The pull of a salmon: part two
Marina Dombaj (née Gibson) sets the foundations of Spey casting and explains how to catch, play, land and release salmon in the last of her two-part series
I HOPE you enjoyed part one of my series on starting salmon fishing, where we covered everything from tackle selection to the basics of Spey casting. If you missed it, click here to catch up. In part two, we will focus on casting in more detail, as well as additional advice on how then to fish the fly. While mainly aimed at beginners, this could also be helpful for anyone whose casting has hit a wall or someone who fancies picking up a tip or two.
Change-of-direction casts
The casts listed below are all known as change-of-direction casts. Rather than firing your line straight back out in front of you, as you would with a roll or switch cast, they allow you to deliver your fly from when it has swung downstream below you, to your chosen target across the river. These are the casts that most casting instructors will teach you when you have a lesson. Having tuition irons out any faults in your casting and, from a beginner’s point of view, stops faults from becoming a habit. I recommend having a few hours with a casting instructor on a regular basis, both when learning and throughout your fishing career. Ultimately, you will catch more salmon as a result.
A quick reminder before we get into it: practice casting off both shoulders, and swap hands so you're comfortable with either your left or right hand on top. By doing so, you will be able to select the correct cast for the situation you’re faced with without feeling uncomfortable or worried that the fly will hit you, whatever the wind direction.
A well-placed anchor is essential to all change-of-direction Spey casts. Here, its placement and the tension in the D-loop will ping the fly across the river effortlessly.
TED LOGARDT
Imagine you have short T-Rex arms at the stop on your delivery
Double Spey (downstream-wind cast)
A sustained-anchor cast is where the line stays in contact with the water before the sweep into the D-loop. The Double Spey is a classic example and is well suited to heavier setups like Skagit lines. It is a reliable choice in downstream winds. It is also a good cast for beginners, as timing is less critical. It can be learned in four steps:
1. Start with the rod tip facing downstream, close to the water’s surface, then lift up. It can help to imagine going up a tree trunk. Most Spey casts begin this way.
2. Move your rod tip upstream in an arc, laying your line on the water. When teaching, we say to go “over the rainbow and down to the pot of gold.”
3. Moving back in the other direction (downstream), peel the line from the water in one continuous diagonal lift to the opposite shoulder. Imagine you’re walking up a spiral staircase and don’t want to miss a step.
4. When your D-loop has fully formed (the bigger the D-loop, the more power in the cast), accelerate forward to a crisp stop. Remember: “Stop high and watch it fly” — think of stopping at the tops of the trees. Let the line straighten in front of you, then follow the rod tip back down to the water into fishing position.
Be careful not to stop too low on the forward stroke, as this opens the forward loop. Imagine you have short T-Rex arms at the stop on your delivery.
How to do a Double Spey cast
Single Spey (upstream-wind cast)
This cast allows you to present your fly safely in an upstream wind, though it’s slightly more technical and can take a bit of time to get the hang of. It’s a touch-and-go cast, making it quick and clean with minimal disturbance; ideal for low water conditions. It’s one of the most useful casts because of how efficient it is. If you’re struggling, try starting with a switch cast downstream, then gradually introduce a change of direction, working the angle a little further upstream with each cast.
How to do a Single Spey cast
Snap cast (upstream-wind cast)
If you’re struggling with the anchor placement on the Single Spey, it’s worth learning the snap cast as an alternative for upstream-wind situations. It’s a “sustained anchor” cast, so it works well with heavier setups like Skagit lines and T-tips. Personally, I’m not a huge fan — it can be quite splashy and noisy, which doesn’t suit low-water conditions or smaller rivers. But it’s useful on bigger and faster rivers.
Snake Roll (downstream-wind cast)
A dynamic touch-and-go cast that helps reposition the line to your target without any splashes as it moves in one continuous motion from lift off to your D-stop at the top. It’s another downstream-wind cast and looks impressive once mastered! It’s my favourite cast of them all.
How to do a Snake Roll Spey cast
As the fly comes round and sits on the dangle, that’s a good time to add a bit of movement, just to bring it to life
Working the fly
There are a few ways to retrieve a fly, and the one you select depends on the flow of the river. In faster water, you often don’t need to do much at all; the current will move the fly for you and letting it swing naturally can be enough. As the fly comes round and sits on the dangle, that’s a good time to add a bit of movement, just to bring it to life. In steadier water, a more active approach can help. A figure-of-eight, roly poly, sawing, ticking, or steady retrieve can all work. When fishing something like a Sunray Shadow, a longer, slower strip (without a pause), or roly poly tends to suit it best.
Shooting line is far easier, and you’ll achieve greater distance if you manage your running line like this angler who has gathered the coils in his bottom hand, keeping them off the water.
TED LOGARDT
If you want to catch more salmon, you need to think like one: where will they be lying?
Shooting line
As your casting confidence grows, you’ll naturally begin shooting more line to achieve greater distance. You can manage the line by holding it in your fingers as you shoot, or by running it under the reel. Both methods work well depending on your preference. I tend to run the line under the reel as I feel it stops the line slipping before you shoot it. Another useful technique is creating loops in your fingers to reduce the amount of shooting line, and therefore drag, on the water; this is especially effective when using a mono shooting line. After the forward stop, you then drop the loops by opening your fingers, and you should have created a seamless loop to your target. It may sound a bit tricky at first, but with a little practice it quickly becomes second nature.
Mending
Rivers are complicated. Every pool is different: there are fast and slow currents, deeper spots where fish can rest, shallow runs, seams and boulders that break the flow. That’s what makes river fishing interesting. If you want to catch more salmon, you need to think like one: where will they be lying? What features would they want to stay around? Does your fly need to swing slower past certain features? Or perhaps faster?
In simple terms, an upstream mend slows your fly down, and a downstream mend speeds it up. Lifting your rod keeps more running line off the water, which helps stop the fly from moving too quickly. You can combine mending and lifting to hold the fly in a good spot for longer, such as near a boulder or a likely lie. You can also add movement straight away. For example, after the cast lands, pull your rod tip towards your bank so the fly starts moving immediately. A ghillie showed me that on the River Tay, and it produced a fish that same afternoon.
When starting salmon fishing, keep things simple. Try and cast across the stream at an angle of roughly 45-degrees and you’ll fish the fly effectively.
Covering the water
Fish methodically. As a general rule, aim around 45 degrees downstream. In slower pools, you can cast a little squarer across; in faster water, cast slightly further downstream so the fly doesn’t swing too quickly. Keep moving, as covering plenty of water is key to finding a taking fish. A good rhythm is one cast, two steps, then repeat. I personally like to cast and do a fast retrieve, then make another cast and do a slower retrieve. I then move down two steps and repeat.
Adjusting depth and speed
A good rule of thumb is to fish deeper and slower in cold water, with heavier lines, tips and bigger flies. In warm water, fish higher and faster, with lighter tips, longer lines and smaller flies.
Watch the river. A fish showing, a change in light or a rise in water level can all influence behaviour. Good river craft often matters more than the fly you choose.
Knots
When it comes to knots, you need just two to get you on the water without requiring anyone’s help:
The half-blood (also known as the clinch knot) is a straightforward hook knot — you can add a tuck too for extra security (also known as the improved half-blood knot or improved clinch knot).
The perfection loop is used to create a loop at the end of your leader, so you can loop-to-loop it onto your fly line. Then use the half-blood knot to tie the fly onto the end of your tippet.
Learn these and voilà, you're off! There are plenty of other knots out there and you will learn more as you go — there’s no need to master them all at once. If you’re a visual learner (most of us are with knots), there are many great videos on YouTube showing exactly how to tie them. It’s a good idea to practice at home with an old bit of line before trying it in the river with cold fingers.
Tying a half-blood or clinch knot
1. Pass the working end through the hook eye
2. Wrap the end 5 times around the main line
3. Then pass the end through the first loop
4. Wet the knot, then slowly pull the end and the main line to tighten
5. Once tight, cut off excess tag
6. The knot is now complete
Tying a perfection loop
1. Make a loop with the tag end
2. Loop once more and bring the tag end to the middle of the 2 loops
3. Pass the 2nd loop through the first loop
4. Hold and pull in both directions to tighten
5. Cut off excess tag end
A small fly with a good hook hold, not in the maxillary, but the lower jaw.
Hooking the king of the river
If you are swinging a fly for salmon, don’t strike. I was taught that, when you feel the take, say to yourself, “God save the Queen”. Now that should be “God save the King”. The theory in doing so is that uttering those words gives a salmon time to take the fly and turn back to where it came from to take the fly, which should normally set the hook in the corner of the mouth (the maxilla, also known as “the scissors”). Then lift and enjoy the ride.
Landing your prized catch
Before you start fishing, take a moment to note safe places to land a fish. If someone is with you, make sure they get downstream of you, so you are not fighting the current by bringing the fish upstream. Let them know when you feel the fish is ready. If they are not experienced with netting fish, tell them to net it head-first — not tail-first, as trying to do the latter allows the fish to easily shoot forwards and escape the net.
Even big fish like this should be treated with kid gloves. Keep them in the water and wait for them to kick aggressively before letting them go.
Fish welfare first
Once hooked, bring the fish to the net as quickly as possible; this reduces stress and exhaustion and gives it the best chance of a quick recovery. Keep the fish in the water at all times rather than beaching or dragging it up the bank. More time spent out of the water means more time to recover. Truly, if you handle fish appropriately, they should go back straight away without any assistance. Handling should therefore be kept to a minimum: wet your hands first and do not squeeze the fish.
Use pliers to remove hooks. If a hook is too deep to remove, or if removing it would damage the gill area, simply cut the line as close to the hook as possible and let the fish go.
Before release, support the fish in the water facing upstream (into the flow) and wait until it has recovered enough to kick positively away from you. I always share the steelhead-fisher’s approach with my students, which is to always keep at least one part of the fish in the water. Ideally, that should be the gill area, which ensures the fish can breathe. Additionally, by keeping it in the water, it’s not going to be dropped on anything hard and there won’t be any unnecessary pressure on its organs.
It’s easy to give up, especially when the weather makes it uncomfortable — but remember, your next cast could be the one!
Stick with it
Blank days are part of salmon fishing. Once you get into the rhythm of Spey casting, it becomes such a satisfying action itself that it hardly matters if you don’t catch every time. Catching an Atlantic salmon is one of angling’s most prized achievements. When it finally comes together — a clean cast, a swing and the pull of a fish — there’s nothing quite like it. It all starts with one salmon, then two, then three. Before long, you find yourself chasing springers at the start of the season, searching for those fresh, silver fish. Landing one of the first and brightest salmon of the year is among the most exciting moments in fishing, and for many, it simply doesn’t get any better.
If you’re starting out, focus on the basics: learn a few casts, understand salmon behaviour and persevere. The rest comes with time on the river.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marina Dombaj
Marina Dombaj is a certified FFI casting instructor, guide, author and passionate conservationist. She runs The Northern Fishing School at the Swinton Estate in Yorkshire, which now teaches fishing to over 400 people each year. An ambassador for Loop Tackle, Marina uses social media to promote fly-fishing in a positive and engaging way. In 2024, her book Cast, Catch, Release was published.
