Category Archives: Fly Tying

One of the secrets of salmon fishing with a fly? Sometimes Pacific salmon like blue! Check out how to tie and fish Jay’s unweighted, short-shank comet.

Jay Nicholas ties a classic West Coast salmon pattern, the Ramone Salmon Killer. You can vary how much material you use with your flies — fuller in high muddy water, sparser in low clear conditions. Jay’s variation uses flat braid … Continue reading →

A sparse clouser minnow with a little bit of flash, and a little gray will work on pressured fish in clear water. When the Elk and Sixes on the South coast get low and clear this is a good one … Continue reading →

Jay says he has often caught chinook salmon in the estuaries that have small gray shrimp in their bellies. This shrimp fly is designed to imitate those forage critters. Jay Nicholas’s Elk River Estuary Shrimp Hook: TMC 811S Saltwater Fly … Continue reading →

Jay Nicholas demonstrates how to tie another salmon pattern. Surf or estuary this pattern can be a killer “mini baitfish” pattern for fresh Chinook or Coho salmon.–CD Jay Nicholas’s Chinook Salmon Surf Fly Hook: Gamakatsu SL12S Thread: White Lagartun X-Strong … Continue reading →

This is a low, clear water fly. Chinook salmon see really well, so sometimes a small, drab fly is the ticket. Super fast and easy to tie. Jay Nicholas’s Baby Boss Chinook Salmon Fly Hook: C14S #2 Thread: Lagartaun X-Strong … Continue reading →

One of the classic streamer patterns of all time. The Deep Clouser Minnow catches everything from Barracuda to Smallmouth Bass. Jay demonstrates how to tie his Chinook Salmon killer Clouser in the video below.–CD

Low water fly fishing for Chinook Salmon can be amazing. Having long leaders, clear sinking lines and drab or sparse patterns often is the answer when all the standard comets and Clousers have been run through the pool. The Horner’s … Continue reading →