Steve Sullivan wrote:
What are some good flies to use to imitate blue/silver Mepps #5 and
Blue Fox #6 spinners? That is what is catching salmon on the feather,
also what are some good salmon flies?

I think you've asked the right question last, and the wrong question
first. I for one fly fish because it's a different challenge from
spinner fishing which I used to do. If you try to duplicate the
spinners, you're barking up the wrong tree. Instead you need to ask
what it is about the spinners that attracts the fish, and how to
trigger the same response. I think you can find solutions that work
better than the spinners, and that I think is the meat of your second
question.

It's not so much which flies are good as which presentations are the
ones that catch the fish. I've found that nymphing with steelhead
charlies and single egg patterns can produce as many fish, and even
more than spoons and spinners. The key to these patterns is using a
good large sharp hook, and presenting it dead drift at the level of the
fish. I use #1 to #2/0 octopus bait hooks with the eyes straightened
out. (Propane torch to heat them, smooth jaw pliers to straighten the
up eye, and drop them in a cup of water to re-harden the eye.)
Sometimes in colored water the egg needs to be 3/4 inch in diameter, in
clear water 5/16 or even 1/4 works better, but the larger hooks give
you a chance to hang onto the fish. I think these flies are taken
because of their color, not because they immitate spawn. Sometimes
chartreus or yellow will outfish orange and pink, check the colors the
spin fisherman are using, sometimes that's a good hint.

Chas
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