Fly Fishing for Atlantic Salmon

Hook a 30lb Atlantic salmon and your image of fly fishing as a gentle pursuit will be destroyed forever. Raw power and sheer defiance make this an iconic fish.

Had Shakespeare been into fishing, there would almost certainly have been a play about Atlantic salmon. They spend most of their lives at sea before dramatically fighting their way up their home river, often against daunting odds, to spawn and die. Now, illegal netting and the environmental impact of fish farms are making their journey even more hazardous and introducing four dreaded words into any conversation about salmon fishing – “while you still can”.

It’s a sign of what you’re up against that the target weight for Atlantic salmon starts at 25 pounds. Stuffing themselves with crab, shrimp and fish while out at sea, these fish grow fast and pile on enough muscle to be able to spend months without food as they head upriver to spawn.

Yet they will still take a fly, for reasons anglers are still trying to work out. And while salmon fishing can be an expensive business for the fly fisher looking to fish the best rivers at the best time of year, there are still plenty of beats left where the cost of fishing tickets is less eye-watering.

How to fly fish for Atlantic salmon

While these principles aren’t set in stone, you should generally fish big flies deep early and late in the season, and fish small flies close to the surface from late spring to early autumn.

In early and late season, salmon are often found in sheltered lies away from the main current, so that they don’t have to use more energy than they need to in countering the water’s flow. You should target slow, deep pools when water levels are normal and areas near the river banks when the water is high.

Cast across the river so that the current brings the fly downstream and around, until it sits directly downstream of you, then re-cast. You want your fly to be just above the river bed.

That down-and-around motion must be as slow as possible as fish in cold water won’t move quickly. Take a step downstream after each cast, so that you gradually fish the whole of the pool.

From late spring to early autumn, once the water warm, salmon fishing can get harder but at least you can fish lighter gear; even reverting to your trout rod occasionally.

With water levels now falling, seek out deep water immediately downstream of faster stretches (but don’t rule out fishing those ‘white water’ stretches occasionally – fish love the oxygen-rich water).

Again, you’re looking to swing your fly slowly by the salmon as before, only now it’s on or just under the surface.

What are the best flies for Atlantic salmon?

With salmon reluctant to overexert themselves in cold conditions, it will take a big fly to arouse their interest, so colder times of year call for tube flies. These come in two parts, a long body section with the hook attached to its rear. When a fish is hooked, the body section separates, sliding up the line, away from the hook.

Without this arrangement, anglers would have to use heavy, long-shanked hooks to create the size of fly required. The long shank would provide leverage that helped the fish’s chances of working itself free and the salmon’s many sharp teeth could easily damage the fly’s body beyond repair.

In very cold water, tube flies up to three inches long can be called for (also, try the Willie Gunn).

When the water gets warmer, replace the tubes with conventional flies in sizes 8 to 10, dropping to sizes 12 and 14 in summer. Remind your prey of its days at sea with a Curry’s Red Shrimp, fish a Munro Killer in slower stretches and try the Stoat’s Tail, which works in all water types. 

When fishing high in the water in summer, use a Humpy or Bi-Visible, particularly over broken water.