In advance of his appearance at this weekends CLA Game Fair, we are pleased to have Topher Browne as our guest on the Fly Forums today and who will be pleased to answer your questions on either his new book - Atlantic Salmon Magic or anything related to Salmon fishing or Spey casting.

Please post your questions in the thread below.

I gather the book claims to tell us "what the salmon sees?"

Surely this is misleading, as no human will ever know what the salmon sees?

Hello GuyFromLaw,

You make an excellent point: Salmon are unresponsive in interviews.

I approach the subject from a scientific perspective. The parameters of the salmon's cone of vision are well understood. Thomas Weiergang, the illustrator of the book, has two superb illustrations in Atlantic Salmon Magic, providing a detailed view of this cone of vision as well as the blind areas of the fish.

We also know that salmon have monocular vision (humans have binocular vision) with some overlap: each eye moves independently from the other.

Like humans, salmon also have rods and cones in their eyes, indicating particular sensitivities to the visible light spectrum. It is highly likely, based upon research conducted on salmonids and eels, that the sensitivities of these rods and cones undergo changes during the length of a salmon's adult residence in freshwater. Research indicates a particular sensitivity to blue and green light waves upon leaving salt water and a sensitivity to red and orange light waves during prolonged freshwater residency.

Could this transformation explain the success of blue/green flies for fresh-run June salmon on the Gaspesie of Quebec or the Gaula and the seeming preference of back-end salmon for red/orange flies such as an Ally's Shrimp, the Park Shrimp or the Pot-Bellied Pig?

Here we must speculate, which I prefer to do in the pub at the end of a long day on the river! Our scientific knowledge of rods and cones, etc., should lead that discussion in an interesting direction....

Best regards,

Topher Browne

Thanks for your reply Topher.

I appreciate your views, the subject is always of interest to salmon anglers trying to understand that extra bit about our quarry.

I agree that leaps in scientific research have finally proven how fishes eyes work, but I often wonder if it really tells us anything that we didn't already discover by default?

Does your book cover fishing on dirty spate streams here in the UK? Do you believe that salmon will take the same generic patterns wherever you fish? Or do you believe that there are local variations to fly patterns that out perform others due to the nature of each individual river, and the general colour of the water?

I certainly find smaller, sombre flies produce results (for me) when big gaudy flies have failed all others, when fishing for sullen resident fish in low water, and vice versa for fresh fish.

I can recall two occasions, one fishing the Nith a day too late for the water, and having pranged a fish early in the morning, and everyone heading for an early lunch on a blistering hot morning, I changed over to two salar size 15's, stoats tail and silver stoats. Everyone had flogged the pool where we knew the fish I had pranged was lying, and normally I wouldn't have bothered trying it again, in such conditions, but I did, and the 6lb fish took on the first cast.

The second occasion I recall was fishing the Clyde early one morning on the back of a small freshet, and on arriving at my favourite pool I spotted a very clean fish leaping around the stream, mid pool. I was tackled up with light gear and very small dark flies and I covered that fish at least a dozen times with no response. I replaced my point fly with a larger, size 9 orange flamethrower, and a sea liced (unusual so far up on my pool) grilse was in the net after the first cast.

Another talking point: That Clyde fish had negotiated a very tricky to find salmon ladder in low-ish water, and had battered on hard upstream, obviously within a few hours, still dripping with lice, but a third of it's peduncle area was missing from a seal bite. Do you believe that injured fish run harder, and take more readily?

Thanks
John

Good Lord. Has he gone??? Are the salmon fishermen shy or are they all out fishing for salmon? Only two questions, both from John and only one answered.....
If you are a new member Topher, welcome; hope to "see" you again.

Aye .. others could at least have took the time.

Do all Salmon fishermen live a life of leisure?

I was looking forward to catching up with this as I had a quick look earlier today but thought I might drop in later when more time was on hand - the end of working day is about now for me.

Best of luck with your book Topher.

__________________

Help fund the WTT study of the Softmouth

Sorry I was out on the river, only 3 landed 12, 15 and a sealiced 7. Back out again in a few moments. All taken on an Oyster Catcher, they managed to see that with their monocular vision and their rods and cones. River still had some turbidity.

__________________
Malcolm
<')\\\\\<<
Quot homines tot sententiae

Yep, I just fished a very turbid Clyde this evening. One fish dropped at the bank to an angler spinning earlier in the day. Water levels should be much better for the fly in the morning. I'll be oot first thing.

LOL,
GFL asked a very good technical question, was answered in same tone, it is generally assumed salmon do see (or react too) red/orange spectrum in rivers late summer onwards, hence the success of red / orange flies but as too blue green in spring or entering river? no one knows. orange allys catches as well in spring as it does late on.
The other train of thought is the fly must have a simillar colour to the river bed!
Brown Turkey on Nith springs to mind, relating to GFL's post, Nith fish love a touch of yellow, viz a viz yellow tag on silver stoat, but brown turkey with yelllow tag has caught more fish on nith than anything else.
point is, we as anglers will never ever know what colour spectrum salmon see in.
We know they are monocular, we know the syle of their rods and cones(vision perception and depth)
but are they sufferers of cone dystrophy (colour spectrum blindness) as related to human vision.
we will never ever know. they see what they see.
they take what they take.
hence the love of their pursuit.
regards
bert