As far as I know there are only 3 spring fish off the mighty river Tay so far and thats it.

But, Another 2 sleeping giants open their waters to salmon anglers this week along with a few others. So we are taking this opportunity to offer you a great season opening deal on a stunning RS salmon fly, our Golden Willie Gunn SuperKrill.

Salmon feed on Krill at sea and their large black eyes are a stand out feature as you can see from the pic below. Ron has added this deadly “black eye” feature to his best selling SuperSnaelda salmon series and now his deadly Golden Willie Gunn Feeler tubes incorporate this striking focal point for salmon to hit. So, why don’t you grab a few to try on our special offer for the big opening weeks ahead. Just £2.99 each and available in 5 sizes, a great deal on a unique fly for 1 week only.

Grab some right here at this great price before we sell out, click here to buy - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-golden-willie-gunn-krill-pro-choice.html

RS GWG SuperKrill

The Helmsdale is still very quiet with just a few kelts showing up and bending the odd rod. Conditions are very good so it is only a matter of time before a textbook springer shows up.

We have added a superb new reel to our website, the Vision Hero 10/11 which is great value for money and a solid powerful reel at that, perfect for 14 & 15 ft salmon rods. We are also offering it with one of our super popular Gaelforce lines and Rio backing all set up to make life very easy for you. We will rig it up ready to fish if you require in any Spey or shooting head  line option in the 10/11 range, just take your pick from the drop down box right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-vision-hero-salmon-reel-10/11

New Vision Hero reel

The Helmsdale river is well and truly open after the customary first cast and large turnout and the chase for the first fish is on. Conditions have been good with excellent water levels feeding all the large classic spring pools. Kelts have been thin on the ground this year so there is not a lot of action yet but the river is fishing beautufully by all accounts and it is just a matter of time before a lucky angler bumps into a fresh runner.

Our big raffle for the 'salmon season in a box' was drawn on opening day and the winning ticket went to Mr Ian Stewart from Nairn, well done, you are a very lucky boy! The raffle raised £417 from 139 tickets and Mr Stewart has nominated all of the proceeds to go to the Gamekeepers Welfare trust as his charity.

So, the new season is up and running and more rivers will follow on opening around the country and the first springers on view will probably come from the mighty river Tay tomorrow.

It's time to dust down your gear, get that new line on your reel, grab some sparkling big new spring tubeflies, some new razor sharp hooks and get out on the water somewhere soon, there is nothing like it...and you never know, your line may tighten with the ultimate prize for a salmon angler - a spring salmon fresh from the sea!

As usual, we have all the best flies available for you, greatdiscounted fly selections, tube hooks, nylon, Gaelforce salmon lines, tubefly boxes, rod holders, scissor/pliers, sinking tips, wading staffs, fly tying materials and the ultimate salmon weigh nets from Mclean.

Have a look at our homepage link here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php  and if you can get past that without grabbing something then I'm sure you will find something else on our site, we have something for everyone, speaking of which, take a look at a snip from Rons tying lately below where you can see a nice mix of flies and styles for orders which just keep coming in....thank you all for your loyal repeat custom and to all our new customers who have found our amazing flies online.

Partnering with https://salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com/ for the best salmon fishing holidays in Scotland.

2 legends from the Highlands of Scotland, the Gold Bodied Willie Gunn and Alistair salmon flies combining for the new season, the RS Highlander is ready to seek out springers!

Grab yours right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

Just to remind you that our big raffle for the "Salmon season in a box" is to be drawn on the Helmsdale river Opening day of the season, 11th January. It is easy to enter, just click the link below and have as many goes as you like to win this amazing boxed selection worth £250 - proceeds to the charity of the winners choice, good luck and tight lines on Opening day if you are lucky enough to be fishing.

Enter raffle here for this incredible box full of Rs flies for just £3.00 - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/raffle-for-ultimate-fly-box

RS "Salmon season in a box" below with all the flies you need from opening day to the end of the season

The opening day of the new salmon season is very close now and anglers are setting their sights on landing a spring salmon, the most highly prized salmon of them all.

So, We are all witnessing the decline of this incredible fish, of that there is no doubt, and the technical side of salmon fishing has exploded in recent times with rods and lines that can launch the fly extreme distances to cover more water than ever, but, a word of warning, dont take your eye off the ball and forget where these iconic fish will be and how they will react to your fly presentation early in the season.

Apart from the odd occasion when they will be hooked in shallow or clear water, or even in the most impossible dirty and high water conditions, these fish are generally nosing their way through very cold river systems on a deep track. They don't get caught on the move when they are running, they get caught when they settle. Depending on the river, the depth of water and the lies they find you generally need to be presenting your fly deep to have the best chance of a hookup. They are cold blodded and lethargic and if your fly is swinging 10ft above them in water close to freezing then 9 times out of 10 it will be ignored.

So how do you give yourself the best chance of a hookup? well, don't be afraid to tackle up with a big heavy fly, yes it is easier to cast small flies with light bodies and be impressed with your casting but it will not impress spring salmon until temps rise and they are more active. Take the Helmsdale river for instance, it is no surprise that springers get caught in the deepest parts of the classic big spring pools, Lower Caen, Salscraggie, Kilphedir, Eldrable, Upper & Lower Torrish, The Manse pool. There are many others which are equally as deep which give spring salmon sanctuary in there slow migration but the key to catching them is to get your fly in front of them as often as you can. Be aware of where you are fishing, a 6ft sinking tip with a light tube will not cut it in these pools.

Drifting back to the Helmsdale heydays where I grew up chasing springers the "go to" outfit was a full sink Wetcel line with 3" steel Brora Waddington on the end and boy did they catch early season fish. The old boys who knew the river inside out would have laughed at you if you appeared with anything less that a full sink line and 3" tube before the end of February at least! Yes there were more fish but how many in Jan & Feb? I would argue that there were not massively more fish in the river but the tactics were more suited to the cold conditions. As an aside, I have caught most of my early season salmon on Willie Gunn & alistair copper tubes with a 1.5 - 2"" copper body/3" wing and black & yellow Monkey tubes with 6" wing.

So, what can we learn from this? well we all now have many more options to fish a pool perfectly from top to bottom although I would steer away from the top end of pools until salmon get more active in higher temps. Whatever way you can do it, make sure your fly isclose to the bottom and if you are snagging occasionally then you are pretty much there. We all have the opportunity to deploy large tungsten, copper tubes and coneheads at any depth we want on the end of any sinking tip length or sinking line we need to present our fly in the magical "taking zone"

Fish deep, slow and big and you may just get that long slow tighten to your line that results in the fish of a lifetime, and yes, we have all the gear you need right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

New Rs Alistair Superkrill 3" wing

Alistair Special tubes up to 3" wing on 2" copper tubes

RS Willie Gunn SuperKrill up to 2" copper tubes with 3" wing

Christmas is almost here and with constant hassle from Royal mail postal strikes, delivery of those lovely gifts have been a pain! But, one way to bypass all that is to send an instant email gift voucher to your fishing friends this week anywhere in the world so they can top up with our great flies...

Simply click here and pop in the email address of your recipient and you have instant no hassle delivery - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/gift-certificates.html

Spring salmon fishing is almost upon us again and the urge to go chasing silver will be back very soon so check out our amazing flies and discount selections which will maximise your chances of a hookup to the early season fish of a lifetime.

RS Chartreuse Baxter Babe Conehead

Hi there

Snap up some superb fly selection boxes for Christmas gifts and get another stockingfiller fly boxed selection free with every order over £35 and free flies with every order under.

And, check out our new RS Alistair SuperSquid conehead below. Our SuperSquid tubes are a best seller as they are very unique and deadly so Ron keeps pushing the fly design boundaries with this new design. Alistairs are great all season but for spring Ron has added a popular subtle flash of blue amherst fibers for that deadly SuperSquid look that salmon love...

Keep an eye out for this one to hit the website soon or contact us for forward orders.

Start shopping for your free flies right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

And don't forget our big raffle for our incredible "All Season" boxed salmon selection worth £250, proceeds to the charity of your choice, enter here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/raffle-for-ultimate-fly-box-c137

We have also donated a superb boxed selection of flies to the online Spey auction if you want a crack at that here - https://www.uk.givergy.com/riverspey/?controller=home

The new RS Alistair SuperSquid

Hi there

Our Christmas and Black Friday deals are all on from awesome Roll back prices on selected Gaelforce fly lines to free flies with every purchase, and, don't forget we are giving away a free RS stockingfiller boxed fly selection with EVERY order over £35 as seen below.

And, one of our most popular gifts are our Gift Vouchers which you can purchase here - Gift Vouchers

Start your shopping for free flies right here - Start shopping for free flies

We are also tying up loads of forward fly orders for spring now too so if you have any specials like our deadly RS Solar Monkey below please contact us via email. And, check out our new RS Ultimate Alistair pro set which is a perfect gift for anyone fishing for salmon in Scotland, especially the Helmsdale and Northern rivers from opening day.

Grab one of our raffle tickets for a chance to win our "All season" boxed fly set worth £250, proceeds to the charity of the winners choice, tickets here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/raffle-for-ultimate-fly-box-c137

Never stop fishing!!

RS Ultimate Alistair Pro set

RS Premium Solar Monkey tube

Free RS Stocking filler boxed set with every purchase over £35

We are now in Christmas mode offering you a cracking free Stockingfiller boxed fly selection with every order over £35. These come in a handy pocket sized fulling mill waterproof box and contain a mix of some of our best salmon doubles and tubes. Check out our homepage to get your Christmas shopping going here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

As you can see from the picture below we are already tying up some new UV wing Monkey coneheads for spring 2023,(and so it begins!) these are going to be deadly. Summer fishing in the Nortt of Scotland especially has been very good so the trend is that the following spring could be good too, this is often the case so lets hope it turns out that way, not too long to wait now.

We also have some real special boxed brooches on sale now for unique Christmas gifts along with a range of "all river" salmon fly selections for stocking fillers and lovely boxed gifts for salmon anglers, check them out right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/christmas-special-all-river-selections

RS UV Monkey coneheads 2023

One of our beautiful RS Brooches below and the rest can be seen right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

Spey Blue Brooch, we also have a green and a red version.

Golden Burberry Brooch

Autumn Gold Brooch