'My favourite kit' with Sam Carlisle

Sam Carlisle relies on two indispensable fishing products – one an old favourite, the other new – when casting for salmon. This article first appeared in the Spring issue of 'My Countryside' magazine.

Fly fishing for Atlantic Salmon can often seem like a futile search, with days or weeks on end without success. As salmon anglers we can be tempted to find solace in the purchasing of new kit: the latest fly or a shiny new reel. At its heart though, fly fishing is about simplicity and finesse, and over the years I've fined down my equipment to the minimum possible. These two items, one tried and tested, and the other a new addition, are bits that I would take with me on any salmon expedition.

Something old

About a decade ago I was fishing on the north coast of Russia's Kola Peninsula. My fishing buddy Euan and I gathered round our guide's fly box as he pulled out a black tube fly, tied with soft feathers and not much else. It didn't have the structure or rigidity of a traditional salmon fly, looking limp and unappealing. I wasn't convinced and dismissed it. Euan was more polite. The next morning, I was allocated the best pool on the beat, while Euan disappeared upstream for a few casts 'into a small pot' with the peculiar fly. I fished fruitlessly through the prime water with a Scottish classic, the Blue Charm, and no luck. Euan and the guide returned, both pale as a sheet, sometime later. He'd made only three casts, and landed three salmon: 61b, 121b and 371b. Since then, this fluffy fly, called a Vaehaenivia, has been my most productive by far. Retrospectively, I think it's very soft materials and short body give it tremendous movement. Its inventor, famous Swedish angler Mikael Frodin, says a salmon fly "should look so alive that it might bite through the leader and swim away". Holding it in flowing water, it pulses and writhes, which salmon find most seductive.

Something new

Despite the last salmon season being truncated by the pandemic, I still managed a few outings. By far my favourite was a mid-summer week on the west coast of Scotland. With many well laid plans scuppered by travel bans and lockdowns, it was a joy to be back on the river and enjoying the company of friends. We fished the magical River Ewe and, despite hot weather, I still broke into double figures of salmon, all bright chrome and dripping with sea lice. The Ewe is a medium sized river, draining out of the vast Loch Maree just north of Gairloch. In the past I've fished a 14-foot rod here, but this year I was armed with a brand-new Sage Igniter, 12 foot for a line weight #7. It's the lightest, most responsive rod I've had the pleasure to cast. Despite its diminutive size it handled fish fresh from the ocean up to 161b without missing a beat. This little wand made spey casting a simple affair, firing out line well beyond what I had previously thought feasible with a shorter rod. As salmon are known as 'the fish of a thousand casts' you might as well have something that makes the 'casting' part of your trip a joy.