Dry Fly for Salmon Today: A Call for Revival
You have to lose salmon and steelhead on small flies
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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