The fishing has been pretty good on the Helmsdale this week with young Evan and his dad Robert Orr picking up 3 fish each on the Association water. The total for the beat was probably over 20 fish off with Alistairs and Baby tds being most successful.

We are still bvery busy indeed online so grab flies when you have the chance..........

The top river is back in full swing and with a decent grilse run on the fishing is peaking for the season.

Evan Orr with his first of the week from the Lower Allan pool. Under current rules a small number of fish can be retained on the Helmsdale.

The fishing everywhere has been pretty good considering the fact that rivers are still being lightly fished. But, fishing is opening up a little more in July as more restrictions are lifted on travel and accom provision. This means we are seeing a big increase in UK and international orders here which is good news after lockdown.

Anglers are visiting Iceland already and it looks like most top destinations will see some fishing this season for anglers other than locals. Speaking of which, the Helmsdale is still producing the goods despite disease hitting again this season and locals are taking full advantage of the chance for a cast on the private beats. Jordan Marshall was lucky on the upper beats with one or two fish on his own Black & Blue  Td pattern and fish are being caught all over the river now, the Loch is holding a good head of fish also. Sea-trout have arrived and when the tides suit some nice fish are being caught on the Association water.

One of our salmon flies from the new RS collection seems to be very effective for sea-trout it would seem. The RS SuperSquid Cascade has landed a 5lbs sea-trout for one of our regular customers Scott Russell which was one of 3 he landed fishing the river Endrick during the day surprisingly, and the same fly brought him great success for salmon last season too. it is indeed another unique pattern designed by Ron for Helmsdale Co and the main reason so many anglers shop with us, we have the special flies you cannot purchase anywhere else - until next season, when are offering the trade a dozen each of our top ten best selling flies to try. This offer is open to order now and it is a great way to add something different, special and ofcourse of top quality to all tackle shops and online stores. We hope to take good orders for this promotion, just watch how they sell....

Jordan with one of his fish

His Td that did the damage

Scott Russell 5lbs sea-trout

The deadly RS SuperSquid Cascade tungsten silver conehead which is hammering seatrout right now in the micro size. One of Rons most popular new designs for salmon and grilse and now sea-trout it seems, a superb all round fly for all season and you can buy them here right now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-supersquid-cascade-conehead.html

It has been a great post lockdown return to the rivers generally and Scotland has been no exception. The Tweed and Spey seem to be on fire as most rivers report some fine sport.

Red letter days have been reported on the Spey as 2 local experts landed 10 fish to their own rods in one day on Orton and the Brae water. Ronnie Fraser had a grand day with 4 fish on Orton until he had a break, in the next pool he fished he had 6 offers and another six fish landed to round off an incredible days fishing. Then it was the turn of Graham Ritchie on the Brae water who landed 9 salmon and one grilse to mark yet another outstanding day on Speyside.

The lower river seems to be holding a substancial head of fish and with the river at around 6" the fish seem in no hurry to run the system too quickly. having said that I was still confident when I got the call to have a cast up on Wester Elchies opposite Aberlour on Friday. The new Solar Alistair tungsten conehead wes deployed fished off a full floater for a road test and it did not disappoint. The resilts are below from Delbreck, Delene and the Rhynd pool. Very few fish were seen on the beat but I managed to land 3 and break one due to pilot error. Willie Stephen had a couple and Ronnie Fraser also had 3 on the day.

The hot flies right now are Alistairs, Yellow Allys, Willie Gunn flamethrowers and Ronnie Frasers Roncade shrimp.

We have them all for sale here as you might have known....get shopping if you have a fishing trip coming up! Click here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/

A sparkling fresh grilse

Rons new Solar alistair - contact if you want some tied up.

The heatwave has finally abated and the Helmsdale has sprung into action. Lots of fish were landed all over the river last week and a few grilse are now on the go too. The biggest fish reported was a thumping 25 pounder for John Hardy way up in Miss Moulds pool on beat 5 above on one of his home tied Alistair coneheads, its a lovely bright version of the fly tied with dyed yellow squirrel tail and topped off with a sliver cone, John also had a classic 4lbs grilse on beat one along with several other fish for his week.

13 were caught on beat 2 one day and the highlight of the week from the Association water was a first fish for young Aaron Grant also caught on an Alistair conehead tube.

The river is in full spate today ( Sat ) and although it is a washout it is sure to set up some great fishing next week.

As usual, we have all the flies you need to enjoy your fishing from South American sea-trout to hitching in Iceland and everywhere in between, have a good rake through the website. We are also in full manufacturing mode getting loads of out of stock flies tied up again. Our top RS flies are so popular since launch on 2007 online we are always fighting with keeping up with stock - "not a bad thing I suppose" The new Rs collection has been blitzed and we have forward orders for so many flies - quickest seller, Rons Naked Kinnermony killer, RS Solar Monkey and Rs Firetail Cascade...watch this space, no flies sell like RS flies! they are worldwide flyers!

Aaron Grant proudly displayes his sparkling first salmon caught in Roaries pool on the Association water

Johns home made Alistair variant

The Lower Caen pool beat 1 below in a sedate mood before the big weekend spate

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 a sprinkling of Grilse and sea-trout. One would like to think that the Scottish Government will continue to ease outdoor restrictions over the coming weeks. We will have to wait and see but at the moment the “steady as she goes” course of action is a cautious, sensible and safe route going forward. 

Sharpen those hooks, the peak of the season is fast approaching.  If you want to make the best of it then our RS Pro Cascade set will serve you very well. The Cascade fly is as good as it gets for summer fishing and our set has doubles to cover a wide range of water levels. The set includes 2 x 8s, 10s, 12s & 14s tied on silver and gold doubles and all with Junglecock. Grab some of these beauties before we sell out as you won’t get them anywhere else. Tight lines and stay safe.

Looking up to the New Stream pool beat 3 above ( river photo's courtesy of John Hardy )

Johns first fish a sparkler from New Stream

A view down the beat to the Telegraph pool

RS Pro Cascade set which you can buy now right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/pro-cascades.html

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 sting in the tail which elevates salmon flies to another level. Grab some of these when you have the chance to do so because, as usual, Rons new designs don't hang around! The Firetail aspect of these flies also helps to stop the long tails of these flies wrapping around the hooks so they swim at their best.

You can grab a set of Rons unique Cascade & Willie Gunn Firetail Pro sets right here, each set includes 4 flies of each pattern in 8,10,12 & 14 - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-rs-pro-firetail-set.html

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 way was a Baby Temple Dog I had designed. I had witnessed how lethal large Temple Dog tubes were on many rivers particularly in Russia, and I knew they were the most popular fly in Scandinavia. I had to design one small enough for UK rivers in the low clear waters of summer so the RS Baby TD was designed and it was a colossal success. The first one to roll off the vice was the obvious one in orange black & yellow which are our famous Willie Gunn colours. The body was gold and the hairwing constructed with mobile Arctic fox. The last part of the deal was, how was I going to jazz it up like its awesome bigger brothers. Jungle cock eyes were a definite but for me the defining aspect was 4 strands of orange Mirrorflash. It is thicker than Angel hair which was used in most bigger TDs but the mesmorising reflective "glint" of this amazing synthetic fiber certainly caught my eye and I was sure it was going to hypnotise salmon also. I was correct, the tiny tube just kept catching fish of all sizes and became a Helmsdale Co best seller which it still is to this very day.

The great news is that I have designed a new Baby TD series in 8 different designs which should be ready for a Lockdown exit later in the season. Keep a lookout of those, they are stunning and will only available from Helmsdale Co ofcourse!

So, back to the new Alistair tube which is the real subject of this read. There is something about it, totally different from decadence of a Baby Td for instance in that it is simplicity itself in construction. It is not a wispy lightly dressed silver stoats tail tied with sparse hair, by definition it is more chunky as it is tied using beefier bucktail which is a hollow fiber and helps the fly skate more when tied on plastic tubes. Is it this surface (almost hitching )presence which makes it more successful or is it the rich golden brown/yellow mix of colour? whatever it is, it works a treat.

The upgrade I have introduced is simply the addition of the same 4 strands of mirrorflash I use in the super deadly Baby TD construction and it lifts the visibility and aura of the fly to another level along with a brighter fire orange head. Tied on our 2mm Baxters tubing it also holds any tube hook without the need for extension tubing making a very solid arrangement.

The new Alistairs are tied and available in the most popular summer size of 1/2", so, when Lockdown eases and we are unleashed to hunt salmon once again you should grab a few to fish on any river that holds atlantic salmon, you won't be disappointed.

New RS Alistair tube, click here to buy them now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-rs-alistair-tube.html

Nordic Cascade size 14, one of our fabulous new low water flies which as you can see is tied on a super sharp and very strong Nordic salmon single. You can also see how small it is against the pen point. This is heading for "best seller" status already so you need some in your summer flybox! Once these take hold, they are pretty much in for good...

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

McPhail Grunter Bibio

McPhail Irish Hopper Claret

Oeland Shrimp

Cascade Monkey Tungsten 0.25" & 0.5"

Cohns' Sunray Shadow

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/

Kind regards & stay safe