The greatest salmon fly?
My good friend and captor of more salmon than any man deserves, Lawrie Hickman, once told me that the Willie Gunn would catch any taking Atlantic Salmon anywhere in the world.
Who am I to argue? This could be the greatest salmon fly of them all. I certainly think so.
Lawrie argued that if you threw all the salmon flies out of your box and replaced them with Willie Gunns in different sizes, tied on tubes and double hook flies, you would probably catch more salmon than in a season changing fly patterns.
Who am I to argue? This could be the greatest salmon fly of them all. I certainly think so.
Lawrie argued that if you threw all the salmon flies out of your box and replaced them with Willie Gunns in different sizes, tied on tubes and double hook flies, you would probably catch more salmon than in a season changing fly patterns.
The illusion
Certainly, this fly has the main Atlantic salmon colours of orange, yellow and black in its livery. Equally important IMO is the mixing of colours and tones so that the fly is an ethereal ‘illusion of life,’ the hallmark of a good salmon fly. Falkus argued that the very best salmon flies are seen by fish at the last moment so that the fly comes as a surprise when it flutters across its field of view. If the salmon could speak, he argued, it would say ‘what was that?’ not ‘There it is!’
Willy Gunn buck tail
For this reason, the traditional dressing, created by mixing the fibres, not stacking them in solid bands of colour, is my preferred tying technique. I much prefer the traditional tying to the modern temple dog style in which the colours in the wing are stacked.
You can’t beat bucktail for this fly – it mixes beautifully and helps the fly to flutter.
For the latter part of the season, whenever there is colour in the water and in the run off from a flood, this is a ‘go to’ fly. If I was restricted to just one fly for the rest of my life, it would be the Willie Gunn.
For the latter part of the season, whenever there is colour in the water and in the run off from a flood, this is a ‘go to’ fly. If I was restricted to just one fly for the rest of my life, it would be the Willie Gunn.
