It's quite normal, not much you can do about it. You'll catch parr almost the same size as the fly.

 

I really don't mind hitting brownies. Especially in coloured water. If the brown trout can see the fly, the salmon will too.

The old hands round here used to say too that to never change a fly that the brown trout are hitting. The salmon will take it too.

One of my favourite Irish shrimp flies regularly took sea trout during the day. As well as brown trout. It took salmon too, and quite a few of them at that, so maybe there's something in the old hands thinking.

 

If a brownie hits the fly that tells me conditions are good for salmonids 😊

 

Even in Alaska FP, my trout fishing picks up once the salmon arrive.

 

Nothing tempts the bigger brownies in the late season than a salmom fly for some reason.

 

Where I fish - late May and June - smolt time. Some of the bigger trout start to go for a bigger fly or tube.
Early in the season too, when they’re hungry.
Otherwise they ignore salmon flies.

 

Where I fish - late May and June - smolt time. Some of the bigger trout start to go for a bigger fly or tube.
Early in the season too, when they’re hungry.
Otherwise they ignore salmon flies.

Couldn’t agree more, they are opportunistic, if your a trout around 3lbs and up you will go for the smolts. If your a wild trout on a chalk stream the only time will see the 1lb + trout will be when the mayfly are about Unless your very lucky, occasionally you will see big trout about on the Tweed in beging of May after the big olives about the size of mayflies. On the Spey in spring they can have a great hatch of olives , so it’s always worth taking a trout fly rod. Ive seen trout fishermen catch salmon on purpose using trout wet flys in the summer on the Tweed.

 

Salmonoids cone of vision is the same, they see the world through an inverted cone so you can be sure if one species is attacking you fly as it briefly crosses that cone then your fly will work for all. As they all have very little time to make up their mind whether to attack even less so in broken water.

Large trout will prefer a large meal when they can and some of the largest trout I've caught in rivers have been by accident on sunray shadow type flies which represent a small fish or eel very well.

 

Salmonoids cone of vision is the same, they see the world through and inverted cone so you can be sure if one species is attacking you fly as it briefly crosses that cone then your fly will work for all. As they all have very little time to make up their mind in whether to attack even less so in broken water.

Large trout will prefer a large meal when they can and some of the largest trout I've caught in rivers have been by accident on sunray shadow type flies which represent a small fish or eel very well.

One of the issues i have with fishing the sunray at times is that the brownies wont leave it alone for long enough so the salmon get a look at it. Casting square, it gets nailed at the far bank by greedy brownies that almost always miss the hook.

 

Thanks for the replies!

So it's safe to assume that it's a mildly positive sign? Obviously, seeing and catching a Salmon is much more positive sign!!

I definitely didn't mind catching trout, it did feel confidence boosting that I was banking fish, and especially if there's an accidental 20 inch plus brownie that fancies a crack at my fly.

Also, from where I live, my local rivers don't contain any salmon (not strictly true but we are talking needles in Haystacks) so knowing I can take the double hand rods for a bit of practice and get a judge on my results with the brownies is going to help me.

 

On the Spey I would often hit brownies - sometimes several one after another. Have had quite few over 4-5 lb and one that broke 10. The Ghillie would always say "clock-em" as he liked them and some old pensioners we knew loved them too.

 

Wow. Some fish! Probably not a bad fight on salmon gear either?

Ive had them to about 3 on the switch rod but it's too much rod for them really.

 

Just one thing Flypunk, when you do pick up the Salmon rod with serious intent, don't be swayed by Trout just to get a pull or feel a fish on the rod. Keep your focus and fish 100% for the Salmon. If a. trout comes along, then so be it, that's the way of things. But doing it the other way round won't do much for your Salmon catches.
All sorts can crop up to the Salmon flee, depending on the rivers you fish, but keep your head and stick to the task at hand and ever onward in the search for Salmon.
Pedro.

 

I lost a salmon last season due to a wee brownie hitting the dropper during the fight. Wee thing was dangling mid air off the dropper while I played the salmon. And you know how wee browns will rattle away while they are out of the water. Needless to say, the salmon got off and the brown was landed

 

Had one brownie - around 3-4lb, and as I removed the hook, it decided to empty its stomach including a still wriggling salmon parr! As salmon was catch and release - I did as instructed and the Ghillie included it in the catch records at around 2 ounces.

 

I’ve had sea trout in the estuary do that with live sand eels

 

I think I needed to hear that to be honest. That makes complete sense and they aren't the same fish. I'd end up fishing tiny flies and light gear on the SH rods instead!

I was mainly looking for confirmation that it wasn't a negative sign. With it being my first session it felt to me as if I was just skimming over there heads? Felt like I should have been dredging the bottom- but after all I've read recently I'm thinking it was actually the opposite.

 

big flies, big trout

 

Some of us can’t afford to be picky. I only ever caught brownies when trying to catch salmon.

 

Yesterday on a lower Spey beat the salmon were not playing ball, but the amount of some cracking big rising was great to see. However not one took a fancy to various flies I changed. Guess they were preoccupied with the surface naturals

 

All the really big wild brownies ive had have been on salmon flies. Think 2lbs about the best ive had on propper trout gear on the river.

 

Last week i had a Brownie of 2lb and a large Grayling on a size 10 Cascade. Target them with a 10ft #4 weight with a nymph on an nothing.

 

Had this one on a Calvin shrimp in February

 

Where I fish, late May and June are prime times for catching trout on bigger flies or tubes – the smolt migration seems to trigger that. Even early in the season, when the fish are hungrier, they'll go for those bigger patterns. Rest of the time, they tend to ignore salmon flies altogether.