The river Helmsdale opened once again on a glorious day with much anticipation in the air. The Strath had an eerie quietness about it but it soon provided some good sport for the lucky few who had the honour of fishing the most rested (in season) water of all time. John Hardy was one of them and he quickly got off the mark on beat 3  above landing fish in the New Stream and Georgina. George Hardy also had a couple from Red Bray. All beats scored before the sun scorched the glen and over 20 fish were reported for the day including 2 from the Association water which is also open for business on the same restricted basis as all other fisheries in Scotland. The season should now be in full swing with some heavy June fish arriving and...

Fishing is getting closer as a Lockdown exit strategy is being penned. More and more anglers are topping up their flyboxes and looking out their fishing gear. Summer is here, the rivers are rested, anticipation is at fever pitch and a charge on our rivers is imminent.

We have just the set of flies to hit the ground running, and a very special set it is with more of Rons unique thinking on full display. Ron has designed so many new concept and innovative flies over the years, the latest being his RS Solar Monkey range which had immediate lethal success on the Spey. This success soon spread everywhere atlantic salmon swim so it was from this new Solar range that Ron took his inspiration to create yet another deadly tweak on some of our favourite salmon flies.

The Firetail series was born and it is heading for best seller status already. A deadly vibrant...

Lockdown has been extended so only one thing for it, an upgrade of the deadly Alistair tube. The Alistair has firmly and fashionably taken over from the Megan tube which was the absolute "go to" tail fly of the past. Very few rods would be seen on the river Helmsdale in summer without a Megan tube on the tail end of a classic dibbling dropper set up. Nowadays its the Alistair tube and who would argue that is not more successful than the awesome power of the timy black & blue Megan?

Well, the rise of the Alistair is complete, it has powered its way on to most rods for much of the season in all forms, coneheads, copper and aluminium tubes, Pot bellied pigs, Tigertails and more but in summer it is the plastic tube version that now commands the top spot.

I had one of my best ever seasons around 15 years ago in the Highlands landing around 100 salmon mainly over the summer. The water was low all summer but the salmon were still running. At that time my top fly by a long...

It's still "Lockdown " until we are advised otherwise but indications are that some restrictions may be eased allowing golfing, fishing and other activities that allow sensible and safe social distancing.

The trout season has eased in as all the madness continues so there will be a lot of hingry fish out there waiting for your offeringd when we get back so we have some great new patterns below for you to box and get in the water. Most are from the deadly new Davy Macphail series. we have also uploaded some great new salmon flies also shown below so sharpen your hooks and get ready for a cast.....

The deadly Bibio is one of the absolute best brown trout flies and we have a few great new options for trout to hit. Check out our brown trout category.

McPhail Bibio Detatched Hopper

McPhail Double Humpy Bibio

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Here is one of our best new selections which you can order right now here on a mix of gold and silver doubles, Pro Cascade set - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/pro-cascades.html

Hi there,

We hope you are safe and well in these testing times.

As we cannot fish maybe it is an opportunity to sort out our fishing tackle and replenish our flyboxes for better times ahead.

We have launched our annual "Buy 2 get 1 free" fly deal......to take advantage of this special offer please just order the flies you want ( orders over £40 ) and we simply top up your order with your free flies. Please put "2 + 1" in the comments section so we know you want our special offer.

If we run out of stock of any of your flies we will try to replace with another size of the same pattern or a similar fly.

Here is the link to our website where you can start ordering your flies - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/

It’s been a tough week on the Helmsdale despite settled conditions. Only 4 fish were reported. Corrie Cormack got his week off to a flier with a fish from Little Rock beat 6, William and Alistair Jappy had a great day with 2 from Kilphedir pool beat 2 and John Hardy struck again with a fish from the Manse pool beat 6. Surprisingly there were no sea-lice on the fish so not many entering the system yet but next week is another week and hopefully the fishing will pick up.

We have added some of Rons very special "one off" flies to the website in the Prestige category so if you want something very cool and a little different, they are the flies for you especially...

John Hardy Sutherland has landed his first and Association water first fish of the season. The 10 - 12 lbs fish was caught on the Flat pool at the top end of the beat on one of his home tied new conehead tubes. Another 4 have been taken from the beats, 2 from beat 3 and 2 from beat 1. If conditions hold out then the week ahead is sure to offer an increase in sport.

Make sure you have a good selection of sinking tips and tubes of varied density, we have everything you need in our superb fly selections or individually, have a good look through the website and get organised for your fishing trips at home or abroad. Email me if you want a fly deal, as always, the more you buy, the cheaper they get...

John chunky fish

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Another 2 fish were recorded last week to take the tally to 5 for the week and 8 for the season. One from beat 3 Upper Torrish ( Suisgil rods) and another from Kilphedir (Badanloch rods).Things are slowly waking up so get the rods out!

A number of spingers have recently been taken on single hooks and more and more anglers are turning towards these traditional flies as they have a slim profile and are perfect for catch and release and, dont forget how well they grip!. We have added more to our offering here on Helmsdale Co as demand grows, check out what we have here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/helmsdale-co-flies/salmon-singles.html

Our Nordic singles (seen 3rd below on a Cascade) are tied on super strong Partridge Nordic single hooks which which hold the biggest fish. Only in size 14s for low water and perfect for summer fishing at home or abroad.

We also have these best...

The fish are starting to arrive at last on the Helmsdale with another 3 off this week so far including a thumping sea-liced 25 pounder for Jock Miller. Jock was fishing Achentoul rods with Ghillie George Hardy when they bumped into the stunning fish in the Tail of the Marrel pool beat 1, its the first cast beyond the Association water just above the village. Its a difficult spot to access (left bank) and fish but the tail of the pool itself gathers into a very fishy wide "draw" as we call it which swings the fly beautifully providing you can punch out a decent Speycast. Jock obviously covered the water perfectly and his Green Highlander tube was duly seized by the stunning springer. (pic below courtesy of George Hardy )

The...