After a good start to the week on the Association water with 6 off over Monday & Tuesday it looked very much like the summer run was kicking in. The highlight was Alistair Jappy landing 2 fish at 4 & 10lbs early in the morning which he followed up with another at 6lbs from the afternoon tide, a superb days salmon fishing on any Association water. The rest of the week was pretty quiet and a run did not really materialise. Only around 30 fish were recorded throughout the system. The tide lined up to suit nighttime seatrout fishing locally once again and a few nice fish were caught, including a 4 pounder from the Wood pool beat 1 above, there are lot's of finnock around also which is encouraging.

Baby Tds, Silver stoats and Alistair coneheads work well in the low clear water and these flies will make their mark all summer providing there are fish around. View them all here - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

The most successful summer anglers however are those who can adapt best to all conditions and situations. Typically you should have the following flies lined up to deploy. Sunray shadow 9 - 12cm ( skating ) Alistair/Stoats tail tubes 025 - 0.5" ( conventional ) Alistair, silver stoat ( hitch tube ) Cascade, Ally's, Hairy Mary (droppers) Red Frances (doubles & tubes) RS SuperSnaelda  (deep impact presentation)

Alistair hitch tube - you can buy it here now - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1758

What this selection enables you to do is engage with salmon on many levels rather than just fish through a pool with a Cascade and simply move on to the next one. If there are fish around be prepared to (mix it up). Get the Sunray Shadow skating over the water at right angles to the fish and look out for some explosive takes. Drop the SuperSnaelda deep and close to fish and prepare for a hit and run, similarly fish a Frances tube deep with the rod tip up and swing it through all the pots and runs. Dibble the broken water at the heads of pools in classic summer style or hitch all areas and watch as fish rollover your fly right on the surface. The key is to be flexible, make sure you have a braided loop on the end of your line for quick tactical changes. Have intermediate and sinking tips to hand and do yourself a favour and get a decent salmon line if you don't already have one. Fly presentation is important and casting should be fun. If you think your casting could be better please feel free give me a call and I'll talk you through the best line option for your rod, there is a perfect line out there for everyone and believe me when I say that a good slick balanced line can transform your whole fishing experience, call me on 01431821372 - http://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php?_a=category&cat_id=28