Atlantic Salmon Dry Flies

When I first tried dry fly fishing for Atlantic salmon 34 years ago I knew immediately that it was to become a lifetime affair. For me there is no greater angling thrill than seeing an Atlantic salmon rise to a dry fly.

In fact, I saw an Atlantic salmon of about 10 lbs. take Jeff Jordan’s Bomber this morning. It was a beautiful morning at the Ford Pool on the third rise to his fly. It was spectacular.

Often a dry fly brings out the playful side of an Atlantic salmon, when they rise many times to a dry fly without actually taking it. A fish that plays with me is a fish I’ll always remember, like a large St. Mary’s salmon that took my dry fly on the 17^th rise. What a thrill!

St. Mary’s River salmon were first attracted to a dry fly when Dan MacIntosh floated his MacIntosh dry fly over the Ford Pool in the 1930s. The original MacIntosh was brown in colour, but subsequently various successful colour schemes developed. The Pink Lady and White Hackle are two of the best and most popular MacIntosh patterns for the St. Mary’s River.

Pink Lady MacIntosh

Hook –              Dry fly hook such as Mustad 94840, sizes 2 - 10

Thread –            Black

Tail -                 None

Body –              Pink polypropylene, floss, or yarn

Wing –              Grey squirrel tail

Hackle -            One or two light pink saddle hackles

Head -               Black thread finished with 2 coats of head cement

The Bomber is a great salmon dry fly for the St. Mary’s, popularized on New Brunswick’s Miramichi River. Various colour schemes are popular in Bombers also. White body & tail, orange hackle, and red head works well, as does my favourite, chartreuse tail, green body, orange hackle, and red head.

Bomber

Hook –             Partridge CS42 Bomber hook, sizes 2 - 6

Thread –           6/0 Unithread & Kevlar or GSP for spinning body hair

Tail -                Stiff calf tail or buck tail

Body –             Spun & clipped deer or caribou body hair

Wing –             Optional wing of calf tail or buck tail, single or double

Body Hackle -   One or two long, narrow saddle hackles

Head -              Thread finished with 2 coats of head cement

Another popular dry fly style is the Lee Wulff patterns. Most popular on the St. Mary’s are the White Wulff and Grey Wulff.

Please stay on the line …