10 Essential Items For Salmon Fly Fishing Recommended By Julian Shaw

1.    Rod The most popular general purpose length for most salmon fly fishing applications would be 15. My choice would be the Loop Opti Power Spey 15’ 10/11. 2.    Reel It is essential to have reliability in a salmon fly reel my choice would be the Lamson Litespeed 4, this reel delivers a superb brake function, strength without weight and a backing capacity sufficient to cope with the strongest salmon. 3.    Line A quality multi tip line will give you the capability of fishing most conditions you will meet throughout the season, the Rio Windcutter Versitip is my suggested line. 4.    Leaders Tapered mono leaders are not essential; I would suggest using Seagar Fluorocarbon Mono in breaking strains of 13.6lb up to 25lb to match fly size, water conditions and expected fish size. 5.    Waders Chest waders certainly give you much greater command of water coverage, stockingfoot waders with separate boots give more support on difficult river beds and I would suggest felt and studded soles which give better grip under most conditions. I have most confidence in the reliability of the “Simms” range where there is a choice to suit most anglers. 6.    Wading Staff I would consider a wading staff an essential part of my kit for most of my salmon fishing, my personal choice is the “Simms” wading staff, it is in a very convenient collapsible format for the occasions you don’t need it – but still retains strength for those testing times when wading. 7.   Buoyancy Aid Though not essential I would suggest serious consideration should be given to wear an automatic inflation collar. The “Englands” is a tried and tested life saver. 8.    Polaroid Sunglasses These have a three fold purpose a)    Giving you better through water vision. b)    Fish spotting is made dramatically better by glare reduction. c)    Eye protection is of paramount importance We have models to suit all budgets - click here to see our range of sunglasses. 9.    Flies A selection of doubles in Cascade, Stoats Tail , Willie Gunn, Ally Shrimp and Boyo patterns will work in low to medium height water. Copper tubes in sizes 1-1.5” will work well in medium to high water conditions. 10.    Net The McLean Salmon or specimen weigh net is the perfect landing device; they also enable you to weigh your catch with little time out of the water before release.