Atlantic Salmon on a Dry Fly

A life long dream came true this summer.

After many years of salmon fishing and catching a decent number of salmon there are still some methods which I have not been successful with up till now. The fly fishing in Scandinavia and the British Isles is normally done with double handed rods (Spey rods) and wet flies. Today, more and more with tube flies; but that is another story. Also, there has been a saying that salmon in Europe are more reluctant to come to the surface; nobody know why. So my attempts with dry flies have been few and short lived.

This year should be different...

I had booked a week of Atlantic salmon fishing in early July with Eureka Outdoors in Newfoundland, Canada. As you properly know, Newfoundland suffered from cold and dry weather in May and June resulting in a late, and some places modest, run of salmon. Still Bill Bryden of Eureka Outdoors was able to put me on the spots which did not disappoint me. It was on Harry’s River in western Newfoundland. Here I experienced some great times dry fly fishing for salmon.

Being in “Old Lee Wulff Country” and not able to get the salmon interested in Bombers, what was more natural than putting on a White Wulff? I did and things happened. All beginnings are difficult and being used to wet fly fishing for salmon and being aware of not striking or at least not striking too early it was a bit hard to strike immediately. Well we learn as long as we live.

Fishing after salmon you can actually see only 8 -10 meters away is a thrill. When a 20 lbs salmon moves up through the water to inspect your fly for at the last moment to resist it, your heart starts beating harder and the adrenalin starts pumping. Luckily for us, the salmon sometimes take the fly and then the party begins; unfortunately for me it had only lasted for a few seconds…but one day!

I had more luck with the grilse and got some great fights with a lot of air acrobatics. These newly run sea liced silver torpedoes really put up some tuff resistance.

Fly fishing for Atlantic salmon has been a passion for me for years. Now it has only developed into a new era. For my part dry fly fishing for Atlantic salmon has come to stay.

Here is the pattern of my version of the White Wulff.

Company staff notes: Jens is a globally respected innovative fly tyer, fly fishing magazine editor, founding member if the second largest chapter of the Federation of Fly Fishers the DFFF, and has fished salmon in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Russia, Iceland, Labrador, and Newfoundland. We are glad to have him as a repeat guest.