Early season salmon fishing has been gathering some attention in the past few years. With more people talking and learning about Spey rods, we can fish more efficiently the large river in high water conditions.
It is important to have the right size of fly to have success in that type of water. The flies tied on iron ranging from sizes 1.5 to 2/0 are ideal to be seen by the salmon when the water is high and dirty in the spring. It is, of course, possible to fish with bigger hooks, but the bigger the hooks, the more the fish is prone to break free. In fact, it is not the hook size itself (calculated by the gap between the point and the shank) that is problematic, it is the length of the shank that gets bigger. On a bigger hook, the fish can use the shank as a lever to pull out the point of his mouth. It is called the lever effect.
The use of different densities of leaders such as poly leaders is a great tool when the water is high. It will help you to get the fly down to the right depth, but also to slow it down.
For a couple of years, we see more and more fly fisherman using and tying on tube flies. They can be made out of brass, aluminum, copper or plastic. It is perfect to have different types of tubes, the different densities will help to present the fly at the proper depth. It is also ideal to tie big flies from 2 to 3 inches in length. The other great advantage to tie on tube fly is that the hook used for them has a really short shank, which is pretty much cancelling the lever effect.
To have success fishing for Atlantic salmon, you need to have the right size of flies. To fish in the spring, this means you should have wet flies ranging from 1.5 to 2/0, and even bigger flies tied on tubes. Having such a wide variety of sizes will help you to adapt to any water condition you will encounter in your spring fishing trip.
Original text from Éric Tremblay
Adapted and translated by Benoit Farcy
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