The salmon season seems to have come to a bit of a grinding halt over the last few weeks or so and there is no real sign of weather change ahead anytime soon. Unless you have been lucky enough to catch some rain recently the catch returns have been on the light side. I’ve never heard of April salmon being caught on micro flies and hitch tubes around the country, but, if that’s what the conditions dictate then we just have to fish accordingly.

The Helmsdale did catch a tiny rise in water levels last week helping anglers land 17 for the week including a couple on the Association water where low water always helps. But, generally fish are few and far between. April used to be the big pick up month, now it’s wait and see!

Anyway, enough of the negativity, I’m sure the season will more than make up when the water comes and the late spring and summer run gives amazing sport. So, on a late spring and summer note, check out the stunning sets of Alastair’s we have up for grabs, there is arguably no fly more effective on the Helmsdale from now on. Let’s just expand a little on this deadly tube a little since there are not many fishy stories to chat about right now. Since inception when the was thrown together as a bare tube body and dirty part of a yellow dyed bucktail tied on with red thread the fly has evolved into many favourite shades with its huge following. So everything from golden yellow through to brown and black are now on the agenda as you can see from the pic below. Coneheads also are a big fave in good water. We have 2 stunning specialist sets available on a first come first serve basis so don’t delay for one second if you love your mixtures of Alistairs which are all tied by Ron, the master of all highland salmon flies.
Click here to buy a set - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-complete-alistair-selection

RS Alistairs set

The Rs Black Alistair plastic tube

Conehead version

With the weather changing to a more westerly flow delivering cloud and rain the fish seemed to start arriving at long last. Not big numbers but around 9 were reported for the week which was a big jump on last week. Andy Torrish got in amongst them early with a fish from the Gate stream Beat 2 followed by another from the Marrel pool beat 1 but he saved the best til last with a 16 pounder from the Flat pool beat 6 the next day. All on his new fly the Yellow Andy Torrish designed for him by Ron for his 70th, conehead version. Obviously they are for sale here in 3 different sizes, beautiful coneheads and they obviously work!

The same week Mr Alistair Ash caught the first fish over the falls on beat 3 above, upper Chancellor at 15lbs. The story goes it was caught by Mr Ash on an Alistair conehead tied by Ron, loaned by Kevin Steel and netted by Alex Fraser, what a team! well done to Mr Ash.

Around the other rivers fish are also getting caught, The Thurso finally got off the mark and many beats on many other rivers caught their first fish off the season. It is now well worth getting the rod out as the fish are now on the go just like David Milne who is also catching on one of our flies deadly flies, the RS SuperSquid Black & yellow Conehead pictured below in 3 sizes. All are in stock ready for dispatch unless we get sold out ( which can happen ) then Ron will need to get on the vice! David has had at least 3 springers on the Spey recently and all on the RS Supersquid Black & yellow conehead.

David Milne with a cracking recent Spey springer on our SuperSquid Black & yellow

Davids fly of the moment - the deadly Rs SuperSquid Black & yellow tungsten conehead which you can buy by clicking right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-supersquid-blk/yellow-tung-conehead.html

Andy's 16 pound sparkler on his Yellow Andy Torrish conehead

The stunning Yellow Andy Torrish conehead which lured 3 springers last week for "Andy"! You can buy them by clicking right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-andy-torrish-uv-black-yellow-conehead

The Helmsdale only reported 1 fish off last week, beat 6 again and that was it! In a week that usually sees a jump in numbers there was little joy in low, bright and settled conditions.

However, there is good news, we have a superb deal on a very specially selected fly selection. Our perfect Pot bellied Pigs is a sensational mix of these deadly tubes in our favourite patterns, Cascade, Willie Gunn and some very popular others. Now that the water is lower and slightly warmer these smaller tubes start catching salmon everywhere from the biggest rivers down to the tiny tributaries all through the season. This deal comes with or withour tube doubles, grab one quick before we sell out!

This cracking Deal is offered for only £29,95. you can buy these all individually but this great deal is superb value for money. Click here to buy - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/perfect-pot-bellied-pigs-deal

Hi there, don't forget our 3 + 1 deal on Willie Gunn SuperKrill here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-golden-willie-gunn-krill-pro-choice.html

And, we are just putting it out there that we have some fab new Baby TDs online for late spring. These are all on coneheads and in 3/4 & 1" perfect for low or good water right through the season. Our Baby TDs have been a massive success over the years in summer so its high time we had some available for higher water so here they are! all tied by Ron and with some special added ingredients...and in a choice of conehead colour.

New RS Baby TD UV Solar Willie Gunn below - all 3 pics are same patterns in different light and conehead ( gold or black )

You can order them right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

Gold conehead

RS Black & Yellow Baby TD Solar UV Conehead

The river settled down nicely last week and was running at around 10" by midweek which is plenty water if there are fish in the system. It was not until late Tuesday before fish were caught and 2 came along on beat 6 for Suisgill rods with Ghillie Aaron and his team ending up with 4 for the week. Another 3 were reported so the week ended with 7 in the books. Conditions were cold for most of the week with strong winds on and off so hopefully some heat arrives next week.

Not much is happening elsewhere so we are hoping a few more fish will arrive next week - they usually do so lets see.

On the fly fromt we have a 3 + 1 deal on one of our coolest Willie Gunn tubes, the Golden Willie Gunn SuperKrill. This beautiful fly on a copper tube is perfect for spring in all heights of water and has ben very popular for anglers fishing in the UK and anglers heading for Iceland and Scandinavia so grab some when you have the chance, you but 3 and we add another one for free, its that simple.

You can take advantage of the deal by clicking right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-golden-willie-gunn-krill-pro-choice.html

Partnering with https://salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com/

There were 4 fish off the Helmsdale last week taking the total to 6 for the season. Andy "Torrish" Sutherland finally got off the mark with his summer kit whilst the river was low. Mild temps and very stormy conditions hit the area on Tuesday but that did not stop Andy venturing out onto beat 2 where he put his expert casting qualities to good use in the Park pool grassing a sparkling 10 pounder on his switch rod. A 0.5" Alistair copper tube was the fly & it was simply fished off a floating line..

The river rose to around 1ft the next day with snowmelt and this seemed to intice a few more fish into the system. The Fall pool on beat 6 gave one up so this obviously means that the fish are now over the falls of Kildonan. Beat 3 and 1 also recorded springers later in the week.

On the business front, we have never been busier, Willie Gunns, Alistairs and Chartreuse & yellow solar Monkeys 6cm seem to be the big movers which is no surprise at all, beautiful quality tied flies.

Andy's fresh 10 pounder quickly photographed and returned...

These days we get more pleasure out of seeing other angkers catching beautiful salmon on flies we have designed and improved with the relentless use of new products and thinking, we don’t trend on TiK Tok, but go viral anyway judging by the amount of anglers we see catching fish on our flies all over the world, that’s what makes us “TiK” and since 2007 when we first launched the website online, which was not yesterday, our journey has been hugely successful and we can only thank you for your contunued support.

We have proven that we can keep producing the goods for anglers who keep coming back for more flies and accessories. There are now some very large on-line traders (shall we say) who will never touch pure quality and provenance when it comes to real flytying, what do they know about Megan Boyd? and grinding out springers in horizontal hail storms as we do here at Helmsdale Co, we take flies to the next level so here is another which became known to me very recently as a hugely effected fly on the Brora river last year, on tubes. These will be the most trending doubles on the river Brora this year so if I was you I would get myself a stock of them fast and get on our rapidly growing fly tying list.

On the most recent fishing front the first Helmsdale springer was eventually caught by Stuart Foxall on Lower Caen beat, fish estimated at around 12lbs. The Tweed system has produced 60 springers so far which is a solid start to the season but we have the weather to thank for this as Feb has been one of the most settled in years. Most of the Northern rivers are off the mark now with the Naver also producing its first of the season. The fishing is encouraging as there are obviously lovely spring salmon in many rivers which ere quite often out of commission in February due to extreme high water or ice & snow so keep the rods out while the decent weather permits.

New RS Golden Brora Pink Butt Willie Gunn which you can order now right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/golden-willie-gunn-pink-butt

We will be tying 12s and 14s eventually for low water later in the season and if you want small plastic tubes for summer low water please let us know and Ron will get some organised for you. For now, We have loads of Willie Gunns available, and we have pink extension tubing available for purchase if you would like to get in on the act and simply cut and add to your Willie Gunn tubes.

Stuart Foxall with the first fish off the Helmsdale in Lower Caen pool beat 1.

The good weather has definitely helped the fishing this year and there are springers showing up all over the place, apart from the Helmsdale, water conditions are good and it is only a matter of time before a few come off the river in quick succession.

The Spey and Findhorn opened last week and there were fish off both. Gordon Tait had a lovely clean opening day springer from the Spey at Orton ( below ) and he even caught it on one of our flies, The RS Black & Yellow Spring Cascade JC conehead ( pic also below ). Gordon also wins one of our Breathtaking Black & yellow fly selections which we have donated to the captors of the first fish off the Spey, Findhorn and Deveron

Orton opening day springer

Our RS Black & Yellow Spring Cascade JC which attracted the fish above - you can order some right here with one click! http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-black/yellow-spring-cascade-jc

Jimmy Simpson Aberdeen is also putting another of our flies to good use on the Dee where he caught the springer below on one of our Slim-line Solar Dee Bottle tube monkeys

The RS Slim-line Solar Dee Monkey which caught Jimmy's springer, which you can order right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-rs-solar-slim-line-bottle-dee-monkey

Callum Simpson had a lovely springer off the Tweed last week on one of our Classic Alistair Coneheads which you can clearly see in its mouth....well done Callum. And Joseph Owen had the first fish off the Findhorn, a beautiful fish estimated in the teens of pounds. Well done Joseph, you also win one of our Black & yellow fly sets for catching the first fish.

Callum's cracking springer on our Classic Alistair conehead

A stunning Findhorn first fish for Joseph caught on a Cascade double

Partnering with https://salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com/

A quick update as we are very busy tying flies....The Helmsdale has not given up its first fish yet but not many rods on the water unfortunately. The Brora now has 2 off, thurso 1 and the Dee is producing also along with the Oich, Tweed, tay, Carron 2 off and Dee with Jimmy Simpson catching a nice fish on our new slimline Dee Monkey bottle tube.

The Spey also had an opening day fish off Orton yesterday. The rivers are pretty low and overhead conditions good so everywhere is fishable and the hot spots are getting covered well.

Pics to follow this weekend....

Expert angler Ronnie Fraser has caught the first UK fly caught salmon of the season this week on the river Morrison on the Ness system. The sparkling springer weighed in at around 9lbs before being released and it was caught on his deadly personal fly desigh, the Roncade size 8 double. The water was low so Ronnie was just fishing light with a sink tip and the size 8 double, but it did the trick! Fish and fly below and the flies are now available right here on Helmsdale Co in size 6 & 8 for spring fishing - click here to buy - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

Many thanks to Ronnie Fraser for giving us permission to copy and tie up his great fly.

The deadly Roncade tied on a Silver Patriot Double

Ronnies lovely Moriston springer

The Helmsdale river was in good order for most of the week to round up the free fishing but no springers reported as yet - but, on the 15th this fish was caught by Norrie Wilson but it has not been verified as no scales were taken. The salmon was around the 5lbs mark and much noise is being made on Social media regarding what is is exactly, kelt, baggot, rawner, farmed salmon, repeat spawner, you name it. Small springers do get caught but we will never know for sure now what it was so the old reliable saying will be applied unfortunately "if in doubt, its not a springer". You can make up your own opinion, fish in question below.