The Helmsdale has had another decent week in unsettled conditions with rods scoring well throughout the system. Most rivers are now fishing well and with another rise in water levels the coming week should see some of the best fishing of the season so far so get your rod out and fly in the water!

We have another cracking fly deal for you on one of our absolute best selling flies, the Rs Alistair Flamethrower. Ron developed this fly on the back of the huge success of the classic Alistair tube which works so well all season. As you can see, these are stunners and we have them available in 4 sizes in a super handy set for you as a special price. These are very special flies tied on world class Patriot gold doubles and we are giving you another one free when you purchase the set of 4. Dont miss out as these will sell out pretty quickly, they always do! Grab a set right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-alistair-flamethrower-set-pro-choice.html

Temps are rising and salmon are becoming more active so we have put a special deal together for you to take advantage. Ron has designed loads of super popular flies over the years and there are none better than his range of monkey flies. Salmon love to attack these when fished at speed especially the big fresh fish that are running our rivers right now.

The deal comprises of Rons deadly Skandi and solar Monkey tied on the superb Partridge Patriot silver double. We are offering you a set of 5 plus another free to get you equipped for summer right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-summer-monkey-silver-double-set..html

The Helmsdale fishing is still picking away with around 30+ off the river this week but it is not exactly on fire. Beat 6 is providing the best of it with fish pausing below the Kildonan falls.

Check out our new Rs Cascade Alistair JC below...the hottest new summer fly we have right now. Ron is waiting to tie them for you.

The stunning Rs Cascade Alistairs in one of our latest orders...

Size 1 /2"

Size 1/4"

The river is not quite on fire yet but lets just say it is simmering. Water levels are still low so fishing conditions are not at their best, a good spate is required. However, around 18 fish were caught including a couple off the association water but rods had to work hard to be rewarded. Adam Macdonald netted 2 for his efforts on Badanloch rods, one from the Vale of Tears beat 6 and beat 5 Jetty Streams and his other rod produced a first fish for Adam Wiltshire on beat 1 below. The word is that there are not many fish around at the moment, the next good rise in the water should kick things off nicely.

Adam Macdonald with a spanking fresh fish from beat 6

Adam Wiltshire with his sparkling first fish from Clays hole beat 1

Dont forget that we have a huge selection of great new flies back in stock along with our famous Firetails, Naked Kinnermony, Solar Monkey and new Solar Flamethrower tied on top class Partridge Patriot doubles. Grab some when you can as these are top best sellers.

The river produced around 18 fish last week despite the low water and bright conditions. The forecast for the week ahead is for rain most days so the fishing should improve.

Our new Solar and Firetail selections have been absolutely flying out the door so if you have not grabbed one or two then you are missing out! they are serious best sellers...see them in the report below. We have now added a blistering new personalised gift selection where there is an option to add a lovely gold personalised plaque which is perfect for birthdays and retirements etc. Just let us know in the comments section when ordering what you would like to put on the plaque and we will get it organised for you. Pics below of the best salmon fly selection you will ever need....which you can personalise full of our latest flies and best sellers.

Plaque options to give you an idea

Boxed side 1

Boxed side 2

River levels were dropping away last week on the Helmsdale but fish were obviously running. Local experts Andy Sutherland, Corrie Cormack and Hugo Ross all took full advantage bagging 3 or 4 each from all over the river. The total for the week was estimated at over 20 so things are hotting up. Adam Macdonald also got in on the act with a few casts here and there and caught something you don't often see mid April - not well mended, the colour says it all but it was amusing non the less, and a salmon (pic below)

With travel restrictions being eased last Friday there has been an inevitable spike in fishing bookings and our website has exploded with flies and accessory orders. Below is our new deadly set of Firetail Cascades and Willie Gunns which were a best seller for us last season and you can buy them individually or in a set right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-rs-pro-firetail-set.html

RS Firetails set ( see new RS Solar set below )

RS Solar set comes bagged or boxed in a quality Fulling Mill pocket box, grab the set selection right here before we get blitzed out of stock! - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/new-solar-set-pro-choice.html

Both Firetails and Solar sets come boxed too...

We have had some amazing "sell out" flies recently at Helmsdale Co but the good news is that a load of them are back in stock as of today plus our new RS Solar Flamethrower tied on superb gold Patriot doubles. This fly is a stunner and was designed be Ron on the back of the huge success of our Solar Monkey. Do not delay in buying these as they will not last too long, grab some as soon as you see them!! along with these we also have the following flies back in stock, these were also all best sellers. RS Alistair Flamethrower, RS Cascade Firetail, RS Willie Gunn Firetail, RS Solar Cascade, RS Naked Kinermony, RS Red Cascade and many more...see pic below. We will be putting the set below together online too as one of our lethal exclusive new fly selections, they are stunning flies you simply cannot get anywhere else.

To buy these latest flies click here to our "latest in" page where you will see them all - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/latest-flies-in.html?page=all

The RS Solar flamethrower come in 4 deadly sizes, 8, 10, 12 & 14s

On the fishing front, rivers are slowly starting to pick up more fish but last week was a battle with strong bitter winds high water and snow. The Helmsdale reported around 9-10 fish with 7 off beat 6 (5 in one day for Kildonan rods) Andy Sutherland continued his form by landing another 2, one of which a solid 14 pounder (below) from Craggie bend beat 5 on a tungsten Monkey tube.

The Helmsdale started to fish better after a big flood midweek freshened things up, the springers were obviously waiting. A dozen fish were reported by midday Saturday after some decent fishing on beats 5 & 6 and team Grant once again have made all the headlines, this time it was Glencoast tackle shop owner Yvonne who landed her first salmon on beat 5, a sea-liced 10 pounder.

We are now taking international orders as anglers set their sights on hopefully fishing overseas. The whole salmon scene is cranking up as restrictions look like easing, lets hope things open up properly soon after April 26th in Scotland at least.

Yvonne with her proud dad Andy Sutherland giving a helping hand.

One of our international selections heading for Russian bound anglers from the USA hopefully fishing early July.

There is nothing spectacular about the spring run this season and it is not because fishing pressure is on the low side. Most UK rivers are seeing just a sprinkling of fish apart from the odd good day here and there. Highlights are few and far between, that was until Aaron Grant decided to fish above the falls of Kildonan on the Helmsdale. The Falls are a major temperature barrier holding back fish temporarily hence the reason beat 6 below the falls is generally one of the best spring beats. A fish was taken from the Fall pool last week so it was probable that they were on their way to the upper reaches of the system. Proof is pictured below as Aaron proudly shows off a stunning 20 pounder taken on the deadly Alistair tube.

The river is running low at around 5" so a top up is required to get things going again. Another 3 fish were reported from beat 6, 5 & 2, one of which was a solid 12 pounder from Upper Carew pool beat 2 caught by Andy Sutherland

Aaron with his cracking springer from Gravely pool beat 3 above

The Helmsdale had a pretty quiet week last week with just 5 fish reported. Andy Sutherland got the ball rolling with a lovely shaped fish off the Tail of the bay beat 3 on a Monkey and a few were reported from beat 5 & 6 with one from the Falls Pool. Focus will now be on the upper beats as fish will surely be over the Falls of Kildonan.

We still have our 3 + 1 on all salmon flies running so a great chance to bag some free flies for the rest of the season. Just put 3 + 1 in the comments section when ordering and we will add your free flies for every multiple of 3 you buy, its that simple - no promo codes required.

We have had a fantastic response to our Monkey deal ( seen in report below ) so we now have another fly highlighted and one with a huge following. Ron created this stunner a few years ago based on the super popular Posh Tosh tube. The Posh Willie Gunn was born in 2 options, tubes and coneheads, Check them out below.

Andy with his fish from Tail of the Bay.

The stunning RS Posh Willie Gunn which you can buy in 2 of our categories "copper tubes" and "coneheads" links below...

https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-posh-willie-gunn-conehead.html

https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-posh-willie-gunn.html

The Helmsdale produced 7 fish last week with the highlight being a brace for Graham Nichols on beat 6 out of Little Rock and Vale of Tears. The Association water also produced its first fish caught in the Flat pool by Jim Forsyth. Some real stunning fish are now coming off many rivers, the most notable a 26 pounder from the Spey at Kinnermony. Angling pressure is obviously still painfully light and the whole country is full of anglers dreaming of when they can next jump in the car and get that first cast of the season outwith their regional boundaries.

This however is a very exciting time of the season so we are going to take the opportunity to talk tactics using one of the deadliest flies,the Monkey fly. Check out our Monkey fly selection below and have a read on how to use them.

Ron Sutherland owner of the hugely popular Helmsdale company is going to put some “meat on the bone” on how best to use some of his most successful fly designs. Let’s begin with our Solar Monkey and Monkey tubes in general. If you have heard of them but not fished them, you are missing out. The monkey is a fly you need confidence in to let swing at pace and there is no better time to deploy this tactic than now as water temperatures start to slowly creep up. Salmon are predators at sea and specialists at hitting high speed prey, that is the trigger anglers look to exploit when fishing long winged tube flies. It is not rocket science, salmon are hot wired for the chase so be prepared for some heart stopping and savage takes.

So, let’s imagine the water is good and flow brisk on a favourite pool of yours. Water temp is hovering around the magic 50 degrees in this instance. At this point you have an interesting choice, fly density, fly length and fly colour. The Monkey tube works because it’s footprint is big so do not be shy in good water to tie on a tube with a hairwing of around 3.5 - 5”. I like the fly to be sub surface to the tune of around 1ft so the chosen model is a 4”conehead Solar Monkey fished on an intermediate 10ft sinking poly core leader. Next step, how do we fish this fly? Well, if you are on the left bank of the river the aim is to cast almost square and the key once this has been executed is not to mend your line as we do not want to check up or slow the pace of the fly on the swing, as the fly swings round draw the rod tip towards your bank to complete the swim, take a step down the river and repeat, it is that simple. This is a fairly ideal scenario where the Monkey fly will fish very well. However there are many other situations that suit a monkey tube in different sizes and I’ll give you a few examples and rule of thumb.

As we know all pools generally have faster water at the head, a relative dead zone in the middle and a pickup in pace towards the tail draw of the pool. The monkey works everywhere so at the head of the pool you might choose a copper or tungsten tube to cut through the turbulence for better presentation and towards the middle and tail of the pool you are often better to swap for an aluminium or plastic tube. One thing is for sure, whenever you feel the water flow struggling to carry the fly you should mend your line towards your own bank to generate more pace or strip line if needs must, bottom line is keep the fly swinging at pace and you will maximise your chances. Pools vary hugely in depth and flow, try to read the water and calculate how best to fish the pool, the choice is yours. You can vary the fly depth at any time by changing your sink tip and tube density. Heavy water may require a fast sinking tip and Tungsten monkey to fish properly. A shallow run off at the tail of the pool will often suit a smaller plastic monkey tube fished closer to the surface.

A word about the different patterns. The Classic Dee Monkey in black & yellow is the cast iron favourite colour combination in Spring along with the RS Solar Monkey As the season progresses all colours can work and black/orange starts to become more popular as we drift into autumn. Helmsdale Co has every size you will ever need as we know how advantageous it is to have a range of wing length and tube density in your flybox. The picture shows a snippet of the explosive selection we have available. You can buy the selection below or simply grab some individually anytime right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/monkey-tubes.html

So, if you have never used this mesmerising fly, now is the time, You know where to find them and how to fish them. Have a great season when lockdown ends.