My Salmon Hookers

 This year, 2025, marks my 28th year of chasing Atlantic salmon on the Miramichi and its tributaries.  Since many of us are deep into the winter fly tying season, I thought I'd do a little post on the flies that I've hooked salmon on in the course of the first 27 seasons.

My very first salmon trip to the Miramichi was in July, 1998 (still have the 3-day license!).  The trip was at the, dare I say it, the insistence of my now long time friend, Pam Bates Richards and the late Bob Warren.  I had a job at a fly fishing museum then where I got to know some pretty good salmon anglers; the late Gardner Grant (a trustee, along with Pam at that museum) gave me a little box of flies tied by none other than Keith Fulsher (who has also, sadly, passed away) to use on my trip.

We fished at was then Vin Swazey's Tuckaway camp; I swung my first salmon fly, a Black Bear Green Butt tied by Keith.  As luck would have it, I hooked and landed a grilse on my third-ever cast.  I wish I still had that fly (I do still have the little box it came in),  but alas, I do not.  But....with the help of Keith, Charlie Krom and Bob, I learned to tie my own:

As I've said many times, it was all downhill, salmon-wise, from there.

A fly that I've had great success with is the Glitter Bear, the Black Bear Green Butt's blingy cousin.  I can still remember years ago, guide and good friend Dan Bullock suggested, as the light was getting flat in the evening, switching to a Glitter Bear...it was a good suggestion.  Many of my fish have come to the Glitter Bear:

This is the fish that resulted from Dan's suggestion about changing to the Glitter Bear:

Bob Warren became a very good friend over the years, salmon fishing and otherwise.  I think he was one of the finest fly tyers on the planet; he could make any feather bend to his will.  Beyond being such an accomplished technician at the craft of fly tying, he was also a very creative tyer.  Two of his designs have brought Atlantic salmon to the net for me.  First and foremost has been the Cutty Sark, a fly my friend Rob Feeney calls the fly you love to hate (tying).

The Cutty probably doesn't get fished much other than the Boiestown-area pools, where it was pretty much born, although I do know a couple steelheaders that have used it to great effect in their rivers.  With its blended floss underwing and tough to tie teal overwing, I'm pretty sure you won't find it in any fly shop.   If you're feeling adventurous and want to give tying it a try, here's my "how to":

https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2016/12/tying-bob-warrens-cutty-sark.html  and here: https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2011/04/cutty-sark.html.  The greatest compliment in my tying life was when Bob, unable to tie due to cancer's effects but still able to fish, asked me to tie him two dozen Cuttys.  I do still have a poor photo of a low-water version tied by Bob:

The Cutty Sark can fool some pretty big fish into striking, even in the Fall (that's Bob's wife Linda.  She was fishing in very high water in a spot that's not your standard salmon pool(!

The other of Bob's creations that has been so good to me is his Golden Pheasant Spey.  While not really a Spey fly in the truest sense of the word, I figure when you're a tyer of Bob's stature, you can call your fly anything you want!   It is a great Summer and Autumn fly; I tie it in sizes from #8 (a good summer size) to 2's and 4's for fishing in the Fall.   It's another that you're unlikely to find much outside of Boiestown or in a fly shop; all that Golden Pheasant hackle and especially that tapered copper tinsel front body makes it sort of expensive and sort of a pain to tie...but the end result is so satisfying...and effective!   

BTW, the tail can be either bucktail or white bear; I prefer the white bear dyed hot orange.  It is capped with a Golden Pheasant crest.  More about it and recipe here:  https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2011/04/golden-pheasant-spey.html

I've come up with a couple fly designs for Atlantic salmon myself over the years.  Back in 2011, I couldn't fish due to a hip going south on my, but I could sit and tie flies.  I was also getting into dyeing my own materials, had dyed up several colors and had them sitting in a bunch on one of my workbenches.  My very Irish partner Bridget said that those were some fine Celtic colors.

So I began playing around with developing a hair wing fly that would entice salmon to strike at it.  I came up with a final design and tied up a bunch of them.  But I couldn't fish and it was Summer season on the Miramichi already!  So I sent a batch of the fly (as yet un-named; I'm one of those guys that won't name a fly until it hooks a fish) to Renate up in Boiestown.  She passed a few out to several anglers fishing her Home Pool one day.  Another long story short:  between the three anglers they hooked 17 salmon on the fly that day.  Granted it was one of the best years in memory for salmon, but still...!!  Anyway, based on Bridget's comments, it became the Celtic Beauty.

It is often the first fly I tie on and the last I clip off.  Landed my first 20 pound salmon on it. 

Not the 20 pounder, but a good hen taken on the Celtic Beauty:

 If it strikes your fancy and you'd like to tie it and try it, here's the deal:  https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2013/02/tying-celtic-beauty.html and https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2011/07/celtic-beauty-new-atlantic-salmon-fly.html

The second of my little contributions to the world of Atlantic salmon flies was named by guide and good friend Renate Bullock.  We were fishing her Home Pool in as high a water as I care to fish in and it was cold both in the river and out.  Renate was on my shoulder chatting when I hooked into something that actually scared me.  It was just on for a few moments when it jumped and crashed down on the leader and was off.  I showed her another of the until-then un-named fish and she proclaimed it GT's Highwater Shrimp.  So that was it, and it continues to hook big fish in the biggest waters of Autumn.

A little more about it, and the recipe here:  https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2020/09/gts-low-water-shrimp.html

Actually the first of my excursions (the wags among my friends would likely say incursions) into creating a viable salmon fly belongs to the world of featherwing flies.  I've always admired and occasionally tied what some call the Carrie Stevens style of trolling fly; AKA Rangely style, New England style, etc.).  My Deep Green Beauty owes its origin to Mrs. Stevens Green Beauty trolling fly.  It was, when I first fished it about 25 years ago (and where did those years all go???!!!!) almost what I'd call a game changer for me in my Spring fishing efforts on the Miramichi.  It was a very successful Spring fly.  But wait!  There's more!!  On June 3, 2024 I was prospecting for sea-run brook trout with a casting-style Deep Green Beauty in front of our camp, using a 10 foot 8wt switch rod I bought for Bridget (shhhhh, don't tell her) with an Orvis disc drag Spey reel mounted on it.  Out of nowhere, the fly got smashed, and I mean smashed by a huge salmon,   I have always wanted to hook a June salmon; they are purported to be the fightingest of Maritime Atlantic salmon.   Well, between the huge fish and my inability to remember how to use a non-palm drag reel, the fish was lost straight out in front of me, all the way across the river, in one big leap and landing on the tippet.   I almost (almost) hope that fish is still sporting the Beauty.

When wet, she's some streamlined:

This Spring fish liked the trolling version:

A little bit more about the Deep Green Beauty and Spring fishing here:  https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2011/05/few-days-in-may-on-miramichi.html

Marc LeBlanc is a well-known (and I think recently retired) salmon guide from Quebec, as well as a very well known Atlantic salmon fly creator.   One of my fav's of his flies is the Picasse, which, I believe, translates from the French to English as "anchor."    I tied up a green version of the fly, and hooked several salmon on it in high summer water.

The vinyl D-rib body is what helps, apparently, the fly to sink better than your average salmon fly.  Marc took the fly through several iterations; my tie that is pictured is the last I've seen.

I don't seem to do a lot of dry fly fishing for Atlantic salmon (note to self: do it more), but when I do, I'm inclined to use a little #10 natural color deer hair color body fly that Renate calls "the Locator."  It's been a great little fly for me...and others.  Once upon a time, my pal Jamie and I were fishing the home side of Renate's home pool; he was fishing behind me and Dan Bullock was guiding us.  I was having quite a time with grilse on the little Bomber...Jamie was not.  Dan came up and asked me if I had any more of it, which of course I did, and he had Jamie put it on.  In short order, Jamie was into a fish.

I have occasionally been privileged to fish the private pools of, especially, other board members of the Miramichi Salmon Association.   One such occasion, I was lucky to fish at Square Forks, where the North and South Sevogle rivers meet.   My host's son suggested that the fly to try that day was the smallest Shady Lady I had, and to use it in the fastest of the runs there.  I did and this little gem did the job:

It's a size 12.   A little more about Shady Ladies here:  https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-lady-becomes-bug.html

Renate Bullock was not only the first licensed female guide on the Miramichi, but she is also a great friend, casting instructor, and fly tyer/creator.   Her RBM (Renate Bullock's Muddler) has been a very successful fly that is amazing to watch swim.  Back in 1993, it hooked 5 salmon its first day in the river.  I'll never forget watching two grilse chasing it in very skinny water; one ate it and the other just kept racing around with the hooked fish.

Renate ties it in a variety of colors, usually with either a black or blue-dyed spun deer hair head.  My tie doesn't do justice to how cool the fly really is:

A little more about Renate and the RBM here:  https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-rbm-salmon-fly.html

Surely not least of the flies that I have hooked Atlantic salmon on is the little Sneaky.  Typically tied on #10 or even #12 hooks, it was designed by creator Mike Boudreau for low, slow water conditions, especially in the fall.

It has fooled some pretty big fish for me!

The only little modification I've made to the fly, and I think it helps (based upon nothing but "I hope"):

in place of the little orange hackle throat in the original, I use a tiny little bit of UV minnow splash instead.

I tie a reduced General Practioner as developed by a fellow from New Jersey that used to fish the Miramichi (name escapes me).  It is WAY easier to tie than a classic GP, and likely it is at least as effective.  I used it a lot on the Little Southwest River when I fished with my friends Howie and Paul for several Octobers.

I tie it with a Jorgensen SLF fiery blood red dubbed body.  That stuff really stands out.  Big fish like it:

Well, that's it.  That's all the flies I can remember hooking - but not necessarily landing - Atlantic salmon on since I started fishing for them.    Let's hope that 2025 is not a repeat of 2024's salmon numbers, and that maybe the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will wake up and smell the striped bass problem.

Cheers, and counting the days,

Gary

The Oriole's Wing...Finally

 Ask anyone that ever worked for me, and they will tell you straight out that among the many things I'm not, topping the list of "nots" would be "detail oriented."  That is in terms of things like record keeping and assorted other paperwork sorts of things.  I'm wicked into the details of whatever woodworking thingy I'm into at the moment, just don't ask me if I wrote down the plans for it.   I do try to keep some semblance of a record of what mat colors I used in a give framing, maybe even the dimensions of said mats.  But that's pretty hit or miss, I'm afraid.

Speaking of hit or miss, truer words never spoken about dyeing fly tying materials, especially if you're gunning for the color of record for a given (especially) vintage fly.  Case in point:  my until-today search for the right color dye or mix of dyes to tie the mallard wings of Ira Gruber's Oriole.

I nailed the color a few years ago.  Did I write down the the dye mix I used?  Of course not.  Nor, at soon to be 75 years young, can I remember what dyes were in the mix.   But as you can see in this photo I took for an earlier blog post, I nailed it back then, at least compared to Orioles tied by none other than the fly's designer, Ira Gruber and father and son fly tying experts, the late Wallace Doak, and his son, Jerry, who now runs the W.W. Doak fly shop in Doaktown, NB (wwdoak.com ).  Ira Gruber did his Atlantic salmon fishing based out of his cottage in Doaktown, too.   I need to ask Jerry if he ever remembers Gruber coming in to the shop.   Gruber also had guests like Preston Jennings and Charles DeFeo...wonder if they ever shopped there?  But, as usual, I digress.

A flock of Orioles (see what I did there?)

I've looked for a dye formula for the wing on Facebook, Speypages, The Classic Fly Rod Forum, and likely other places I've forgotten.  Gotten some good and likely suggestions, but none that had been tested and proven up to the task.  Reasonable suggestions, but none with a track record.   Gruber's grandson, also Ira Gruber, in his fine book, Ira Gruber's Atlantic Salmon Flies, lists the wing color as "Green Drake", as sold by the venerable British fly tying materials firm, Veniard Ltd.    LOL, I wouldn't be writing this blog post if Veniard still produced their Green Drake dye, color represented here in a vintage color chart that I robbed off a post on the Classic Fly Rod Forum.

Sort of a key point here is that, although noted by the authorities as the color, I've never seen an Oriole that had a Green Drake wing.   I've handled more  than a few Gruber-tied Orioles, as well as several by either of the Doaks and some other "name" tyers...not Green Drake wings.

I like to dye my own materials, and was fortunate to have awesome mentors like the late Bryant Freeman.  Some guys seem driven to take their dyeing secrets to the grave with them (fertile ground for some snide dying and dyeing comment, but I'll let it go); not so Bryant.  Another fellow, also no longer with us, was a fellow who went by Flytyer on Speypages forum.  Both knew so much, and gave so freely of that knowledge.  I hate to say it, but it fits:  that sort of attitude of giving freely of one's expertise and time, seems to be, well, dying.

But I digress (again).  Either alone or in concert with another dye (or two), here's what I used in my explorations and experiments to find the wing color:

I spent quite a bit of time (and $$$) to come up with, finally, the wing color I was looking for.  It is a combination of a lot of Veniard Golden Olive dye, and a little of Dharma's Sour Apple dye.  This is a mallard flank feather dyed with my new formula next to an Oriole tied by Wallace Doak.  Mission accomplished.

Cheers,

Gary

Shadow boxes - waiting to happen

 Winter is here; tying and framing season is upon me.  Although those activities had to wait until I turned this: (click on the pics for larger images)

into this (just north of three cords):

Since it's also fundraising season, the first shadow box framing I completed went into the Miramichi Salmon Association (U.S.) Christmas online auction.  Several years ago  I framed a set of low water flies that Stephen Nye gave me, so I had the background already in the computer, and I had built a bunch of the same size frames quite awhile ago to frame individual flies friends and acquaintances gave me.    Happy to report that the little frame sold for two hundred bucks.

I walk the Miramichi at least twice a day when I'm in camp - somewhat for the exercise, somewhat to watch Brodie run and run and run, but mostly just because I like to do it.   I'm always picking up small beaver cuttings that wash ashore, as well as pieces of driftwood, which are almost always pieces of lumber that got washed into the river and tumbled into our neck of the woods that I think will make, eventually, an interesting shadow box.

I like tying Cains River streamers and had a nifty piece of driftwood I picked up right in front of camp, so this is how they are all coming together for a framing for the MSA-US dinner in Portland, ME on Feb. 22, 2025.   The shadow box will have to be three inches deep!

  

Some time ago I went through much of my friend, the late Bob Warren's, fly tying "estate" with his wife, Linda.    Among all the amazing stuff Bob had squirreled away was one of those neat old clear Cortland fly boxes with the green felt in the bottom, which Linda gave to me.  It contained a bunch of flies tagged with the tyers name.  One of the compartments contained two Orioles, that popular fly of days gone by originated by Ira Gruber.  They were tagged as the #6 tied by Wallace Doak, and the #4 tied by Jerry Doak.  I sent Jerry a photo of the flies, and he felt that was correct.   

Well, I like tying Orioles (especially once I got the dye color for the mallard wing figured out), and I had what I think is a pretty OK #8, so I'm adding that to what I'm thinking might be the framing.  Oh, and I just happen to have little #10 or so tied by the flies originator, Ira Gruber.

I like to go to eBay once in awhile to see if there's anything of interest to me.  I like to type in "Miramichi River" in the search box and every so often something fun comes up.  Last week this cool little old postcard (you can see 1919 on the cancellation stamp as well as that it was mailed from Fredericton, NB!  The text at the bottom of the card reads: "Landing the Salmon"  Salmon Fishing Miramichi River, New Brunswick.

The pack of the card is as cool as the front!   One of the fun parts of this is that you couldn't buy a 2 cent stamp in Canada anymore because they also don't have pennies anymore!

So I'm thinking a framing with this postcard and four Orioles for some small spot on our camp wall.

I was quite pleased to be asked to create a couple presentation plaques for MSA.  Can't show the finished product until after the event, but here are the flies in each:

I love Ogden Pleissner's art, espcially has salmon fishing works.   I found a small reproduction of this painting, "The Bank Pool, Kedgwick River, New Brunswick, I guess probably on eBay.   I've got the mats cut, just need to make time to tie a few more strip wing flies to frame up.  It'll be available at some MSA event or another.

Over the years, and because my jobs, I got to know Thomas Aquinas Daly.  I can remember what a gracious host he was when I took my very artistic mom to Tom's studio too many moons ago to count.  I was particularly please that when I was working at fly fishing museum that he accepted my invitation to be a part of our big Spring weekend.  I think it was a successful visit by all accounts.  In 1998, Tom published a lovely book featuring his art - The Painting Season; the Art of Thomas Aquinas Daly.  I bought a pre-publication special edition of the book, and Tom, knowing of my interest in grouse, included this lovely little watercolor:

More recently (like a couple weeks ago), I traded Tom something for his still life paintings for a little watercolor wash that Bridget and I both love:

Nope, they won't be shadow boxes, but I'm looking forward to framing them for our camp walls!

My last shadow box project for the near future, for my friend John is, now that the Canada Post strike is over, waiting for his flies from his home in Canada.   It's a lovely print,  Night on the Restigouche, by Greg Pearson.  Greg gave it to John as a thank you for some time on the river they spent together.  Get me those flies, John!!

So that's what on my plate these days!  Hope everyone has a safe, sane, worthwhile 2025!

Cheers, 

Gary

A Set of Framings of Marc Madore's Flies

 As I mentioned in a blog post back in January, I received a large batch of flies by Marc Madore as he had sent them to Ronn Lucas, Sr.   I finished framing 6 sets, which will go to the Atlantic Salmon Museum in April.   That man could surely tie a fly, and I love the way he sent them to Lucas, which I've been able to preserve in the frames.  

Importantly, I bemoaned the fact that I was worried about how his flies and writing would survive over the years on a framers forum I belong to (www.thegrumble.com).   Got many suggestions about using UV-blocking glass or acrylic, but that stuff is above my paygrade.  A gentleman in Florida who owns Sunshine Frames in Jacksonville, FL came to the rescue with a great batch of leftover cut-offs of Optium, the state of the art UV-blocking acrylic.   The flies and messages are safe thanks to his generousity.

Here ya go (click on the pic for the larger version):

It will be up to the Museum to add signage to bring context and meaning to the displays.  Fun project.  Now just have to get them over the border without those guys trying to get me to pay duty/taxes on them.

Cheers,

Gary