Salt - Ahrex Hooks

Scotlands Brackish Water

Hi everyone,

I was kindly asked by Mo & Søren at Ahrex HQ if I would like to do a blog on how I fish for sea trout here in Scotland’s saltwater. The answer was simple yes. The team at Ahrex are out of this world and have looked after me so much since I became part of their overseas Pro Team, so it was a no brainer for me!

My name is Billy Scott, I fell in love with these fish many years ago when I caught my first sea trout as a wee boy. I never thought way back then that it would take me on this journey today. I’ve fished many places in Scotland for over 35 years in the saltwater and have had an absolute amazing time, even the ones I’ve hooked and lost, I remember as if it was yesterday.

Boston Harbor striper on the fly

Fishing for stripers is incredibly popular in the US and we were lucky enough to meet one of the many skilled fishermen who enjoy this species. During the International Fly Tying Symposium in November, we met the talented guide and striper-fisher Joe Cordeiro, whom we persuaded to write a little about his fishing for what can be called the USA’s national fish – the striped bass og just stripers.

Keep an eye?

*Ultimate Candy Mackerel by Giovanni de Pace*.

I was invited to tie flies at the annual Black Friday event at Nordic Anglers’ show room last Friday. When I tie flies at events like these, I always focus on tying patterns that don’t take too long. Maybe with a focus on something relevant for the season and if I can fill a vacant space in my own box, even better. I tied a simple sand eel imitation (well, many), gave some away, talked hooks with some of the customers and even took home a few flies.

Rounding off

… the Swedish sea trout season. Unlike in Denmark, where fishing for sea trout along the coastlines is open all year, Sweden has a season opening January 1st and closing September 15th, of course to protect the trout migrating to the rivers to spawn. We received a little report from Mr. Trout, Peter Alexandersson, who’s had a good season. Here are his words on the 2022-season and a series of pictures.

A talk with Bob Clouser

*The Clouser Minnow – tied by Bob Clouser*

As many of you will have noticed, we launched a new hook in the middle of March, the SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature. An excellent all round hook for saltwater flies, but designed around the specific wishes for the perfect Clouser Minnow-hook that Bob himself had. It was a great honour and pleasure for us to work directly with The Man himself and an even greater pleasure that Bob and his spouse, Jackie, were very, very pleased with the result.

Down – and up!

Sometimes everything is turned upside down – and it seems to be a tendency that is also permeating this blog lately. In March we introduced the SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature hook, and while it, in every way, is a “normal” hook, the fly it was designed around is an upside-down-fly. I’ve touched on the subjects “up-side-down” and “weedless” before, and here we go again.

Introducing…

The Salt SA 210 Bob Clouser Signature hook. We are quite excited to present the newest hook in the Salt Series. It’s been developed in collaboration with the legendary Bob Clouser himself and is specified to his specifications and proportions – just as he wants a Clouser hook to be.

Game Changers

Game Changers are a relatively new style of flies, tied on a number of shorter or longer shanks, connected together with small eyes. The shanks themselves come from just a centimetre in length and upwards. Linked together like a chain, the style and technique is excellent for tying big flies, long flies and even smaller flies with plenty of built in mobility.

Chillimps

There are flies that are invariably associated with specific waters or places. Often, of course, those for which a specific fly might have been created. A clear example of this is a fly called Chillimps. A simple, orange palmer hackled wet fly for salmon.

Fall sea trout

‘I have always enjoyed the fall season on the coast. I particularly like the fall season, because the fish are always in good condition after feasting their way through spring and summer.’

Andreas Larsson has written this week’s blog for us – a few tips for fall fishing along the coast and a beautiful zonker fly for the season.