Franc N Snaelda Salmon Flies

I have been busy tying up a few Franc N Snaelda tube flies for next Spring as this pattern turned out to be my most successful fly I used in 2014. It accounted for 5 out of 11 salmon I caught this year and it shall be my "go to" pattern again next year.

The pattern was invented on the banks of the River Dee by Ballogie ghillie, Sean Stanton and it incorporates both Francis and Snaelda characteristics. These types of flies were extremely popular, not only on Deeside, but on all rivers, so Sean decided to marry these two deadly patterns together and so the Franc N Snaelda was born.

Some Franc N Snaelda tubes I've tied up recently.

Some Pink Franc N Snaeldas which did well for me during the back end of the season.

Blank and Yellow Franc N Snaelda. Very popular colour combo for Spring fishing.

Green Highlander Franc N Snaelda. Not a pattern I use much at all but like the look of it tied in this style.

Junction Shrimp Franc N Snaelda. This pattern served me well during October on the River Don.

Munro Killer Franc N Snaelda. I really like this pattern tied in the Snaelda style.

Cascade Franc N Snaelda. Had some success with this pattern back in August.

Willie Gunn Snaelda. A very popular pattern in the Spring months.

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.

Some Flies And A Grilse

My mate Charlie was out at the Manar beat of the River Don on Tuesday and landed a nice salmon from the Horseshoe Haugh pool. The fish took a Sunray Shadow on the surface in the faster water. Charlie has had great success this season with the Sunray. He sent me pictures of some flies he's tied up for the back-end. I'm sure they will do the business. Here are some pictures of his fish and a few of his flies.

Another fine salmon from the Don. The condition of the Grilse this year has been really good.

Top to Bottom : Sunray Shadow, Ally's Shrimp, Crathie, Munro Killer, Park Shrimp and a Monkey.

Left to right : Cascade Snaelda, Black Frances, Red Frances, Crathie and a couple of Red Ally's Shrimps.

Charlie Strikes Silver Again At Manar!

I was out today with Charlie Robertson for another go at Manar on the River Don. We arrived at the beat about 7.30am and already the sun was out and the temperature was rising fast. Not ideal, but we didn't let that stop us as you never know when a Salmon might grab your fly. This we would find out later! The beat gauge was reading 10" which is near perfect for the beat so we were optimistic about our chances.

There was a couple of pools to fish before then sun got to them about 10.30am, one of the was the Chapel Pool and the other was the Corner Pool. The latter was where we started our day. We both fished the pool with different tactics. I opted for my RioUnispey floating line with a 6ft intermediate tip attached. On the business end was a #10 Silver Stoat's Tail. Charlie was using his Mackenzie DTX G2 Spey line with a 10ft slow sink tip. His fly was a size 8 Munro Killer. We both fished through the pool without a touch so we headed down stream to the Chapel pool. The pool was very shaded and we thought it would be our best chance of picking up a fish. Well, it never happened but we were encouraged by the sight of 3 fish showing in the pool below. We headed back to the hut for a drink of cold juice and a break from the baking sun. It was only 10.30am!

After our wee refreshment break Charlie and I headed up to the Stone Pool and the Horseshoe Haugh. Charlie gave me the choice of where to start and I chose the Stone Pool as I never usually fish it. Charlie went in the Horseshoe Haugh just above a big boulder at the neck of the pool and I made my way upstream. I just arrived at my pool and I heard Charlie shouting. He was into a fish! I ran down to arrive just in time to net a sparkling 6lb beauty which hammered his #8 Munro Killer. Just goes to show there is no rule of thumb when fishing for salmon. The bright and warm conditions didn't put this fish off. Not sea liced, but not in more than a couple of days. The fish was heavily marked along it's flank and was still red raw. Possibly an encounter with a seal from the ever growing population which patrol the river mouth. These beasts in my opinion, are needing to be controlled as their numbers have increased rapidly in the last few years. Anyway that's another matter. After a few pictures the fish swam off stongly back to it's lie. I fished through the Stone Pool without a touch and then through the Horseshoe with the same result.

After lunch we fished the beat from top to bottom but apart from raising a salmon twice to my Sunray Shadow in the Long Pool, that was it for our day. Not bad considering the so called bad angling conditions. My wait for a springer goes on but I'm fishing the Dee at Lower Blackhall on Tuesday so hopefully it will be my time then. That will be my last chance this Spring!

Here are some pictures from our day today.

Another belter for the scrap book and the rogues gallery in the Manar hut.

Damage on the flanks of the fish. Possibly caused by a seal.

Slipping the fish back. The quality of the Don fish this year is fantastic.

Off we go. Another Don fish returned to continue it's journey.

River Spey At Wester Elchies 14-04-2012

I set off for the Spey at 7am yesterday morning full of anticipation. The water was a good height, the weather was looking favourable and the beat landed a fish on Friday. I couldn't get there quick enough!

While driving between Huntly and Dufftown, I was met by hills covered in snow and icy road conditions! Surely is was not to be like this over the hill on Speyside? Luckily enough for me it was just in the valley and once I had got through Dufftown the snow was all but gone.

I arrived at the hut and was met by the ghillie Sam Bremner. After introductions to the other rods I was allocated to fish the top half of the beat in the morning session and the bottom half after lunch. The water temp was hovering around the 42f mark so I tackled up with my Monteith line and the intermediate tip. Attached to that was a 10ft slow sink poly leader. On the business end was my recent tying of a Munro Killer Snaelda. I tied on the plastic tube version. It was to be my flies maiden swim. Sam showed me onto my pool for the first part of the morning which was to be Delagyle. It is a beautiful pool with a good flow down the opposite bank. I started at the top of the pool and began to cast over to the run on the far bank. On only my 4th cast FISH ON! It just about pulled the rod out my hand! I lifted into it and felt the weight of the fish. I held onto it as it pulled a good few yards of line off my reel and took off accross the pool. That was the last I felt of it. I'd lost the fish after only 10 seconds or so! I covered the area where the fish took my fly for a few more minutes but I had missed my chance. It was not for taking a second time. Gutted! I fished on down to the tail of the pool without another touch.

The second pool I was to fish was Brock. Another quality looking pool. The fast water flowing down the far bank creates a wee eddy on the Wester Elchies side which sometimes pulled the fly down. Although as soon as the fly touched the water it swung round nicely. I fished it all the way down without a touch but another rod Iain did see a fish move in here before I fished it.

Just before lunch I fished a cracking pool called Delene. A beautiful piece of water and with every cast I was expecting the line to go tight. It was not to be unfortunately but still a pleasure to fish all the same. There is a couple of big boulders in here which make good lies for the salmon and they create a good flow off them too. As it was lunch time I miseed out on fishing Pol Ma Cree which I was looking forward to but never mind, good excuse to go back again!

After lunch I was to fish the bottom half of the beat. I started my afternoon at the bottom part of a pool called the Rhynd. I started below a big beech tree half way down the pool. Another lovely cast but nothing seen or touched in here either. After fishing down the pool I swapped with Iain and I fished the top part of the pool. I started where there is a boat on the bank. I did see a few fish splashing mid stream in the faster water but they were not for taking my Munro Killer Snaelda. Not the easiest pool to wade in as some of the rocks are massive! Some were slippery due to alge growth in the low water conditions of the last few weeks. There is a couple of famous big boulders in this pool called "Big Pig" and "Little Pig". I can see where they get their names from!

Sam the ghillie, who is great craic and knows the beat like the back of his hand showed me down to my next pool which was to be the Boat Pool. Due to the height of the water this pool fished all the way down from the bank and it is another pool from say mid way down that just screams salmon! It's very deep in at the Wester Elchies side and again full of big boulders which, I'm sure would be good lies for running fish to stop after coming up through the fast streamy water below. The bottom of the pool is spanned by a suspension bridge over to the town of Aberlour. Ideal for Sam to nip over to the shop for his Sunday papers! I fished all the way down here wihout a touch but there was a few fish showed under the bridge at the tail of the pool.

After 5pm I headed round to fish Pol Shuan. Just another beauty of a pool. Wester Elchies seems to be blessed with stunning pools like this from top to bottom! I fished through here quite quickly without a touch but there was quite a few good looking Brown Trout sipping flies off the surface in the slacker water at the tail of the pool.

Just before 6pm, I headed back to the fish the Delagyle pool where I lost the fish in the morning. I concentrated on the neck of the pool and fished through it several times. I was out of luck today and didn't get a sniff this time through. I left the beat at 7pm with "what might have been" going through my head. Ah well can't win 'em all!

Here are some pictures from my day on one of the finest beats I've ever cast a line on.

The valley between Huntly and Dufftown. Glad I have a 4x4!

The view from the top of the hill before heading down the track to the beat. Not bad.

The water gauge first thing in the morning. Reading 1ft 6in.

One of two hut on the beat. Well equiped and a nice place to have lunch with good views of the hills over Aberlour.

Looking uostream on the Delagyle pool. It was at the neck of this pool a fish took a liking to my Munro Killer Snaelda. It didn't stick though which makes us fishermen keep going back for more! Beautiful pool. The huts are always on the best pools and this one is no differant.

Pol Brock. Looking downstream. Nice fast streamy water to fish a fly through.

Delene. Looking upstream. Beautiful pool which makes you feel the fly will be taken every cast.

Pol Ma Cree. This is a pool I would have loved to cast a fly but didn't have the time.

The Rhynd. "Big Pig" to the right of the picture. The Kinermony beat is opposite.

Pol Shuan. Some big brown trout sipping flies of the surface at the tail of this pool.

Boat Pool. Looking downstream towards the suspension bridge over to the town of Aberlour. The Kinermony rods discussin their next moves with the ghillie.

The bottom part of the Boat pool with the Ghillie's cottage on the right. What a place to have your house! Fantastic!

Munro Killer Snaelda

I'm heading up to the Spey this weekend for a days fishing at Wester Elchies so thought I would tie up a classic Spey pattern.

Nothing new about this pattern but thought I would give it a modern twist Snaelda style!

I have tied them up on 1/2" copper and 3/4" plastic tubes with gold tungsten cone heads.

Hope they do the business this Saturday.