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

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 if you have an overseas fishing trip coming up ( eventually ) snap them up if you fancy as you will not see them again...

Special fly sets below, more details on the website links provided below.

RS SuperSnaelda Specials. Buy quickly right here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-supersnaelda-specials.html

RS Cascade Fox 1" tungsten tubes, buy quickly right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-tungsten-fox-pbps.html

RS Green Highlander Elits set, buy now quickly here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-green-highlander-elite-set.html

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

Johns fly

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 sellers back in stock!

Rs Cascade SuperSquid tungsten conehead

Posh Tosh

Collie Dog

Nordic Cascade

Classic Cascade

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 Green Highlander is a very underestimated fly. A classic traditional scottish pattern which has caught many very large salmon over the years especially on the classic big single hooks which it was first tied on. The great Sir John Ashely-Cooper has listed numerous huge fish taken on it in his book " A Salmon Fishers Odyssey". A 2" copper tube version actually took the first fish on the Helmsdale a couple of years ago in the Viaduct pool. Pop one or two in your box....we have them in 1" and 1/2" copper tubes right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-green-highlander-copper-tube.html

We also have a new version based on the deadly Firetiger spinning lure which Ron designed recently for a client, a gorgeous green theme tube which is very popular in the Uk and abroad

RS FireTiger copper tube, grab some right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-firetiger-tube.html

Another 2 fish have been taken this week, one from beat 3 and John Hardy had a 10 pounder from the Foam pool beat 5 fishing from the right bank. The tally is now 6 fish so things are on the move. The Association water is a great chance now so grab a day ticket from Glencoast on the Main St and get out on the water, the river is in perfect condition.

http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-green-highlander-copper-tube.html

Its been another tough week on the Helmsdale compounded by a washout on Saturday. Hopefully the 6ft of fresh water thundering down the glen will start lure in a few fresh fish. The only action to report was Andy Sutherland hooking a springer on beat 5 which almost spooled his reel chasing the fish from the Foam pool to Clay bank where it unfortunately came off.

We have some of our best selling flies back in stock now which include our Flagshop RS SuperSquid Cascade tungsten conehead, RS Tungsten feeler Willie Gunn tube, Posh Tosh 1" copper tube, and SuperSquid Kinermony tungsten conehead but donr forget our Solar Monkey conehead tubes which always score in the spring.....our best selling spring tube by far.

RS SuperSquid Willie Gunn tubgsten conehead

RS SuperSquid Cascade tungsten Conehead

RS Tungsten Willie Gunn Feeler

Stop press - No 2 off the Helmsdale - Tail of the bay beat 3, 8lbs And No 3 off, Andy Sutherland 9lbs Kilphedir pool beat 2 - 21st Feb.

The latest headlines would be a reasonable opening 2 weeks on the Dee with 28 off and a cracking opening day springer off the Findhorn Association water Stoney pool at 18lbs for Peter Green, Huntly. Peter is a very experienced angler and decided that the river conditions called for one of my RS Solar Monkey flies on a Patriot size 6 silver double. The rest of the set up was classic Hardy, Sintrix rod, Marquis reel and Mach floating line + 10ft sink tip. It certainly produced the goods and provided Peter with the best possible start to any season with the most highly prized fish of the year, an opening day springer.

The Deadly Rs Solar Monkey which you can purchase right now by clicking right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-solar-monkey-double.html

You can also buy our conehead tube versions here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/solar-monkey-black-yellow-pro-choice.html

Peter shows off his priceless opening day fish

Safely in the net