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What swing?

4K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  SALMONCHASER 
#1 ·
Morning,

There are 3 large salmon across the pool !! :roll:
What cast ..single, double, snake ..(to spey or not to spey?)
Fly??



Ann :confused:
 
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#3 ·
Depends on wind direction for Spey casts. If calm or upstream wind, right hand single spey. If impossible to wade any deeper, possibly a square cut or perry poke. If downstream wind, left hand up snake (possibly modified with a poke) or left hand up double . . . setting anchor out a bit. Depends on distance needed, too . . . I can't tell from the pic the length of cast req'd.
 
#4 ·
Never fished for salmon(yet) but if they were steelhead I would move upstream maybe another 20-30 feet. That would give you a good downstream angle on the fish and open up room to throw an easy single as your dloop would be over the water rather than coming back towards the bank. Cast may have to be longer but with the better dloop position you should be have an easier time throwing for distance. You should also have better fly control from that angle. Then hold on....

-sean
 
#8 ·
beau purvis said:
I would move up to the place where a mini point of bank is.With little to no wind or a down river wind I would do a snake roll with right hand up .Beau
I agree, I would move upstream. But I can't understand a right hand snake roll unless it's a cross-body cast. Perhaps a right hand spiral single is what he means.
 
#9 ·
Single spey or RH overhead

The water midstream from the angler is tumbling. The water below is accelerating. Any left hand hook in the line will cause the fly to whip to the center of the river. I have never been lucky enough to fish for A Salmon but if it were steelhead setting in that tailout I would want my presentation to be as slow as possible. For that reason, as stated above, I would back up to the point and fish as much downstream as possible. As the water starts to pull away and accelerate in the tail it will keep the lower 30-50% of the line straight up and downstream. Mending in the tumbling water off the point will have less chance of spooking the fish than if you were having to mend the whole line downstream, closer to the fish where the current is more even and faster.

Wanting to cause a minimal disturbance to fish setting in skinny water would also dictate a "kiss and go" right hand single spey or an overhead cast. For a fly, I would start with a small, say an #8, triple hackle humpy or Wulff, followed by a small traditional tie wet (as opposed to a spey which would probably collapse in that current), followed by a large dry/skater, followed by a large wet.

Boy, is this fantasy getting complicated:)

If I had not spooked the fish by then, I would wade out below the fellow in the dark blue shirt, 10-20 degrees above the fish and fish a #5-7 spey fly dead drift and sinking as it approached the fish and then pulling tight as it closed on the fish. I get a lot of strikes just as the fly starts to swing.

FWIW

Mark
 
#10 ·
Hi John,
great to hear from you!! ( Please say hi to Ed !)

Thanks guys....( your expertise is much appreciated..)

Yo Charlie,
You've been there, done that...!! :smokin:

I see all those flies your are presenting on another post

Come on... take a swing at it !!! :roll:

A..
 
#13 ·
Ann
IMHO it doesn't matter Double Spey or Single. Single Spey would do just fine here(for me anyway) Since the water is obviously high ( Merdick at it's best !!!!) ,dis gotta be early June (?),SOOOOO a Magog or 2/0 Lady Caroline would be my 1st choice then a Muddler.
If THAT doesn't work then I'd try going downstream and cast 100 deg upstream to the fish . If after 2 or 3 cast from this px. THAT doesn't work someone has gone in before and buggered up the pool.Fly from that px. would be a smaller Stonefly.
MOST important of all IMHO is the guy in dark blue should be up on the trail down to Fairbanks that you can see over his left shoulder so he can better observe the fish's reaction to the fly.
Cheers
Brian
 
#14 ·
First off Ann,

the pic gets my heart beating fast this cold winter day...

Wind -

As others mentioned, wind dictates the side of the body that a safe cast can be made. Because a spey cast jumps up from the water like a fresh-cut pulley belt, the anchor must be on the same side as the casting loop and downwind.

So I teach the simple catch phrase "upriver wind upriver anchor" - meaning the single spey, sprial single, snap-t or circle, etc. These are all "upriver" anchor casts.

Conversely "downriver wind downriver anchor"- meaning double spey and/or snake roll primarily (not counting adaptations or specialty casts).

Switch hands or cross body if needed.


Presentation -

I did also notice the boil water right in front verses the slick down current and had to wonder if it would complicate line control. Having fished both steelhead and salmon I know the difference is salmon like the hard swing and steelhead like it slow. I would move to what I felt was the best angle, perhaps a little out and a little down, and take a shot with a skater.

I always prefer a light anchor presentation where there is room but am always thankful for Skagit techniques when there is none. In this case it would be a light anchor cast (eg single spey) for me, snake roll left-handed if downriver wind.

In a downriver wind I would be cautious to align my D-loop to prevent a 90 degree cut across river so I could maintain a good swing angle.

Not a hangdown as steelhead like by any means but a good moving scallop across the tailout.

What a shame if one did not boil on the surface presentation... but then I would surrender to a wet.

Sign me up!
 
#15 ·
Underhand a shooting head, thanks to the limited backcast room.

F/I head with a 15' to 18' leader, small, slim minnow pattern. Cast to the dark water up and beyond the fish. Let the current drop it down to them, with a dropping rod tip keeping the fly almost dead drift, just coming across the current slowly. Then as the head/leader starts to get grabbed by the boil, tighten up and let the current draw it quickly across the front of them. The behaviour change might pique their interest as it appears like this minnow happily drifting down until it sees the big predators, at which point it goes, "OH SH!T!!! and heads at a high rate of knots in a different direction.

Works for steelhead.
 
#17 ·
Wrke-obviously from my wind comment,it would be snake roll off downstream shoulder
with right hand up.I choose that and the single because they dont take up space behind you like the double that was mentioned.They also dont disturb the surface as much.If someone could not do those casts and could do a double ,I would do a Poke dump out in front prior to forward stroke.By the way,mending and slowing down was mentioned.I would not mend.If anything[why I mentioned 90degrees] I would try to get a sideways profile, a little belly and speed.I havent fished Atlantics much,but my limited experience told me they like it like that!Beau​
 
#18 · (Edited)
QuebecSporting said:
K...gentlemen!!

One more cast ?? :confused: :mad:




Problem is, where the "x's"...big fish!!! :hihi:

but, practically no more current!! :mad:


gees..sorry to keep you on the waters so late !! :roll:

A.. :)
Ann,
No problem. Right from where you took the picture. Upstream cast, dead drift . . . especially with the bright sunshine in the photo. Please take Peter there when conditions are the same and he'll land one of them on the fly I sent him for the purpose. He'll know which one.
Edit: maybe quartering upstream or just from the side. But definitely dead drift.
 
#20 ·
wrke said:
Ann,
No problem. Right from where you took the picture. Upstream cast, dead drift . . . especially with the bright sunshine in the photo. Please take Peter there when conditions are the same and he'll land one of them on the fly I sent him for the purpose. He'll know which one.
Edit: maybe quartering upstream or just from the side. But definitely dead drift.
Noted :)

One of the things I'll have to drill into my steelhead brain -- the value of an upstream, dead drift cast.
 
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