Salmon Fly Fishing Scotland

By Jock Monteith 30th April 2022

While salmon fishing the beautiful rivers of Scotland it is crucial you have complete faith in the fly pattern you're fishing with. This is a logical yet illogical part of salmon fishing as a salmon will only ever take the fly you're using and you'll never truly know if that same fish would have come off its lie for a different salmon fly pattern.

Scottish Salmon Fishing Experience

Over the decades I've been involved in Scottish salmon fishing I've seen salmon caught on all types and sizes of salmon fly. This makes me think that a taking salmon will probably come to intercept the vast majority of patterns. The fly I'm looking for however is the one that will attract a salmon that has seen everything else and I've a few 'hybrid' patterns that are just a little bit different that seem to do the trick nicely.

Attractive Salmon Flies

It could be something a subtle as a UV varnish coating on the body of the fly or a few strands of thin gold holographic tinsel tied into the wing that gives the fly a very different look in the water. I personally like a copper body as when I was learning to salmon fish back in the 70's my late mentor 'Willie Laird' always advised me to fish with copper in my fly or lure and I did so with great effect.

Salmon Fly Material Choice

The other thing that makes a big difference is the materials that are used to make up the fly. Many commercial fly tiers go with the lower costing buck tails but I'd take the softer materials like Arctic fox tail any day in the week. The reason I say this is because these softer materials have a much more life like waggle to them in the stream so are much more likely to get a positive reaction from a fish.

Develop Faith In Your Salmon Fly

The number one ingredient in salmon fly selection is however 'faith' as it's crucial that you feel you're fishing effectively at all times with whatever fly you've chosen. The other things to consider when fishing any fly is to make sure the speed and depth of your salmon fly is optimised to match the prevailing water and temperature conditions.