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What to do When a Salmon Takes the Fly, Part 2.
Grant Mortimer's Father with a 32½ Pound
Fish Taken on the Fly at Inverallan
Acres of print and years of debate have argued the theory as to why a salmon takes a fly or lure, to date no one has yet found a salmon willing to volunteer the real reason. Biologically, a salmon ceases to have the capacity to feed when it enters fresh water, so how come anglers consistently catch fish on bait, worms, prawns, sprats or non-foods like lures or flies?
Theories abound, salmon retain infantile memories of when they were voracious little parr, they take the fly, lure or bait out of aggression or irritation or in territorial defence, the list goes on and on but one thing is for sure, salmon do take and we do not know why.
Theories aside, what is it like when a salmon takes, what do you do when a salmon takes? A salmon take is more often as not a non event in itself, a gentle double pull, weight on the line as if your line had scraped on a rock. Maybe a loop of line slips through your fingers or if you fish off the reel as I do, the reel creeks. Occasionally your rod hammers over, the reel screams and your heart goes pop! While I have portrayed the average salmon take as a non event it is in fact the precursor to one of the best experiences you will ever have! When the take happens follow this simple rule:
Do Not Strike, in fact Do Nothing!
When a salmon takes, and this is especially hard for trout anglers, wait! Remember the size of a salmon, the mouth is large and 99 times out of a 100 striking at a fish will pull the fly out of the mouth of the salmon or lip hook it. The fish must be given time to turn in order for the hook to move back into the scissors of the jaw. At this point in the proceedings the fish has generally hooked its self and all you need to do is raise the rod and tighten into the fish.
How long should you await before you tighten into a fish? There are so many theories on the subject of how long you should give a fish before tightening into it. Some people say count slowly to ten, others say do nothing at all until the fish runs. In the days of Old Queen Vic, ghillies were known to suggest reciting The Lords Prayer or slowly repeating God Save Our Gracious Queen Victoria, Empress of India, Defender of the Faith etc. Me, I have a theory and it goes like this – a salmon is either hooked or it is not hooked and there’s not a lot you can do about it.
When I get a good solid I take a long deep breath and I tighten, because the fish has either set the hook by then or it is gone. I emphasise I tighten on a good solid take, not a knock or pluck or gentle draw, when the lesser takes occur do nothing, wait and see, striking will get you nowt! More than likely a salmon is following your fly nipping at it, especially with long tailed flies like the Ally Shrimp. Do nothing at all and let the fly continue to fish through, there is a very good chance that the fish will take with serious intent even as you start to retrieve for your next cast. If the fish does not take, step back to the spot you made the previous cast from and cover the same spot. What ever you do when a salmon takes Don’t Panic Mr Mainwaring, Don’t Panic, stay calm and work with care and a firm resolve, patience has its rewards.
To sum up; we don’t know why salmon take but they do and when they do, do nothing!
Why is salmon fishing so exciting? Well you will find out when you try to play Cool Hand Luke with a fresh 15 pound fish, I sometimes even forget to exhale.
One more thing, many anglers reading the above will disagree with all or part of the above. Hair splitting among salmon fishers on the issue of when or whether to strike is so rife that it makes disagreement at party political conference seem amicable!
For a beginner you need some theory to work on, the do nothing theory is sound, once you have experienced salmon fishing you will develop your own theories and I will enjoy having a chat with you on this and many other topics if we met on the river bank some day.
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