The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

So this is a 5 minute start to finish fly capable of both use on fly rods and on spinning gear (more on that later) which is highly effective up here for Salmon fishing. I've made more of these flys then I've made any other type cause they have constantly caught more salmon.

See salmon in the fall are on their death run. The are going up stream to spawn, and once they spawn they die. While they are on their run, they do not eat. So how does a fly work? By aggravating them. Salmon if they have something in front of them for enough time in the river will attack it. Some baits make them attack quicker then others. If they do not feel threatened by it quick enough the salmon just move further up stream.

As such experimentation has shown for me and my family that this fly works well. And its very simple and quick to make even for new to fly tying people.

I mentioned it kinda in a PM to another member here who asked about salmon fishing. So thought I'll make it and show you guys.

You'll need:

Black (or any other color thread)
Mylar Silver ribbon #14 (you can substitute another size)
Lead Wire .020"
Strung Marabou Chartreuse
Krystal Flash Chartreuse

I'm using a Aberdeen hook, since I never pay attention to the number of the hook, its got a 3/4" straight shank before the bend, I think a #4 or #6 if I remember right.

So put the hook on your fly tying vice and lets get to work.

Once you got the hook on your vice put some thread as backing along the flat length of the shank of the hook.

Now take a piece of lead, about 1 1/2" long and fold it in half. Open the fold and turn a couple of threads in the corner at the back side of the fly. And lay the thread on the sides of the shank up till the head. Now you can wrap the mylar on the hook.

Tye some of the Marabou onto the hook 1/8" from the eye.

Tye the little bit from the front backwards.

Do the same with the Flash and build a head with the thread.

Use your do-hicky (what the heck do they call that thing you finish knot a fly with anyways?) and cut the thread. And there you have it. Took longer to type this post then it did to make the thing. Laughing

My next installment will talk about how to use candy and alcohol to catch salmon. No I am not kidding. Cool

Dimitri

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

So I mentioned the use of spinning gear for fly fishing. People know of another type of fishing called "float fishing" using centerpin reels. In which instead of fly rod, you got a very long rod with mainly regular line instead.

Well you can float fish with a light weight spinning rod and a reel as well. You wont cast as far, but for close quarters of rivers it really doesn't matter. Just need a nice wood float (2-3g) and a fly attached to the flow about 3 feet from the float. If you got a rod rated for light tackle it will work just as well.

I've been doing it for years with my flies. I did it before I got a fly rig, and I did it after I broke my fly rod, cause for me it does the same job so I never replaced my fly rod after I broke the tip fighting a salmon.

Dimitri

Suzanne · Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:36 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Thanks Dimi!! I use a similar rig with spinning gear. It's a jig that looks about like your fly. I tie it on about 3ft. of leader with a float and then I drift-cast. I never got the hang of fly fishing but I use some of the fly fishing techniques. I have a drift boat and what I do is find a hole where I think there is a stealhead or salmon napping and I just let the jig drift into the hole a few times. I vary the depth of the jig till I find the bottom then raise it up a few inches from the bottom. I never thought a jig would be the bait to use till I saw a fly fisherman using one with a float no less. He showed it to me and I've been using them ever since. I usually use salmon egg colored jigs, but have been successful with orange and green (glow) also. That fly looks easy to build all right. You could make up a few colors and have a vest full to fish with in no time.

Suz

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Ok, so for my candy and alcohol comment, you don't want to feed the Salmon candy, nor do you want to get them drunk. But some types of both share a common thing that is very unique in taste and is known to all of us. Anise.

Anise seems to aggravate salmon when its in the water, and they will attack the source of the smell. So black liquorish cut up into bait on a hook does indeed work. As does taking a sponge and soaking it in alcohols like Sambuca or Ouzo works as well.

I take spawn sacks of salmon eggs and put them in a Styrofoam cup and put some Anise you can buy at the grocery store to get the eggs to start to smell it like. Works very well in my experience.

Dimitri

Vince · Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:02 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Thats all pretty cool stuff 'Mitri. Never tried fly fishing. No salmon where I live, so I obviously don't fish for them...but down south there are sea salmon. My brother catches quite a few of them and he reckons they are great fishing.

You can actually buy liquid aniseed in the fishing shops out here mate. Never tried it, but it is supposed to be pretty good. Another "exciter" that get a bit of a nod out here also is Garlic Extract. Spray it on your bait and, again, its supposed to really excite and annoy the fish, so they "have at it".

Cheers, Vince

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Garlic is good but works wonders for trout, the salmon in the rivers are not as attracted to it at least here. They sell anise in bottles here too at fishing stores but bloody expensive compared to the grocery store and I don't trust their ingredients, many add extra "attractants" with it.

Fly fishing is great for many species of fish, not just salmon and trout. Most fresh water fish eat insects and many flys replicate things like leeches and minnows which also work out for other types of fish.

Many uses "poppers" on fly reels for bass, I never did manage to get them to work for me.

But still Vince, any spinning reel can work for flys, just need to weigh down the line abit with a float, and sometimes extra lead split shot to get it to cast. I got a medium weight rod (1/8-5/8oz) and I can cast them successfully within 10-15 meters of where I am just with the right size float.

Dimitri

Vince · Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:57 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Cool. I have one popper in my fishing box...they aren't all that easy to use...but I get it popping every now and again.

Might have to give flies a try on my rod/s...nothin' ventured....nothin' gained.

Only fish salt water...fresh water fishing is a fair way from me.

Cheers, Vince

stovepipe · Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 1:08 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Ooooh- great topic. Pop and me used to tie. Had some fun hand-lining with floaters, 'till I caught something I could'nt handle...few stiches later.

Very cool trick with the licorice. Never knew that! Melted some root beer candy once and dipped some jigs in that. Forgot what we were gonna do with it though.

I miss my old fishin' buddy.

44marty · Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Can't start commenting on fishing threads - I'll just go on and on and on. I've been hooked on fishing ever since my Dad took me out with a cane pole for crappie when I was 5. After we caught a few, a huge pike flashed out of nowhere and stole one off the line. I just HAD to try catching one of THOSE !!! . . . and so my obsession with fishing began.

Dimitri - The absolute best fly for salmon is the "Blue Tail Fly" it is tied like a wet fly style hairwing, similar to a Royal Wulff, but with swept-back wings and a hair throat. It has any combination of at least 5 colors of fluorescent hair & chenille and two colors of tinsel ribbing. Set a variety of fluorescent colors of bucktail, chenille and floss out on the bench. Each time a color is used, set it aside. Tie a short hair tail, then two or three wraps of chenille, tie in floss and two tinsels (one flat and one oval -in different colors), wrap the floss half the hook length and then the tinsels, then another two or three wraps of another chenille, a hair throat and two hair wings. Every tuft of hair, wraps of chenille, and floss should be of a different color.
Picking the colors at random, every fly should be different when finished. The pattern is called a Blue-Tail-Fly as the originals all started with a fluorescent blue tail. Since then, experimentation showed better results when all parts of the fly were random colors.

Bounce this fly along the bottom, with just enough split shot to keep the rig tickilng the bottom as it drifts. You will lose quite a few in the rocks and gravel if you are using a light enough leader and maintaining bottom contact, so tie up a lot of them (they tie really quickly).

I GAURANTEE you will have good luck during the salmon and steelhead runs with this fly. I usually tie them on #10 heavy wire upturned eye hooks.
The fish hit these REALLY HARD, as the many colors really piss them off. Use a rod that isn't too stiff to absorb the shock.

Tight Lines, buddy.

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

I found a picture of them online to get a idea and I'll make a few to try out.

Thanks.

Dimitri

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

So I finally after like 5 years organized my fly tying supplies. Had them in a plastic container (same one as the picture) but put everything in little 1.5" by 3.0" ziplock bags that made them all fit nicely together instead of in their odd sized packaging all together in the middle section.

Dimitri

44marty · Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 2:32 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Give it time, Dimitri, and enjoy being organised right now. If you really get into tying, you'll have two or three boxes like that JUST FOR YOUR HOOKS.

My fly tying materials are "organized" into 8 shirt boxes and three partitioned plexi boxes, all stuffed into a large clothes hamper. (Need the hamper to effectively protect the whole works with mothballs.)

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

Now just am I going to do with all those hooks?

Dimitri

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

By the way, updated my site and added 2 more types of flys I've used regularly.

www.northerndtool.com/fishing

Dimitri

Vince · Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:00 pm Post subject: Re: The 5 Minute Salmon Fly

Dimitri wrote:

Now just am I going to do with all those hooks?

Dimitri

Catch fish mate...heaps of the buggers. Laughing

Seriously though...if you have enough different types and sizes of hooks, then you can have a sectioned plastic box for each size.

Cheers, Vince