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Atlantic Salmon
Salmo salar
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RON PITTARD GRAPHIC
TEXT BY DENNIS BITTON
Most anglers who have had the opportunity to catch
Atlantic salmon will agree that pound for pound, there
is no better fly-rod gamefish. Known to many as the
"King of Gamefish" for their aggressive fight and
willingness to take to the air, Atlantic salmon provide
a challenge to fly rodders: The fish don't actually eat
flies, they attack patterns based on a conditional
reflex.
Today the most popular Atlantic-salmon fishing waters
are in Quebec and New Brunswick in Canada, Maine (U.S.),
Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and to some extent,
Scotland. Chances of success are enhanced by the
services of a local guide, and many areas require a
guide and a lodge, or at least a landowner's permission
to fish the local stream. It's the rare fly fisher who
has access to public waters. Those that do are truly
blessed, because the fees at most Atlantic-salmon lodges
can be pretty steep. Still, it's just money and if you
have the ambition and the where-with-all, look into it.
Make plans. It's worth it.
Two typical salmon from Russia's Ponoi River. Note the
typically lighter color and small, rounded mouth of the
female (above) and the large, hooked jaw of the male
(below).
Typical Atlantics weigh 8 to 20 pounds, though some
reach up to 50 and even 60. Most fish caught by fly
fishers weigh in at less than 20 pounds. The
record-holding Atlantic salmon on a fly rod generally
weigh in the 40s.
Salmon begin their migratory journey to the sea after
spending two to three years in their natal streams. The
adult salmon return (usually in the fall) after one,
two, or even six years at sea. Early return fish, called
grilse, have spent only one year feeding in the ocean
and usually weigh around 4 pounds. Fish that return
after two winters weigh up to 12 pounds; three-winter
fish weigh in the 18- 30-pound class; and fish that have
spent up to six winters at sea can weigh up to 60 pounds
plus (more common in European waters).
When the adult fish return to the stream is when anglers
try to catch them. At this time, the fish have
blue-black backs (dorsal), bright silver sides, and
white bellies. As they spend time in fresh water, the
fish's sides darken, taking on more bronze, olive, and
brown colors. The males will pick up a little red
coloration on their sides as well, along with the
traditional kyped lower jaw typical with males of many
trout-like species. As mentioned earlier, Atlantics
don't eat flies. When the return to the river, spawning
is on their mind-not eating-and they attack flies more
because of a conditional reflex.
More has been written about fly fishing for Atlantic
salmon than just about any other species, including
trout. Roman officers dined on the fish during their
northern forays. Praised initially as a fish for eating,
the Atlantic salmon now occupies the rank as one of the
noblest adversaries a fly fisher can face. The history
of Atlantic-salmon flies, and the ingenious tiers who
created exotic, gaudy, and (occasionally) practical fly
patterns to entice this noble fish to strike are myriad.
The romance of fishing for Atlantic Salmon has never
dimmed.
A long time ago European biologists named the Atlantic
salmon Salmo salar because of its supposed close
relationship to brown trout, Salmo trutta. That little
bit of Latin confusion has bothered chef and fishers
forever. They don't look the same, except when they're
parr-sized (less than 6-inches long) and live in the
same stream. Body shape is definitely that of a trout.
Both fish have parr marks (vertical broad stripes of
gray or blue/gray) and spots on their sides. Small brown
trout have halos around some of their spots and more
than two spots on their gill covers. "Parr-sized"
Atlantic salmon have only two spots on their gill
covers, and a considerably more forked tail than their
brown trout cousins in the same pool.
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