We are now running a great deal with our autumn 2 + 1 on all flies so if you are still fishing many of the rivers that are still open you can grab some of our great flies for free, simply buy any 2 and you get 1 free...and don't forget we now have a huge selection of rainbow trout flies for your off season reservior fishing in stock now too, we are not just all about salmon fishing. Start shopping for your free flies right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

We are also running a raffle for the superb prize of our all season box worth £250, proceeds to the charity chosen by the winner in December. Hit the link here to put in your basket to enter for £3 per go and you have the chance of bagging our best ever fly selection - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/raffle-for-ultimate-fly-box-c137

The Helmsdale river had a solid finish to the season pushing the river to a score of well over 1000 fish including a 29 pounder. The most positive observation of the season would be the strong summer run which many anglers commented on being "just like the old days" great news indeed so lets hope there is a comeback next spring too which is often the case after a good grilse run.

Tight lines and thank you for your fantastic support this season.

The fishing season is coming to a close on many rivers but there are still lots of very productive rivers open through October & November. The Helmsdale river is still fishing quite well and is looking forward to a good finish with the cold weather forecast for the last week

On that note we have launched our hugely popular 3 + 1 deal to help end your season with a bang! Check out a few of our deadly flies below and online. To qualify for this deal you must put 3 + 1 in our comments section when ordering and you will receive your free fly for every 3 you buy, start shopping here for your free flies - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

RS Willie Gunn Baxters Babe FL Red (below) - The Classic Willie Gunn combo of colours is totally deadly all season but Ron has helped this along by replacing orange in the hairwing with FL red for autumn so snap some up along with loads of other autumn big gunns like the selection below which are all available as single flies - if you want the actual selection just email us and we can do that too but dont forget to take a look through all our other superb selections online.

And, you may notice on our homepage we are running a raffle for a very unique set of boxed flies worth £250, "The salmon season in a box" Proceeds to the charity chosen by the winner drawn in early December, £3 entry from our homepage, link to enter here, simply add to your basket to enter - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/raffle-for-ultimate-fly-box

A tiny selection of some of our best autumn salmon flies which will catch you fish no problem in tungsten, copper & coneheads.

The salmon season in a box Raffle, everything you need for spring, summer & autumn

The Helmsdale has had another good week with rods scoring well all over the river. Temperatures were down and the weather on the whole definately helped the fishing conditions along. With just 2 weeks to go on the season for most rivers we have launched another stunning tubefly, the RS Autumn Cascade Hothead which is the natural follow on from our spring and summer model which is so popular. Check them both out below and buy a few if you have fishing lined up, they are both deadly!

RS Autumn Cascade Hothead click to buy here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-red-autumn-cascade-special

RS Cascade Hothead, you can buy it right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-cascade-hothead.html

In partnership with https://salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com/ great salmon fishing holidays in Scotland.

The Helmsdale Association water exploded into action last week on the back of a cracking spate. Unsettled conditions earlier in the week dealt some dirty water which finally culminated in a dropping and clearing river on Thursday. Andy Sutherland took advantage in a big way hooking 9 salmon and landing 7 for his incredible day. The next morning he landed another 2 quickly before heading out to sea to catch some lobster. There are lots of fish around this season but they don’t give themselves up easily so the correct fly had to be deployed and his Classic Alistair proved it’s worth once again with devastating effect. There were more fish caught but the highlight and catch of the season belonged to Andy.

The upper river performed great also as one can well imagine and all beats are looking to finish with 3 good weeks.

Most rivers have around 3 weeks left so there is still great sport to be had, you know the “on form” fly and you can buy it below in 4 great sizes.

RS Classic Alistair Conehead - buy them here and finish your season with a big bang!! click to buy - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-alistair-original-conehead.html

In partnership with Salmon Fishing Holidays Scotland - https://salmonfishingholidaysscotland.com/

The rain is coming and it’s time to sharpen your hooks again as autumn moves in. Al rivers have been struggling for water recently and the fishing has been dour but that is all set to change. Red is the colour for autumn as we always say so we have a superb deal at a great price for you right here with our stunning RS SuperSquid red rainbow coneheads.

This awesome unique set includes 3 sizes of this deadly tube in 1”, 3/4” and 1/2” which will cover most river heights. But, not only that, we are giving you a FREE RS Golden Willie Gunn SuperKrill copper tube, another amazingly successful autumn fly designed by Ron. So, check them out below and grab a set before they sell out!

Don’t forget we have more beautiful sets of flies than we have ever had so make some of your fishing friends happy people with a lovely Christmas stocking filler…

RS SuperSquid Red Rainbow conehead set, buy now right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/index.php

The season is rapidly turning to autumn and the Helmsdale river has eased off the gas on the scoring front. The summer salmon run has been good and now the fish are acclimatising which makes them a little more difficult to tempt. This is the time when all eyes start to look to red as the predominant colour in salmon fly offerings. It is common knowledge and backed up annually here by big sales of RS Red Alistairs, Red Frances and RS SuperSquid Ruby Red coneheads and the like. 

But, there is always a twist from the Helmsdale Company where Ron continually fast forwards the evolution of salmon flies and the 2 tubes you see below are just that.

We have "Solarised" the hugely popular Red Alistair conehead especially for tea stained water running off after a spate. This fly stands out so well and really catches the sun and the eye of salmon and seatrout. Fish them on sinking tips for best results or just off a full floater if the water is low. Obviously we highly recommend it, a beautifully toned conehead tube which now also adorns our almost electric edgebrite solar strip on its flanks.

Then we have our new RS Back Eyed Pig design, yes, Back eyed, which reverses the whole profile of a standard eyed tube fly. It is scary, confusing and thought provoking and catches LOTS of salmon, no more to be said other than you need some in your flybox!

2 Amazing RS salmon tubes again keeping you ahead of the curve...

New RS Back Eyed Pig. Click the link and buy it here now - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-back-eyed-pig-new-tungsten-tube

New Rs Solar Red Alistair, buy now right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-solar-red-alistair

This week we have a great deal on a wee stunner that you cannot buy anywhere else, the RS SuperSnaelda Cascade Micro. Also we have introduced another cracking deal on 4 SuperSnaelda in 4 sizes to get you going this autumn if you have not already tried them...( where have you been!) The deal consists of 4 of our best in the pic below (from top to bottom) RS SuperSnaelda Black & yellow 3/4", RS Cascade SuperSnaelda Cascade 1/2", RS SuperSnaelda Red Gold 1/4" and a FREE Micro Cascade SuperSnaelda.

Buy the Quattro set right here bagged or with tube doubles - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-supersnaelda-quattro

The Helmsdale fished quite well last week with beat 1 being the absolute hot spot. The river is full of fish after a great summer run so if you are lucky enough to be coming for a cast you should bag up on some of our great tactical fly deals.

Buy one get 1 free on our unique Micro SuperSnaelda right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-super-snaelda-cascade-c/h-pro-choice.html

I have fished for salmon for over 40 years on rivers all over the Northern hemisphere and seen most river conditions. Hot dry summers used to be the norm and when the fishing conditions were challenging with low warm clear water my “go to” fly was a tiny stoats tail, why? Because it worked, but how and why did it work? Well, salmon get spooked easily and in these low water conditions they become much more difficult to catch. The solution is to hide your presence from them.

On small and medium sized rivers you need to keep your profile low and back from the water with no disturbance what so ever, cast with precision and a very light touch, aim high with your follow through for delicate presentation and become invisible. Fish with tiny flies that simply arrive in their unsuspecting window of view without drama ir disturbance. If you can achieve this you will have success in drought and low water conditions and still catch them. As anglers we love a challenge and the flies you see, the “RS drought busters” will give you that success. These are micro flies at their very best with 2 deadly options, the plastic tube has a very light presentation which fish will see in the lowest and most clear of water, the conehead will sink immediately and get in front of fish much deeper where they can simply inhale. 

2 deadly flies with 2 options and the strategy to fish them.  Fish on a long  light leader no heavier than 8lbs breaking strain and lighter for the norm, grab some of these now and get that rod bent, you don’t need perfect conditions to hook up!

Flies come with the added option of micro trebles and you can buy them right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-drought-buster

Stop press......We have the Rs Willie Gunn Flaming Firetail on a "buy one get one free" this week which you can snap up right here - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-willie-gunn-firetail.html

The fishing on the Helmsdale has been steadybut not explosive recently as water falls away. The good news is that there are plenty fish in the river and this should hold the rest of the season in good stead - lots of fish still to be caught so keep your hooks sharpened if you have fishing booked.

RS Willie Gunn Flaming Firetail

So August can be a very exciting part of the season, many rivers have had the best of the summer run but fresh fish are still running with a bigger average size.

Growing up in the highlands of Scotland offered me an amazing selection of salmon fishing and memories are bountiful of great catches on a variety of rivers. Flies too have had wonderful variety over the years and have evolved with new materials, ideas and tactics, but there is one little cracker which stands out for me personally and I think many from the Highlands may recognise it.

A little bit of background information, I first came across it on the Thurso and Wick rivers where dark spate waters run, this was a killer fly for me and many others. I was so impressed with its performance that it wasn’t long before it became my “go to” fly as soon as the water was freshened up with that lovely peaty whisky tone after heavy rain. The fly? A Copper King. As to the inventor? I do not know but what a superb fly, so, I have decided to bring it back to life using the best new materials and hooks available using Loop, Partridge Patriot (red & gold) and Fulling Mill Magni gold doubles.

These are very special flies and I am now offering them in only limited edition selections similar to the one you can see below. Once re-launched I will take Copper King orders individually flies on preferred hooks but for the moment only selections are available for you to indulge in. If you want to bring back a little bit of deadly fly history then grab a selection as soon as you see them because they with disappear very fast! They will come bagged or boxed in a great little 4 x 3” waterproof pocket box.

Another exclusive from Helmsdale Company, click this link to ensure you are lucky enough to secure a selection - https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-copper-king-limited-edition-set

The awesome RS Limited Edition Copper King set on Loop, Partridge and Fulling Mill Magni doubles

Boxed set

Loop double

Partridge Patriot red double

Patriot gold double

Well the rain came and so did the salmon, and boy did they come! reports suggest that the river has had the best summer run in years with mainly grilse and a sprinkling of summer salmon piling into the river. The Association water had a great week with numbers caught guestimated at around 40 - 50 fish off and many more lost, a bit like the old days....great news indeed and long may it continue.

I have heard that many other rivers experienced similar news with peak rates of fish being caught. The season is far from over and there are many more fish still to be caught so we have another very special "buy 1 get 1 free" deal on one of the most legendary salmon flies of them all to get you through the summer with maximum catching power - the Silver Stoats Tail. As rivers heights fall and clear there is no better fly than these so grab some when you get the chance and get your free flies. For every Silver Stoats tail you buy, we will give you one for free, its that simple!

Click on the link and buy them right here right now in the deadly sizes of 10's 12's & 14's and make sure you get some in your flybox before we sell out...https://www.helmsdalecompany.com/rs-silver-stoats-tail-mustad-double

When the going gets tough, the tough get going and this is another fabulous deal from Helmsdale Co to refelct the tough times we all live in, but hey, we will not stop fishing!!