This salmon fly pattern was designed by myself 20 years ago as a professional salmon fishing guide and has accounted for hundreds of salmon for me personally of the years and for many of my salmon fishing trip anglers too. Here's the dressing information;
Hook: 1

Here's a look at my own personal salmon fly box which includes my main 2 salmon fly patterns which are the Jock's Shrimp & Copperass salmon fly patterns. These 2 patterns have been responsible for over 80% of the salmon I've caught in the last 2 decades. This shot was taken at the River Tay/Tummel confluence near the Perthshire town of Pitlochry.

Look at this perfectly tied Jock's Shrimp salmon fly that's been tied with soft 'movement inducing' materials like Arctic fox. When a fly like this is swum in the stream these fine fibres come alive and make the fly move like a live creature therefore making them much more effective than other stiffer fly tying materials.

I designed this deadly salmon fly pattern 20 years ago while working as the Head Ghillie and salmon fishing instructor on the River Tay's Newtyle Beat. Here's the exact dressing before anyone asks;
Hook: 1

Always carry a few coiled up spare leaders in your fly box like you see here just in case needed while out on the river. Learn how to prepare your salmon fishing approach via tuition from a professional salmon guide. This Wheatley fly box includes my main favourite salmon flies like the Jock's Shrimp & Copperass salmon fly patterns.

Here's a shot of a team of Copperass & Jock's Shrimp salmon flies that have just come off the fly tying vice. These 2 patterns are highly effective at all times of the Scottish salmon fishing season in varying sizes to cover all water & temperature conditions.

Danny McLaughlin is a great guy who I was fortunate to meet 20+ years ago while I was serving as a River Tay Head Ghillie. The first day I met him he caught a perfect 16lbs Spring salmon on one of his own flies. Danny teaches fly tying and has tied literally thousands of flies for me over the last 2 decades.

Learn To Tie Great Salmon Flies

By Jock Monteith 1st August 2023

If you want to start building up a salmon fly collection that'll work for you on the riverbanks of Scotland then the patterns you need to pay close attention to are the ones the professional Scottish ghillies are mostly using!

Learn To Tie You Own Salmon Fly

My own personal advice is you should learn to tie your own salmon flies as you'll be able to get exactly what you want and even add in a few subtle 'faith based' additions to enhance even the most popular salmon fly pattern. Most of the mass produced flies tend to be a bit on the over dressed side for my liking and it's always better for fishing 'faith' if you're fishing a fly that's 'exactly' the way you want it both proportionately & for precise material colours and sparkle. There's also significantly more satisfaction involved in catching a salmon on a fly you've tied for yourself than there is from using someone else's fly.

Here's a perfectly stocked salmon fly fishing box which was manufactured by Wheatley in England. These fly patterns include Red Flamethrowers, Orange Flamethrowers, Copperass to name a few. It's always good to have a quality selection of flies like this to draw on throughout the seasonal salmon fishing in Scotland.

Mass Foreign Produced Salmon Flies

While there's some lovely salmon flies being imported into the UK that are well enough tied the unseen area is that they're mass produced therefore usually tied in a 1 stage 'rapid speed' process. This translates into the angler purchasing a salmon fly that will work for a limited period of time before it starts to fall apart and needs binned. If you're paying £3 to £5 for a salmon fly my advice to anyone would be to make sure you're buying a 2 stage salmon fly. What I mean by that is make sure the body has been tied, double coat varnished (if applicable) and dried before the fly is finished off. If you buy a fly that has been tied properly like that it will last you 10 times longer even if it's being regularly exposed to salmon teeth!

Where To Buy Your Salmon Flies

If you've got exact patterns you love and have complete faith in them or you're new to this business and have consulted with the serious Scottish ghillie brigade as to what patterns are worth having in your salmon fly box then you only really need to be carrying a dozen well selected salmon flies with you in a few different sizes. While mass produced fishing shop salmon flies are convenient if you're taking this pursuit seriously you should be planning your salmon fly box just as carefully as your salmon pool fishing approach. Professional salmon fly tyer Danny McLaughlin daniel.mclaughlin2001@gmail.com Tel; + 44 (0)7446 353058 has been my personal tyer for the last 20 years when I've struggled for time to sit down at the vice and Danny knows exactly how to tie a proper salmon fly in the correct 2 stage process for swim time longevity!