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The Glitter Bug salmon fly

The missing link salmon Bugs made for dry and wet

When the salmon river gets hot – think trout…

The missing link – Bugs made for dry and wet

No, advice on riffling hitch technique goes without mentioning the salmon Bugs so popular with North American anglers. Salmon Bug patterns have their practices and special details worth spending time and effort into learning and putting the bug´s family of flies into a short frame on riffling hitch fishing know-how is, in fact, a bit sketchy… but bugs are, to some extent, the fly patterns that I find to be very well connected with the riffling hitch technique.

My observations over the years have led me to conclude that there is a fishable layer… just below the surface, where a well-presented deer hair bug can do wonders just before the riffling hitch season picks up.

there is a fishable layer… just below the surface, where a well-presented deer hair bug can do wonders just before the riffling hitch season picks up

I fish the bugs wet and close to the surface as possible. I like to add a tiny amount of flotant to the flies. As you can see from the images, these salmon were hooked close to the snout, a familiar spot to hook Atlantic salmon on small bugs – Why is it so?  I don’t know…but make sure to tie your bugs on solid hooks, as hooking salmon in this spot often leads to hard-fighting fish.

The Glitter Bug salmon flyAt Fishmadman, you will find the perfect collection of small bugs to catch finicky salmon and trout in warm water, some designed by us – Others classic bug´s from around the world – Don´t leave without them… the angler that thinks trout…when he goes salmon fishing… is often the most successful.

We have chosen a small selection of heavy-duty bugs tied on heavier hooks than we do our normal bugs.

Glitter Bug Green and Orange # 10 A Bug explicitly made to be fished both wet and dry. A slightly stronger salmon hook enables this fly to be fished just below the surface in fast glides – A missing link pattern in our fabulous collection of small dry flies for steelhead and Atlantic salmon, generally termed bugs.

 

Learn to fight them

Fighting big fish on small hooks doesn’t have to be so dramatic – it can be – but if you are careful and take it easy, the fish will often be compliant and finally come to you. You will need to prepare a bit for this kind of fishing, and here are some things you can do to make things work.

Use a fly reel that has a light ratchet or an adjustable brake that will allow you to control a decisive run where you have to admit line out quickly.

Use (as we do) a soft tippet material on your leader…We prefer soft nylon-like: Maxima Chameleon or Original Streen. These nylon brands will stretch when under strain…something quite valuable when the fish jumps or shakes its head.

To read much more about bugs…go to this blog page.

Salmon bug fly

Jesper is the chief designer and fly tier at Fishmadman - He also does most of our writing on the Fishmadman pages and Newsletter

Top-water fishing is his sport and as an outdoor writer he has been writing articles on this subject in magazines and books in Europa and North America sins the early 80´s.

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