in Victorian flies and continues to be a go-to choice for anglers targeting salmon and trout.

The Cherry on Top: The See-Through Effect

In fly fishing, the see-through quality of a fly can be just as important as its colour. A fly with translucent materials allows light to shine through, creating a more natural, edible appearance to the fish. A solid, dense fly may not trigger the same response. Anglers quickly learn that a fly’s transparency is essential in attracting salmon and trout.

Tube Flies and Transparency

The transparency of tube flies, like the Sunray Shadow, is another key element in modern fly tying. These flies are particularly effective for surface fishing, as the see-through quality catches the light in a way that entices fish. New materials, such as twinkle flash and mylar, enhance this transparency, adding subtle glimmers that increase the fly’s allure.

Golden Rules in Salmon Fly Tying

While there are some established guidelines for selecting colours for salmon flies, flexibility is key. Here are a few principles that experienced anglers follow:

• Weather Conditions Matter: On clear, bright days, lighter, more vibrant flies tend to perform best, while darker flies work better in murky water and low-light conditions.
• Match the Environment: Matching the fly’s colour to the environment can significantly increase your chances. For example, flies that blend with surrounding foliage are effective in those areas, while flies that contrast with grey riverbeds are excellent choices for rivers with that colour.
• Yellow Flies After a Spate: Yellow is particularly effective after a spate, when the water is murky and fish are harder to spot. The bright hue stands out in low-visibility conditions.
• Red Flies Late in the Season: Red flies gain effectiveness as the season progresses, becoming a go-to colour for anglers targeting salmon and sea trout later in the year.
• Black Flies: Black is a versatile and reliable choice. Particularly during twilight or low-light conditions, black flies become more visible, making them a popular choice for anglers in these circumstances.

Yearly Variations in Fly Colours

The Red Fly and Changes in Salmon Vision

Fresh from the sea, caught on a hitched fly in shallow water in early July. Salmon fly fishermen must adapt to the new challenges and fishing methods to be effective throughout the season.

The climate is changing, and so is fishing for salmon. The last decade has been unusual with radical weather changes, and dry and hot summer weather has been dominant in large parts of the north – 2022 was no exception. Rivers in the north saw weeks without rain, and again, the season brought new challenges – or opportunities.

There is no doubt that the salmon like tiny flies, and throughout the season, many salmon are caught on small flies, and the proportion of Nordic salmon caught on small flies and flies made for surface fishing will likely increase as salmon anglers learn to fish with new equipment and with new techniques.

You have to lose fish on small hooks!

When you fish for bigger fish with smaller flies and small hooks, you move on the edge of the art of the possible. You must accept that you will lose more fish than you might have been used to. Losing salmon is a natural part of fishing with smaller hooks, and the sooner you as a fly fisherman realize this, the better you will be at fishing with the small flies/hooks.

See the small Frances tube fly in our shop.

Use soft leaders, tippet material, and super hooks.

Of course, you must choose quality hooks and good tippet material – but you should also develop your skills to fight the fish so that you do not strain your equipment unnecessarily. I prefer tippet material that is soft and can give way when the fish jumps and shakes its head. Soft nylon is also better when presenting hitch and small flies; stiff leaders and tippet material can kill even the best micro-salmon fly.

Adjust the brake

Choose a fly reel with a lightweight brake or a brake that can be adjusted down, so you can quickly control the amount of line the fish pulls from your reel. Remember, plenty of backing.

Read more about tackle and technique for salmon on small hooks.

Fishing for salmon in the warm low summer river with a conventional wet fly – is some of the most challenging fly fishing you will ever encounter, and even the best local angler has to work hard to get a positive result. To fish the same river with surface flies is oddly more straightforward; it is as if the fish is easier deceived at the surface.

Fish for salmon as you fish for trout

In the shallow warm river, the salmon will congregate in pools where it feels safe and where it finds oxygen and shade; seek out these places and fish them when they fall into the shade, early or late in the day.

As the summer goes on, the salmon will see the insect life found in, and along the river, and as the trout angler, you must learn to present tiny flies so that they drift towards the salmon, either close to or on the surface. Other times you may need to use a small heavy fly like a nymph that can rise from the bottom to imitate a caddis pupa heading for the surface.

See how you drift a heavy nymph-like fly towards salmon.

Image: the hot river (21 degrees Celsius = 69,8 Farenheight) in Northern Norway (2011) … 24 hours of light and a clear cold night will bring the river temperature down several degrees and make fishing excellent at night.
Many river owners wisely close rivers for fishing when temperatures exceed 18 degrees as fishing catch & release in too hot a river can be a wrong choice as salmon can have a hard time recovering from stress in warm water; undoubtedly, we will see more restrictions on fishing in summer-warm rivers.

Teach yourself to fish with riffling hitch flies.

Riffling hitch is an effective sport in cold and warm water, and the riffling hitch fly work excellently in shallow rivers where the water depth is 0.25 – 1.5 meters. Rivers in Finmark (region of Northern Norway), such as Repparfjords River, Staburs River and Vestre Jakobs River, are just a few fine examples of Nordic rivers where riffling hitches work exceptionally well. The best flies are often tiny, and it pays to experiment with colour and size if fish show interest but don’t bite – often, it is pretty simple variations that can be decisive.

Learn more about the riffling hitch technique and the tackle to use

The jewel in the crown – Salmon on the dry fly

Seeing a big fish rise from the depths towards your dry fly is the ultimate dream for many fly anglers – but often, this will only be a dream. 

Fishing with a dry fly for salmon is a sport within a sport. Many people only become familiar with this form of fishing when the fishing situation by the river has become entirely impossible, and that’s a bit sad because dry fly fishing is at its best when the salmon is fresh and really on the bite – so if you want to try the ultimate fly-fishing challenge then tie a dry fly on your leader when the silver, willing-to-bite salmon is on their way up the river.

When the river runs low, salmon will still arrive daily. Often they will find rest in places unsuitable for conventional wet fly fishing – here and in the areas where you usually would target the salmon, you should fish with a dry fly instead of spending your fishing day trying to catch the same salmon on a wet fly.

The ultimate fly fishing dream – large salmon on a dry fly – Here, a June salmon has taken a Repparfjord-green Tube Bomber. The hook is an Owner ST # 14 treble hook – The tippet material is Maxima Chameleon 0.25mm.

Read more about how to dead-drift dry flies for Atlantic salmon.

Fishing in the low and warm summer river is a form of fishing that is all about details; often, it is pretty tiny details that can change your fishing day in a positive direction – once you have found these new forms of fishing and techniques, maybe like me you will be looking forward to the days with difficult conditions by the river

Norwegian rivers are great dry-fly rivers.

Norway has some of the best dry fly fishing for salmon on the planet; it might not be the first thing you think of when tying flies for summer fishing, but maybe you should start.

Clear-water rivers from the south to the far north offer great opportunities throughout the season – and we, as anglers, often set limitations in our fishing. I usually explain this by discussing specific salmon I have caught in impossible dry fly conditions.

I caught a salmon several years ago in Orkla. It was raining, the river was high, and only 5 degrees Celsius. I still caught a silver salmon on a smaller white Bomber. There was a snowstorm on another trip to the Repparfjord River in August. The surrounding lowland was white with snow; still, I had a salmon biting after my Repparfjord Green Bomber 4 time.

Don’t forget your dry flies when you leave for Norway.

it is often us as anglers who set limitations in our fishing, and I usually explain this by talking about specific salmon I have caught in the most impossible dry fly conditions.

The missing link – Bugs made for dry and wet

No, advice on riffling hitch technique goes without mentioning the salmon Bugs so popular with North American anglers. Salmon Bug patterns have their practices and special details worth spending time and effort into learning and putting the bug´s family of flies into a short frame on riffling hitch fishing know-how is, in fact, a bit sketchy… but bugs are, to some extent, the fly patterns that I find to be very well connected with the riffling hitch technique.

My observations over the years have led me to conclude that there is a fishable layer… just below the surface, where a well-presented deer hair bug can do wonders just before the riffling hitch season picks up.

there is a fishable layer… just below the surface, where a well-presented deer hair bug can do wonders just before the riffling hitch season picks up

I fish the bugs wet and close to the surface as possible. I like to add a tiny amount of flotant to the flies. As you can see from the images, these salmon were hooked close to the snout, a familiar spot to hook Atlantic salmon on small bugs – Why is it so?  I don’t know…but make sure to tie your bugs on solid hooks, as hooking salmon in this spot often leads to hard-fighting fish.

At Fishmadman, you will find the perfect collection of small bugs to catch finicky salmon and trout in warm water, some designed by us – Others classic bug´s from around the world – Don´t leave without them… the angler that thinks trout…when he goes salmon fishing… is often the most successful.

We have chosen a small selection of heavy-duty bugs tied on heavier hooks than we do our normal bugs.

Glitter Bug Green and Orange # 10 A Bug explicitly made to be fished both wet and dry. A slightly stronger salmon hook enables this fly to be fished just below the surface in fast glides – A missing link pattern in our fabulous collection of small dry flies for steelhead and Atlantic salmon, generally termed bugs.

 

Fighting big fish on small hooks doesn’t have to be so dramatic – it can be – but if you are careful and take it easy, the fish will often be compliant and finally come to you. You will need to prepare a bit for this kind of fishing, and here are some things you can do to make things work.

Use a fly reel that has a light ratchet or an adjustable brake that will allow you to control a decisive run where you have to admit line out quickly.

Use (as we do) a soft tippet material on your leader…We prefer soft nylon-like: Maxima Chameleon or Original Streen. These nylon brands will stretch when under strain…something quite valuable when the fish jumps or shakes its head.

To read much more about bugs…go to this blog page.

Local insight

Spending each day by the river throughout the fishing season grants a depth of understanding regarding the varied moods and subtle shifts in behavior of Atlantic salmon and trout that few anglers ever attain. Advice from a seasoned local angler or ghillie can often provide invaluable insights to visiting day ticket anglers.

Micro flies … the  essential requirement

During periods of low water and warm temperatures, or when the fish seem unresponsive, you’ll frequently discover that the flies required to entice such wary fish are among the smallest in your fly box. In slow-moving water, a sparsely dressed fly might be necessary to ensure precise presentation at the rear of a pool. Alternatively, the daily emergence of local insects like stoneflies, caddisflies, or mayflies may have conditioned the fish to respond only to patterns that closely resemble these familiar sights.

A sneak peek into Ron´s box of micro flies – The tiny Micro treble hook flies # 16 – 20 are seen in the top part of the box.

See small outpoint silver trebles # 16 for your micro fly tying here 

Keep it simple

Trailing flies – what is it all about?

The material quickly became immensely popular among big-game and commercial fishermen mainly because of the light refractive index of fluorocarbon line so close to that of water making it less visible underwater, something quite significant, e.g. fishing for giant bluefin tuna with 200 lb mono – The fluorocarbon line also has other noteworthy features a.o lack of water absorbency, abrasion resistance and knot strength last but not least the speed fluorocarbon sinks through the water (it sinks faster than nylon) * something Ron Gray benefits from in his fishing with trailing micro flies.

Fluorocarbon is becoming more and more popular among fly fishermen.

Fluorocarbon has become distinctly popular over the last couple of decades. Many anglers I know do not think twice when buying a spool of fluorocarbon tippet material  6 – 7 times more expensive than a spool of quality nylon tippet material.

Fluorocarbon for trout and Atlantic salmon

As an avid trout and salmon angler, I would say no… save your money and buy nylon for your fly attachment – doing so, I will probably have fellow anglers raising their eyebrows – but my experience with fluorocarbon has shown me that the material has few properties that would help me get more bites, saying so I acknowledge that fluorocarbon has so many abilities that could aid anglers in specific and special ways not know to me, making my advise a bit bias.

Fluorocarbon is stiffer than conventional nylon.

Generally speaking, fluorocarbon is stiffer than conventional tippet material, and it is also a lesser elastic material than nylon, which is not something I would benefit greatly from in my fishing for trout and salmon; on the contrary, I try to avoid stiff tippet material as I find that rigid leaders take away some of the life that small and medium fly patterns need to perform well.

I do also prefer a cushy and elastic nylon tippet to a stiff and less so flexible tippet material. Since I often fish for bigger fish with small hooks and light tackle in a sport where elastic tippet material comes in handy ….Read more on this hard fighting topic on our blog at Fishmadman (You have to lose salmon and steelhead on small flies)

A substantial percentage of the food Atlantic salmon and steelhead eat at high seas is fish, often small silverfish like capelin and sand-eel, as seen in the photo below. These and many other baitfish and various sea worms have some form of iridescent colour structure in their colouration and iridescence as colour may very well play a part in the way prey and bait play hide and seek in the ocean –
In this highly advanced hide-and-seek game, we may assume that the predators have abilities and detecting skills to get them close to the prey. Glimpses of light shimmering on an iridescent surface could be a critical element that brings the predators closer to the baitfish they are looking for.

What do salmon eat at sea? Read more and see the great images of the food they eat in this article

The recent season I have developed a series of riffling hitch flies where I have incorporated the iridescent properties in the form of iridescent pixel flakes attached to the head of the fly a method I also have used on sub-surface flies. The series of flies is called the Hitchman flies and is available through our fly store.

A tiny shimmering Green Hitchman fly – The perfect fly for Atlantic salmon in fast low water

Over the years I have used the properties of shimmering iridescent material on my coastal sea trout lures and flies and have never looked back sins then.
The green iridescent colouration is effective stuff when you’re targeting fish near the surface (0 – 3 meters down) in clear waters.

Here are two coastal sea trout lures (1/2 – 1 Oz.). I designed it back in the ’90s

Iridescent pixel flakes also used on this homemade, highly efficient APEX lure from the ’90s

We wanted to make our flies easier to find out on the rough water or in low light conditions and added foam with iridescent properties to the flies – little did we think that the iridescent material would increase the actual catch returns – but it did make the flies more attractive. Consequently, we incorporate the iridescent EVA foam in several fly patterns.
It may be a tiny glimpse of the green iridescent material that spurs the fish to make the tour to the surface…

Here is the Flashback Bug, a favoured Steelhead fly… If you like to try it, see it in our shop here

If you read Danish (Scandinavian) below you will find an article I made in the ’90s about my initial experiments with iridescent material and low water fishing.

Sinking poly leaders are the best for wake, dry fly and riffling hitch fishing…

We know that recommending sinking leaders for surface fishing is a somewhat controversial and bold statement – never the less that is what we believe. We readily use poly leaders in our fishing… with great success.

Go to our poly leaders for riffling hitch

POWER IN CASTING

The density of the polymer leaders will aid you in turning over big wake and dry flies in windy conditions. The greater density of the polymer leader will also help you to cast straight and precisely when using a long line.

AVOID SHADOWS AND DISTURBANCE WITH SINKING LEADERS… 

Our favoured polymer leaders are all slow sinking – We prefer these leaders to those leaders that float because the submerged leader casts less of a shadow that may frighten the fish – The submerged leader also causes less disturbance on the surface (drag) and won’t sink too far down to make the fly drown.

POLYMER LEADERS WILL ATTRACT MORE FISH…

This is obviously an expression of views/facts that we have little solid verification of – in fact, it is not the polymer leader in itself that would attract the fish – but the delicate and quite  dynamic polymer leader will be able to transform some of the many fine swirls and curls of the river surface to micro-movements * in your leader and finally your fly – something quite useful when you target fish with micro flies such as riffling hitch and other such miniature flies

Longer lasting when kept cold

99% of chemical reactions go slower if they are cold, and as a guide, for artificial age testing of polymers, the rule of thumb is 10 degrees Celsius = doubling of the time. This is a readily used formula in polymer (nylon) product lifespan validation.