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You have to lose salmon and steelhead on small flies

Jesper Fohrmann — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 14:28:00 +0000

The tiny stuff

Why use such a small tube fly?

Small flies are essential to the salmon and trout fly box. We tend to forget that salmon and trout are more than ferocious predators – they are also highly adaptable critters that could blend into an environment and take advantage of the available food source. We tap into these skills when we reach for the small flies in our fly-box.
It could be in that slow pool where salmon and steelhead have settled down, where they will only encounter small hatching insects during summer – where a traditional salmon or steelhead fly would look very wrong and where presentation matters.

You have to lose fish on small flies.

The sooner you get around this fact, the better. Pitching miniature flies to bigger fish has always been a heart beating topic, and we at Fishmadman love this sport, but you will have to accept the fact that you will be losing more fish than you might want to do. The flies are small, and to be able to present these flies correctly, they have to be fitted with small hooks. Such hooks may be bent outwards during great runs… and flies and hooks may fly right out of the mouth of your dream fish when it tumbles across the surface… but we would say that this is far better than had you have never been able to hook up with that same fish.

You have to loose fish on small flies – the sooner you get around this fact the better.

Learn to fight them

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.

Use only the best hooks available. Hooks are already designed for the job of fighting big fish.

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Micro stinger and hitch In Scotland

Jesper Fohrmann — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 14:28:00 +0000

Scottish know-how

Whenever I have the privilege of fishing the Kinnaber beat on the River North Esk in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, I am fortunate to be in the company of my dear friend Ron Gray, who serves as the head ghillie there. Ron, a true aficionado of the riffling hitch technique, is blessed with the opportunity to be by the river’s side every single day throughout the fishing season.

Attached is a photo of Ron proudly displaying a notable local catch, captured on a micro #16 fly.

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

How to

When you tie on the tube-hitch fly hook, leave the amount of tippet from the knot that you want for the trailing fly

Micro outpoint treble hook flies

Ron´s hitch tube fly and on a small fly tied on a outpoint treble hook – Ron also use micro flies tied on single hooks.

The set-up

Figure A) The tie down at the hitch fly. Use a f.o a Uni-knot

Figure B) To the trailing fly

Keep it simple

Using a trailing fly can be effective, but it can also lead to tangles. Ron’s technique involves using a small tube hitch fly as the main fly, with a micro fly (#16-20) trailing about 70-100 cm behind it.

To keep the trailing fly submerged, Ron opts for 8 lb. fluorocarbon tippet material. Fluorocarbon sinks better than nylon and is stiffer, which helps reduce tangles. (for illustration, we have used a piece of regular Maxima Chameleon nylon in the photo above )

Trailing flies – what is it all about?

The concept of trailing flies isn’t fully understood, it is one of those things in fly fishing for trout and salmon that isn’t well described, but it’s a valuable tactic for catching elusive Atlantic salmon and trout in river pools during summer. The combination of a hitch fly and a trailing micro fly resembles a line of insects, possibly enticing fish to strike at the last one, mimicking an unhatched insect.…just a guess.