Thunder and Lightning
Thunder and Lightning is one of the great Victorian Atlantic salmon flies, still widely fished on Scottish and Norwegian rivers over 160 years after its creation. The warm combination of deep orange hackle, gold rib, and blue throat works across a wide range of water conditions. It performs particularly well in higher, darker water when brighter patterns often outperform drab ones. A staple in any serious salmon box.
- Type
- wet fly (Atlantic Salmon)
- Hook sizes
- #4–10
- Target species
- salmon
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Best seasons
- spring, summer, fall
Materials
- hook: Salmon double or single #4–10
- thread: Black
- tag: Oval gold tinsel + orange silk floss
- tail: Golden pheasant crest
- body: Black floss
- ribbing: Oval gold tinsel
Tying steps
- Mount a salmon double or single hook; start black thread.
- Tie in an oval gold tinsel tag followed by a length of orange silk floss tag.
- Tie in a golden pheasant crest tail, curving upward.
- Wind black floss body from bend to the 2/3 mark; tie in oval gold tinsel and palmer deep orange cock hackle.
- Counter-wrap gold tinsel over the body in 5 spirals.
- Tie in blue Guinea fowl or blue jay as throat hackle.
- Tie in bronze mallard wing; build a black head and lacquer.
- Lacquer the thread head with two coats; inspect the jungle cock cheeks are level.