Really enjoying working on salmon flies just now, although normal service will be resumed very shortly with the trout season almost upon us again.

Received a bottle of Singleton Spey Cascade recently and very nice it was too.  Hailing from Dufftown on Speyside this whisky couldn’t be more on the button as the epitome of a salmon anglers ‘dram’ apart from one thing, I couldn’t find a dressing for a Spey Cascade anywhere.

Thinking this didn’t seem right I set about creating something both in keeping with the favoured Spey salmon pattern colours as well as following the colours of the label and the final creation has come out as you see it below.

Yes essentially it’s simply another wee variation on the well established Cascade, and yes it looks like a lot of other flies out there, but to the best of my knowledge there aren’t any exactly the same dressing and I believe it’s the first to carry the name of Spey Cascade.  Apologies if not, even if it isn’t though I’ve certainly had fun creating this one as well as working my way through the bottle at the same time.

Once more I’ve included my favoured long style Artic Fox wing for mobility and the gold flash should work well in the whisky coloured waters of the mighty River Spey as well as beyond.

Tight Lines to all and as they say up here; Slàinte

Dressing:

Hook;

Thread; Red Uni 6/0 or 8/0 waxed thread

Butt; Medium holographic gold tinsel

Rib; Fine oval gold tinsel

Tail; Red under orange Artic Fox with three strands gold ‘Freckleflash’ over

Rear Body; Holographic gold tinsel

Front Body; Medium holographic red tinsel

Rib; Fine oval gold tinsel

Wing; Black Artic Fox with four strands of gold ‘Freckleflash’ over

Hackles; Red and orange saddle cock

Cheeks; Jungle Cock

Tying Sequence:

Step 1 Catch in thread and both the gold holographic l and fine oval gold tinsel butt & rib.

Step 2 Form butt with holographic tinsel then rib with oval tinsel.  Tie both off but do not cut as required for body process

Step 3 Catch in a small amount of red under orange Artic Fox to form tail.

Step 4 Tie in two or three strands of gold 'Freckleflash' tinsel to complete the tail.

Step 5 Form rear section of body with gold holographic tinsel before catching in red holographic tinsel for upper body.

Step 6 Form upper-body with red holographic tinsel before ribbing with oval gold in even open turns

Step 7 Tie in a medium amount of Artic Fox to form wing keeping the length slightly longer than tail to ensure plenty movement.

Step 8 Tie in four strands of gold 'Freckleflash' over Artic Fox wing for added attraction

Step 9 Prepare and tie in red and orange large cock saddle hackles

Step 10 Wind four turns of hackle and hold back before tying off.  Prepare and tie in Jungle Cock cheeks

Step 11 Apply x3 coats of clear varnish or x2 coats UV varnish to form deep glossy finish to head.