Highland Park Shrimp

With there being little or no rain in recent months the rivers have been very low and the prospects of catching salmon have been poor. As a result I've had no fishing trips of note in the past few weeks so I thought I would do something a bit different than normal. I am a very keen fly tier and I almost enjoy tying flies as much as I do fishing so this is a Blog post about a cracking salmon fly which was created by my good friend, Bill Cook.

A batch of the original Highland Park Shrimps tied by Bill Cook.

Born on the banks of the Don, the name Highland Park Shrimp came about primarily due it's colours as Bill took the inspiration for it's tying from the popular single malt whisky which bears the same name. It's amazing what can inspire new creations and with the fly having great success in the last few seasons I bet Bill was glad he was enjoying a wee dram or two whilst at the vice that evening!

Bill first tied the fly in May 2011 but due to the lack of water that summer it wasn't until July 22nd that the fly finally got off the mark. It was well worth the wait though as Bill manged to catch a fine brace of salmon from the Park beat of the River Dee. The Highland Park Shrimp was to go from strength to strength from there on in as it became Bill's "go to" fly whenever the water had a wee peaty stain to it. I should add that it works well in all conditions but it really does excel when a spate is running off. It has caught fish on numerous river such as the Dee, Don, Spey, South Esk, North Esk and the Stinchar to name but a few. I'm sure if the fly was more well known then it would be much more successful further afield too.

Bill has caught many fish with his fly since 2011 and it's best catch to date came on the 28th August last season when it accounted for 5 fish landed and 1 lost from the South Esk. That's a good day's fishing in anyone's book but made even better catching the fish on a fly you've created yourself. Bill informs me there is a copper bodied version of his fly which is as equally deadly. It certainly must be good to be on par with the original! Bill, like myself, just ties flies for his own boxes and occasionally for friends so unfortunately his pattern is not available to buy. I have included this Step By Step guide below which will allow any tiers who fancy giving it a swim the chance to follow the instructions and tie a few for their own boxes. The fly in the step by step is one I have tied myself so I hope it does Bill's original fly justice.

The Original as tied by Bill Cook

Thread :- Black

Tag :- Fine Oval Gold Tinsel.

Body Rear Half :- Flat Gold Tinsel ribbed with Oval Gold.

Centre Hackle :- Hot Orange Cock.

Centre Wing :- Mixed Orange & Yellow Bucktail and a couple of strands of Yellow Crystal Hair (Tied Flamethrower Style on top)

Body Front Half :- Black Floss ribbed with Oval Silver Tinsel.

Front Wing :- G.P. Tippet tied in flat on top (Strip away the outside fibres till you get the length you want)

Front Hackle :- Black Cock

Head :- Black

Materials required to tie a Highland Park Shrimp. *Jungle cock only used in copper bodied version*

Tie in the oval gold tinsel and form a tag.

Tie in the flat gold tinsel to about half way along the shank of the hook to form the body.

Tie in the rib over the top of the flat gold tinsel.

Tie in a hot orange cock hackle at the end of the gold body. Roughly half way along the shank of the hook.

Mix a small amount of orange and yellow bucktail and tie in over the top of the orange cock hackle Flamethrower style. Add in the 2 strands of yellow Krystal Flash on top.

Form a second body with black floss and tie in the silver rib over the top using oval silver tinsel.

Tie in the GP tippet. I tied it in to about the length of the hook.

Tie in the large black cock hackle. I used 3 turns here to reduce bulk.

Form a neat head and apply 2-3 coats of clear varnish to finish of the fly.

The Copper Version.

The only difference here is the use of red thread. The rear half of the body is copper tinsel, again ribbed with oval gold and a couple of J.C. nails are tied in before adding the black hackle at the front.

I varnish the head with clear varnish as it gives the red thread a nice colour.

A pair of copper Highland Park Shrimps.

Park - River Dee

I had my annual August day on the Park beat of the River Dee on Saturday. Catches for the week had been the best of the entire season so I couldn't wait to get there but, my high water jinx struck again and I brought a spate with me for my day! When I arrived at the beat at 8.20am the gauge read 42" and there was a good bit of colour in the water too which hampered things a little.

Due to the high water, our best chance of a fish would be in the top half of the beat so I tackled up with my Scott Mackenzie intermediate shooting head and a 5.6ips tip. My fly choice was a 3/4" Silver Ally Shrimp. I was to fish the Castleton pool which fishes well in high water. Keith Cromar, the head ghillie suggested starting at the neck of the pool as there is a slower run tucked in off the bend. I fished on down the pool without an offer but went back up to give it another go as there were a few fish starting to show in the pool. Keith arrived just as I was going in at the neck of the pool for my second run through. I made short cast and as it was coming round onto the dangle I had an offer from a fish which came to nothing. I immediately re-cast and as my fly swung round to the same place as before, it was taken again and the fish made no mistake this time. I lifted into, what felt a decent enough fish but almost a quick as it was on, it was off again! I fished on down the pool and had another offer just opposite the Park South hut it didn't hook up. I headed off for lunch after that and planned my tactics for the afternoon.

As the water was dropping, I changed my line to a Scott Mackenzie Float/Intermediate shooting head and a 10ft fast tip. I also changed fly to a Black/Chartreuse Sunray Shadow. Keith gave us the choice on where to fish so I headed off downstream to try the Jetties and Bakebare. I didn't see or touch anything in these pools so made my way upstream to the hut taking in the tail of the Durris Stream on my way back. I was standing speaking with fellow rod, Bill at the Celler Pool when he spotted a fish head and tail opposite where we were standing. He urged me to go and give it a go so I made my way 10 yards or so above where it showed and cast out my Sunray. I had only made a few slow draws of my line when BANG...... a lively fish of around 7/8lbs hammered my fly! I lifted into the fish and watched as it splashed about on the surface before finally managing to unhook itself. I have no idea how it came off as the way it slammed into the fly you'd have thought it would have been well hooked. It wasn't to be and it was another fish lost. After that, I decided to give the Kirks a run through but apart from seeing a fish at the tail of Lower Kirks, I saw nothing else or encountered anything. I finished up my day around 7pm after a fruitless run through the Celler again. The water had dropped back to just over 34" through out the day but there was still a bit of colour to it. Still, at least it was good to finally see the Dee with a bit of water in it again!

Here are a few pictures from my day.

Castleton Pool with 42" on the gauge.

Paul Pritchard launches a good line out from the South bank.

The Park fishing hut.

Looking downstream from the bank of Jetties.

Bakebare. Cracking pool but nothing doing in here for me.

Fishing down the tail of the Durris Stream.

The Celler Pool where I lost my second fish of the day around 4.30pm.

Looking upstream from the Long Pool.

Lower Kirks. A great pool and one I always enjoy fishing.

P.S If anyone fishing the Dee comes across a Floating AFS shooting head with some Varivas running line and a sink tip attached please contact me via twitter @DeeDonSalmon or leave a comment on this page and I will pass the info onto the person who lost it. Thanks