How To Tie A Kitchen Sink Shrimp - Step By Step

The Kitchen Sink Shrimp.

I have put together a step by step instruction on how to tie my Kitchen Sink Shrimp fly pattern. This is a fly that I've done very well with since I created it back in 2012. It works equally well with both fresh and coloured fish, especially when the water is low or clear. I have found that the more sparsely dressed the fly, the better it works.

Materials needed to tie the fly are as follows; Silver hook, Red 8/0 Thread, Small Silver Oval Tinsel, Hot Orange Bucktail, Black Bear, White Arctic Fox, Glo-Brite No.5, Black Uni Floss, Silver Badger Hackle, Orange and Silver Krystal Flash, Jungle Cock, Clear Varnish

Lay down a layer of thread and tie in the silver oval tinsel.

Form a tag with 4 or 5 turns of tinsel.

Tie in a tail of Hot Orange Bucktail and 4 strands of Orange Krystal Flash. Make sure the silver tinsel is out the way.

Tie in Orange Glo-Brite No.5 and form a butt above the tail.

Tie in some Black Uni Floss and take the silver tinsel back to the butt as this will be the rib of the fly. Wind the floss round the shank and up to near the eye of the hook..

Form a rib using the silver tinsel. I like to have 4 turns on a hook this size.

Tie in an underwing of white arctic fox.

Add a wing of Black Bear; slightly longer than the underwing and 2 strands of silver krystal flash.

Tie in the silver badger hackle. I give it no more than 4 turns before tying it off.

Add Jungle Cock to finish the fly off and varnish.

This is the first time I have attempted something like this so I hope it's easy to follow and the fly catches you a few fish. Thank you for looking in and Tight Lines.

Flies For The Back End

I've been busy at the vice recently tying up flies for the arrival of the back end to the salmon season. As we are once again suffering from a severe lack of rain and low water conditions I have tied most of my flies on doubles and trebles. I have also tied several small tubes as well for the deeper pools but with no significant rain forecast, I've concentrated my efforts on the smaller, lighter flies. Red is a favourite colour amongst anglers for back end fly patterns and my selection is no different.

Here are a few I've tied which will hopefully help me get a few more fish in the book before the season is out.

Red Flamethrower tied on a #9 Silver Partridge Salar double. Invented by Duncan Egan, this fly is very good during the back end and I have had several fish using this pattern.

Red Pot Bellied Pig tied on a #8 Silver Esmond Drury treble. Just an all red variation of the popular Pot bellied Pig series of flies. Was the "go to" fly a few years back and is still very popular.

Red Marauder Shrimp tied on a #9 Silver Partridge Salar double. I created this fly last year and I caught my biggest fish of 2013 (18lb cock fish) with it on the last Saturday in October.

Red Francis tied on a #8 Fulling Mill double. Not a lot more can be said about just how good this fly preforms. Not just during the Autumn, but all year round. Is a must have for any fly box.

Red Ally Shrimp with a sliver body tied on #8 Fulling Mill Magni double. A red variation of the classic Ally's Shrimp. I know some anglers who use nothing else for the back end and do very well

Calvin's Shrimp tied on a #8 Partridge Patriot double. Invented by Ross MacDonald, this fly does extremely well during the back end. It has all the colours synonymous with salmon fishing in the Autumn is a proven killer.

Kitchen Sink Shrimp tied on a #9 Silver Partridge Salar double. I did very well during the back end last year with this pattern in similar conditions to what we have this year. A good fly for when the leaves are coming down the river and when the fish have seen the usual patterns for this time of year.

Munro Killer tied on a #7 Gold partridge Salar double. I have tied this pattern with a red head just to be different. If the water remains clear or just slightly peaty, this classic fly pattern will do the trick. Still as popular as ever and a regular in the catch returns book.

Garry Dog tied on a #8 Esmond Drury treble. I really like the colour combo on this pattern. Some prefer it with a long wing but I think it looks great as it is. Suits being dressed on a treble too.

Kildrummy Water - River Don

I had booked a day on the Kildrummy beat of the River Don for last Saturday but I ended up having to work so I rescheduled it for today. The water was on the low side for the beat to fish well but I had never fished Kildrummy before and I was looking forward to it. The river levels were sitting just above summer lows at around 1inch on the gauge. I was armed with my 13ft Hardy Uniqua, full floating line and small doubles from size 10s to 15s.

I arrived at the delightfully charming Kildrummy Inn just after 8am to receive my permit from hotel owner David Littlewood. He gave me a very helpful beat map and talked me through the pool where I'd most likely encounter a salmon. He also informed me that I would be fishing in good company today in the form of Trout & Salmon magazine columnist and brown trout guru, Paul Procter.

I opted to start above the lower bridge in the Willows Pool and Brux Pot. These were two deeper pools and had the possibility of holding fish in the low water. I fished on through both pools without a touch s o I headed up to the hut and fished the Crooked Pot. Again, another deeper pool but not sign of any salmon, just plenty of trout rising down at the tail. I did have a fling with the dry fly rod but couldn't tempt any of them.

After studying the beat map, I decided to had up river and fish the Bulwarks and Joiners Pools. The Bulwarks pool was my favourite pool on the beat . It was a deep gorge like pool which was very deep and a likely place for salmon to hold up in whilst the river was low. I fished on down the pool without a touch and with the same result in Joiners. I headed back down river to the bridge car park for some lunch and to plan out my afternoon.

After lunch I fished the pools below the lower bridge . These included Dukestone Dykes, Knowehead Pool and Muckie Saugh. All the flow on these pools were on the far bank but the river at Kildrummy is easy to cover and these all fished the fly nicely but sadly, there was still no sign of any salmon in the pools so I made my way back to the car and headed off back to the hut where I deceided I would walk up river to fish through the top pools of the right bank. The pools in this stretch were called Burn End, Upper Clochter, Lower Clochter and a few wee runs that didn't have names. I fished down through these pools without a touch from a salmon but I did get hold of a couple of greedy brown trout which took a liking to my #11 KS Shrimp. That was to be the only action of the day and I left the beat around 5.30pm just as the wind was beginning to get stronger which was making casting quite tricky.

I was very impressed with some of the fly water that Kildrummy has to offer, it's just a pity there was no water today as I think the pools would be much better suited for salmon fishing with at least another 9" - 12" on the gauge. Still, good to be out on a new beat to me and it was good to fish the Upper Don for the first time too. The scenery around Donside is beautiful and I saw plenty wildlife today too. Hares were running about in the fields, Roe deer roamed, the call of the Curlew rang out along the river banks along with Pheasants and Oyster Catchers. I will be back again some time in the near future when the water levels are a bit higher but until then, here are some picture of the Kildrummy Fishings.

The Kildrummy Inn. Well worth a visit for lunch or an evening meal.

The bar at the Kildrummy Inn which is full of character.

Willows Pool. A deep pool which looked as though it might hold salmon.

Brux Pot. A nice streamy pool with a good flow for fishing the fly.

The Kildrummy beat Hut. Wouldn't look out of place on some of the bigger salmon rivers.

The Boat Pool. Looking downstream towards the lower bridge.

A no named pool above the Boat Pool. Was a bit shallow in here.

Bulwarks. My favourite pool on the beat. A lovely, deep pool which carves it's way through the shelf rock below the surface.

Joiners Pool. Not really enough water on here for it to fish well but plenty trout rising just off the far bank opposite the tree.

Another no named run just below Joiners.

Below the Bridge. This pool is called Dukestone Dykes.

Knowehead Pool. Very similar to Dulestone Dykes. All the flow runs down the deeper channel on the far bank. Could easily pick up fish in here.

Muckie Saugh Pool looking downstream to the beat limit.

Burn End. The top Pool on the right bank above the Kildrummy hut.

Upper Clochter. Again, will probably fish much better with a few more inches on the gauge.

Lower Clochter.

Neck of Crooked Pot looking downstream towards the beat hut.

A greedy wee brown trout from Crooked Pot. Not much sport on a 13ft rod!

A stunning wee brown trout from Upper Clochter. The photo doesn't really show just how golden this fish was.

My Salmon Fishing Highlights 2013

As the end of 2013 is fast approaching, I thought I would share some of the highlights from my fishing season. As well as my usual days on the Dee and Spey, one particular highlight for me was my first cast on the mighty River Tay. It was on the Newtyle beat near Dunkeld and apart from the Baltic conditions, I really enjoyed it. Below are my most memorable salmon fishing moments of 2013.

It took a while to get going for me this year but eventually on the 14th May, I landed my first fish from Horseshoe Haugh on the Manar beat of the River Don. It weighed 13lbs. My friend Charlie also had a cracking 13lber not long before me taken from the Sheep Pool. Both our fish took Charlie's deadly SS Assassin fly.

My 13lber from the Horseshoe Haugh at Manar.

Charlie with a cracking River Don Springer from the Sheep Pool.

My next fish was taken the following week when I took a trip to fish the South Esk on the Downie Park and Cortachy Castle beat. I had never fished the river before but really enjoyed myself and to get a spanking fresh 10lber was the icing on the cake. I am definitely heading back there in 2014 and looking forward to it already. The fish took a Dee Sheep tube and it also christened my new 13ft Hardy Uniqua rod.

10lb South Esk Springer. Beautiful river in beautiful surroundings.

As the dry summer wore on, the fish were only running in dribs and drabs but if you were in the right place at the right time, you would catch them. This happened to me one August morning whilst fishing the Don. I was not expecting much but was delighted to landed a sea liced grilse about 5lbs. Nothing special about a grilse you may ask, but to me it was very significant. It was the first fish I landed using a fly pattern designed by myself. My Dad named it the Kitchen Sink (KS) Shrimp because I had thrown everything else at the fish in the weeks before I landed this one! It's a name I like to be honest and two days later it claimed it's second fish. This time a slightly coloured hen about 10lbs from the same pool. (not pictured) See Blog post from August for picture.

A sea liced grilse from the Don. My first fish taken on a fly pattern I designed myself. The KS Shrimp was off the mark.

Another memorable moment was watching my Dad land a fish from exactly were I told him he would get one! Luck? Possibly, but you have to have an idea where the fish lie. He was actually on his way to fish one of his "Hot Spots" when I told him he couldn't walk by this lie without having a cast or two. Guess what happened? First cast and BANG! Straight into a fish. It turned out to be a beauty of about 7lb. Not long after my Dad returned his fish, I decided to have a go in the same spot and after only two or three casts I was also into a fish. My fish was slightly smaller but straight out the wrapper and weighed about 6lbs..

My Dad and his first fish of the season. It pays to listen to the Ghillie!

A fresh grilse from the same lie as my Dad's fish above.

September proved to be a difficult month on both the Dee and Don due to the continual low water. This should have been prime time on the Don but the runs just never came. I did however manage a few fish from the Dee. I finally broke my duck at Tilbouries with a coloured grilse about 3-4lbs from Alfred's Pot and I also got 2 grilse one morning from the lower Dee at Banchory Devenick. October however, would prove to be a good month for me. On the afternoon of the 2nd, I decide to fish the lower Dee during my lunch hour whilst at work. This turned out to be a good decision because during that time, I landed 3 grilse! All of which were take on a #11 KS Shrimp. The first was a slighly coloured fish about 3-4lb, the second was a freshish cock fish about 5lb but the pic of the bunch was a cracker straight from the sea about 6lb. It was dripping in long tail sea lice and has to be one of my best looking salmon that I've caught to date.

1st fish of my lunch break. A wee fish about 3-4lbs

Number 2. Slightly coloured cock fish about 5lb.

Pick of the bunch. A cracking sea liced River Dee October salmon.

The final fishing day of my season saw me back on the Manar beat of the River Don for their annual "Manar Shindig" which traditionally happens on the last Saturday of the season. The "Manar Shindig" basically consists of a BBQ, copious amount of alcohol and some salmon fishing thrown in for good measure! This season will certainly not go down in the history books as a good one by any means but for me, it was pretty successful considering the low water conditions which plagued most rivers throughout Scotland. Almost as I last resort I had a cast in the Ree Pot. I'm glad I did because after a good battle, I landed a beast of a cock fish. It was taken on another fly which I designed myself called the "Red Marauder Shrimp". I designed this fly for the Salmon Fishing Forum Tie of the Month competition but thought I would give it a swim. I'm glad I did because the fish hammered the wee #11 double as soon as it passed over it's lie. It measured 35 1/2" long and we estimated it 18lbs. The fish had a huge girth but unfortunately I didn't get that measurement so we will never know what it could have been. Either way it was a great fish to sign off my season with.

18lb cock fish taken on a small Red Marauder Shrimp.

Back he goes to continue his journey.

Well, that's my season highlights from this year. Hopefully next year will have many more and I will look forward to sharing my outings and catches.

Thank you to everyone who visits my blog and hopefully you all check in again in 2014.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Tight Lines
Craig Fleming