We are running a competition from today (30/12/18). Last season one of our flies really stood out from the rest, if you are first to name it you will win a dozen in a selection of sizes. It's worth the guess as you will catch fish on it next season for sure. Email or answer on our latest facebook post to win. Naked Kinermony wins...Allan Marandola was first and wins 12 & Mark Elder wins 6. you can buy them here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-naked-kinermony-killer.html

Photo by Alan Bithel

In less than 2 weeks (Jan 11th) the stunning river Helmsdale (above) once again opens for business and ex Ghillie Martin Grant will have the honour of casting the first fly. Tickets for the annual free fishing will be available from "Glencoast" on the Main st. Yvonne Grant (my niece) is the new business owner which she runs from a re-vamped old tackle shop location. Glencoast specialise in gifts and Gins and also have a range of fishing tackle and clothing, they are hosting a Gin tasting on the day from 3 - 5 so don't miss that either or the opening day! On a personal note, Yvonne worked in the tackle shop with me for many years and she knows the angling scene very well and her outgoing personality and knowlege will make sure the business is a great success, also, her father is the legendary salmon angler Andy Sutherland... I wish her all the best for a great river opening.

Proceedings will emanate from the Belgrave Arms hotel as usual with the Sutherland Schools pipe band marching "up the street" and entertaining the gathering, Sir Michael Wigan will say a few words and then the fishing action will begin in ernest.

The extra mild winter is sure to have enticed a few early runners so sharpen your hooks and get stuck in. Tactically if the river is on the low side at (6" - 1ft 6) then you need to get up to beat 6 and fish the waters immediately below the Kildonan falls as thats where salmon will stop until water temps roughly pass 40 degrees. If the river is high (2ft+) its still beat 6 but your best chance is the tail of the Manse (North bank) or tail of Church Streams (South bank) if no fish are caught on beat 6 on the first few days you should concentrate on the deep pools of the lower beats 1 & 2 just above the village.

At Helmsdale Co online we have all the deadly flies as you might expect, our tubeflies have caught most first fish in recent times so we all know they work. Personally I have been lucky enough to have caught a few January salmon and I would not look past our RS Willie Gunn Special. Many years ago I looked at the famous Willie Gunn pattern and decided it needed modernising slightly and I knew I could improve my favourite pattern. I did, and caught more springers than ever and once we popped it online for sale it became a huge fave for many fishing in the UK and abroad. Then The massively successful summer Alistair tube got the same treatment, I added a new TigerTail to the design and it immediately caught the first fish on the river, and on many others! We have all the gear, we are the specialists through experience.

Tight lines to all, have a fantastic prosperous healthy and big fish New Year!

Our deadly RS Black & yellow TigerTails (below) are back in stock in 4 sizes down to an incredible tiny 1/4" coppertube and you can buy them right here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-tigertail-black-yellow.html

Check out this totally new stunner also, another New Collection killer from Ron, you cannot buy these anywhere else unless you stock them! The RS Willie Gunn FireTail on a Gold Patriot double. We think these are going to be very big sellers as our Solar range are already hugely popular, read more and buy here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-willie-gunn-firetail.html

Check out these great new tubefly boxes, we have plenty in stock. They have fully adjustable partitions which you can scale to any length or size of fly. Keep all your hooks and extensions in them also. Buy here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-tube-fly-box-pro-choice.html

The close season is flying in and we are only a matter of days before Christmas and just a few weeks before the opening of many salmon rivers.

We have loads of last minute accessories and fly selections for Christmas gifts, grab some of them and you still have plenty time for a Christmas delivery.

Our most popular accessory is the Helmsdale lanyard and retractable hook sharpener (below) and we have fabulous new collection flies in our Christmas fly selections.

You can also call us up and arrange any type of fly selection you want, we make tham up quickly and get them off in the post immediately.

Helmsdale lanyard and hook sharpener

and open

Our big Black Friday deal is on and will run until midnight Cyber Monday. Please put "BOGOF" in the comments section when taking advantage of this great offer. Start shopping for the best flies money can buy right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/

We have everything you need to make a salmon angler happy at Christmas, snap up flies or fly selections in our deals and add an accessory or two like our new Helmsdale lanyard or hook sharpner, both go perfectly together. Gaelforce and Loop lines are the dream combos for casting and if you match them up with the new Loop Q series salmon rods (starting at less than £300) you have a force to be reconed with that will not break the bank.

Of-course, you can order the ultimate salmon Loop Cross or Gaelforce rod to really spoil someone....

Below are some of our most popular new flies to whet your apetite.

RS Blue Ass Willie Gunn - this fly has everything for spring salmon fishing.

RS Spring Cascade Conehead - the best looking fly we have ever designed for salmon and in 4 size options.

One of our new concept Solar flies of which there are many, try them next season, they are deadly! Cascade Firetail

It may be only 10 weeks until Christmas but that means its only 12 weeks before the rivers in the North re-open!!

That famous Christmas quote " I don't know what to get him/her, they have everything" well why don't you grab something they need this christmas for theit fave hobby - fishing! Guys and girls dont have all the gear, there are superslick new salmon lines from Loop & Gaelforce which any angler will be delighted to receive instead of slippers and a selection box! We have PROPER Selection boxes for anglers right here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/christmas-special-selection-2018.html

and here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/helmsdale-co-flies/fly-selections-home-and-abroad.html

Salmon lines to die for....The new Loop SDS Tactical integrated shooting head - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/loop-sds-tactical-salmon.html

Gaelforce salmon lines - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/gaelforce-equalizer-integrated-shooting-head-pro-choice.html

Christmas Special Selection boxes packed full of our superb new collection flies - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-collection-christmas-special.html

All really easy to order and we can also make up any selection or selection of products for you, just contact Ron via email.

Christmas is fast approaching and we have a stunning new range of designer brooches in stock to enthrall the lady in your life. They are all individually hand tied by Ron and mounted in classy gift boxes. Check them out below, you can easily order by clicking this link - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/designer-spey-brooches.html

Spey Cascade

Spey autumn gold

Spey blue sky

Spey summer green

Spey Royal

Spey ruby

Time for a catchup to keep you in the loop with latest Helmsdale Co operations. The days are shortening so apologies for the extended prose but knowledge is power!

Firstly I would like to personally thank all our customers for another incredibly well supported season ( still going on some rivers ). A new RS fly collection has been launched and phased in over the season and feedback has been incredibly positive. Many of the new flies are designs which I have devised and tested over the years with great success, some are tweaks some completely new and certain flies have been way way out there as best sellers. See new collection here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/

Let me explain the thinking behind some of our new concept flies so you get where we are coming from. We don’t just offer the basics at Helmsdale Co and never will, I will always be pushing the boundaries of fly design, our customers demand it and deserve it!

Our Naked range has been huge, classic hairwing flies with no body materials to get ravaged by sharp teeth. Sounds simple? The key is quality Partridge Patriot silver and gold doubles and our innovative design. These are so popular we have given them a homepage category of their own.

Then there is our SuperSquid range which we now have on on tubes. Beautiful flies with a sprinkling of Amherst pheasant spears which make them come alive in the water ( intruder style) but more subtle, the crucial part is that they come in a range of 4 sizes right down to micro which need to be seen to be believed, the quality is astonishing. Continuing with the SuperSquid concept I have created a lethal Spider Monkey range with a hint of the same tantalising leggy look, tied again on best quality bare Patriot doubles and Loop bottle tubes. Last but not least is my Solar range. Conceived 3 years ago using amazing solar edgebright material which literally adds a bolt of lightening to flies in the water. I tested the concept on large Monkey tubes first and had immediate explosive success fishing for spring and autumn salmon, this concept was a goer! Demand is very high for these so I had no hesitation transferring the idea into double hooks, again another set of flies which merit a category on their own.

Incredibly Christmas is only 11 weeks away but we have some top quality boxed salmon fly selections you can buy for your fishing friends and top of the range Loop rods, reels and fishing jackets. Our new collection flies are very popular indeed so a boxed selection of those would definitely make someone very happy, contact me if you want to customise any selection and we can box with doubles or trebles.

Our hugely popular salmon fly cube along with fishing accessories, fly selections and designer brooches is to be relocated from Baxters village to a much more accessible roadside shop in Fochabers right next to the Gordon Arms car park, more on that as soon as we are set up.

Last development to report on is that the full RS new collection will be available to the trade soon from a new web platform, keep an eye out for that and tell your local tackle shop they need to have some of our superb new flies in stock for next year.

Let’s hope for more consistent water levels in 2019 and a general bounce back in salmon numbers.
Many thanks for listening and buying from us this season and feel free to spread the word about our new flies.

A pair of our new designer Spey brooches

Findhorn 45 pounder from the Drynachan beat

Tight lines

Ron Sutherland

The season closed out on a real high with around 300 fish off in the last week and many in the 20lbs + range. As an outdoor sporting event its as good as it gets and suggests a healthy population in the river. Sadly all good things come to an end and it is now time to leave gravid fish to get on and do what they came to do.

Talking of outdoor sporting events, the golfing spectacular "greatest show on earth" hits fever-pitch today between Europe and the USA. I have the feeling that the famous Ryder Cup trophy will not be heading back West, the European stars look like they are cruising to victory.

The salmon season may be all but over in the North but the Tweed etc in the south are just getting into gear. Anyone fishing late should bag up on some of our deadly autumn fly selections, hand picked and proven flies over the years which also hammered fish on the Helmsdale over the last 2 weeks.

The Helmsdale sprung into life along with most rivers after rain finally arrived. Around 250 were reported off the river last week and many fish were in the high teens and 20+ range, the upper beats scoring heavily and the Association water produced around 70. This week has also started very well with some incredible sport so the season will end on a real high. 28 were caught on just one beat.

I had a day on the Findhorn Association water and was quickly into the fish on the RS SuperSnaelda Red Gold tungsten conehead. The pics below are from the Roadside pool. This water is fishing very well right now and Graham Bell had 4 landed before I even got going! he landed another 2 with the biggest at 19lbs for a personal best day of 6. Big thanks to both Graham Bell and Glyn Phillips for showing me the water and organising the day ticket, Glyn had 3 fish on the day also and I am very much looking forward to going back for a cast.

RS Red/Gold SuperSnaelda - which you can buy here in 4 deadly options  - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-supersquid-red/gold-tung-conehead.html

Two for me before the river went quiet.

Graham Bell with his biggest from Sonnies pool

The weather is set to break this week infact after a night of heavy rain last night many rivers are rising as I write, including the Helmsdale. Salmon will now be on the move at long last and be heading for their spawning grounds at high speed and this is your chance for some great sport and maybe your first action of the season.

Big flies and a selection of sinking tips will do the job wherever you fish so now is the time to grab some of our killers and get out on the water....Copper Tubes and coneheads will be pefect, if you want my perfect autumn pick look no further than out RS SuperSnaelda red/gold tungsten conehead and Rs Red Cascade Pro fished off a sinking tip. If this pair of well proven tubes do not catch you salmon in the autumn then nothing will!

RS Red Cascade Pro - buy here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-supersquid-red/gold-tung-conehead.html

RS SuperSnaelda Red/Gold tungsten conehead buy here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-red-cascade-pro.html

Tight lines, the season is going to finish with a BANG!

As autumn kicks in we will hopefully get some proper rain and rivers will rise, thats when tactics finally change and bigger flies fished on sinking tips catch the majority of salmon. In the meantime don't forget to grab a set of out stunning micro tubes ( see them in reports below ) which are catching salmon everywhere dispite the low water.

The Helmsdale is just simmering and 30 - 40 fish are coming off weekly, many on micro tubes.

To help you we have set up a new autumn category which offers all the most successful patterns and accessories. Click here to grab superb autumn flies from the past and present - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-autumn-killers.html?page=all

A couple of our best below to get the juices flowing...RS SuperSquid red conehead.