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Your first (oh so elusive) salmon
(article and pictures by Ally Gowans)
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| First salmon |
A few anglers cut their teeth with salmon but for most of
us trying to catch a salmon becomes an ambition during the later years
of our apprenticeship, having started our careers with rather easier species,
perhaps with coarse fish or trout. Trout are the usual steppingstones
to the "king of fish". Especially river trout since they behave
a like miniature salmon in so far as the locations of the lies that they
occupy within trout streams. Fishing for river trout also educates the
angler in important matters like reading the water and the approach to
a wild quarry, something that must never be forgotten nor can its importance
ever be underestimated. Salmon are noble creatures, masters within their
environment and unlikely to take flight at the intrusion of a fleeting
shadow in the same way that trout may react to a passer. Do not let that
fool you, they are every bit as aware of danger and may well be disinclined
to take any interest in your fly as a consequence of detecting your presence.
When I started fishing my father imparted various bits of advice one of
which was to treat fish like rabbits or deer and approach where they might
be with extreme caution. Trout anglers appreciate this well enough but
salmon anglers sometimes completely ruin their chances of success by wading
too deep, appearing on the skyline or by being just being too clumsy in
other ways.
So my first rule is be cautious, try to figure out where salmon might
be lying and get yourself into a suitable position to cover them as discretely
as possible. Discovering where they might be residing is of course another
learning curve for the beginner. Salmon have a fairly simple strategy
in fresh water and that is to reach the spawning grounds safely and without
expending any energy unnecessarily. They seek out sheltered eases in the
current and by balancing and trimming their bodies against the flow they
can maintain position with little or no effort. This does not mean that
they will be found in dead water. They may well be in fast streams, particularly
when the water is warm but they are always in comfort. They may be in
front or behind a rock, in a depression in the riverbed, against a bank,
in fact anywhere that allows them to save their energy for upstream migration.
Whilst they are "running" they can be caught as they are passing
through, and usually in water that is too shallow to hold them at normal
heights.
Salmon do not feed in freshwater. Their stomach atrophies and it is physically
impossible for them to digest. If they did feed they would probably be
easy to catch, instead the fly angler is faced with the proposition of
fishing for a fish that cannot eat with something that it could not eat
even if it were capable. It has been said that it is not surprising that
salmon are difficult to catch, it is amazing that they can be caught at
all! What this means to the angler is that instead of imitating food items
as he might for trout, he must provide a stimulus that causes salmon to
react by taking the fly. This he does by studying temperature, water height,
river size and the flow to come up with a likely solution. Fish are cold
blooded. At low temperatures they are slow moving and require large attractions
to turn them on, at higher temperatures they can expend more energy and
they become more sensitive, therefore small flies are attractive. If the
temperature gets too high the dissolved oxygen content of the water is
reduced and the fish become lethargic. At water temperatures of mid seventies
Fahrenheit or higher adult salmon become very uncomfortable and are easily
stressed. Any increase in temperature may cause fatalities. From the angler's
point of view therefore a range of temperatures between 32 degrees F and
70 degrees F is acceptable. Peak fishing action can be expected when the
water temperature is between 47 degrees and 60 degrees.
At low temperatures it is necessary to fish large flies as close to the
fish as possible and since they will be near the bottom, in deep pools
the fly must therefore be fished on a sunk line. Perhaps even more importantly
the fly must be fished on a fairly slow swing, almost hanging it over
the lies if possible. Flies designs can be chosen to help to achieve the
desired presentation. For cold water, heavy flies may be useful and in
warm water tiny plastic tubes are probably the lightest and most active
type.
The most basic difference between salmon fly-fishing and other quarry
species is therefore the special mindset that relies on causing the fish
to react to take the fly almost involuntarily, because the combination
of fly size, presentation and conditions hit the hot spot in the salmon's
brain.
Perhaps the most practical means of learning to fish for salmon with a
better than average chance of success is to accompany accomplished anglers
and study their methods. Alternatively book some lessons from an expert.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
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