Fly fishing answers, salmon fly rod, fly eye and salmon multi-tip fly line.

Salmon fly rod
Fly eye
Salmon multi-tip fly line

Question: I am thinking of taken up salmon fishing could you send me information on casting lessons I live in Stirling. I was going to buy a salmon rod but not sure of size and type to buy and would prefer to have lessons before spending on a rod I have been fly fishing for 7 years but have still to try salmon.

Answer: I think that it's best to have a lesson before buying a rod etc. The choice of rod length and rating will depend on the size and characteristics of the river that you want to fish. The most common length for the larger rivers is 15ft. Good instructors should have number of rods and lines that you can try before you visit your retailer. Instructors who try to sell rods may have a bias so beware of that! Also have a look at the length and rating of rods preferred by experienced local anglers.

Question: Is there a tool to help me thread my leader through very small fly. I’m over sixty and very difficult to see it all happen.

Answer: You can buy fly boxes with built-in fly threaders. The flies are stored on the wire loops and you just put the nylon through the loop and pull the fly off so that the leader is threaded through the eye.

Question: You appear to rate the Rio Mid-Spey line. I fish the Tyne & on occasion the Tweed. This line would appear to be suitable for the Tweed but would or should I be able to cast in the "traditional" way i.e. overhead, as long casting is not so often required on most parts of the Tyne that I fish?

Answer: There are many good lines on the market. I have used the MidSpey multi-tip lines and their Orvis equivalent for a number of years and find them very practical. Rio have stopped selling the MidSpey and now do a line called PowerSpey which is a nice line but it does not have the compensator section which will be missed by some anglers. Wulff products and Scientific Anglers also make good multi-tip lines. I don't like the shorter belly lines because to achieve the same weight they are made thicker and consequently more clumsy and best avoided,  head length of more than sixty something feet is much better. Spey lines are just long belly weight forward fly lines and they can be overhead or Spey cast with equal effectiveness. If you don't have to cast too far a double taper line will do the job for you.