Hi,
Skating flies on the west coast is about tension, anything will skate given enough tension. Some flies are better than others and require no tension to float but some do. Line tension is increased with a downstream belly so if your struggling to get it to skate that is something you can try.
We do some dead drift at the beginning of a swing for steelhead and it actually works well increasing the number of visits, casting at 90 across the stream, pick up the tension at 45 down and that is a common time for them to crush it, the very second that it begins to skate. It makes sense really, its a little like cat and mouse, cats don't chase till mouse runs away and same here, it triggers an aggressive reaction.
I agree that dry fly fishing for Atlantics is very much under utilized especially in Scotland, tradition does not change fast, they are still using long belly lines as the standard and quartering down. However they are starting to skate micro tubes more and more with great success.
Its all about being willing to sacrifice a day and learning and trying new things.
In Iceland where the rivers are gin clear a skated fly broadcasts the fly presence to the whole pool, if they are in the mood it will not be long until one is stirred into action.
Early fresh aggressive salmon/steelhead are the most likely to react in the way you want. Early fresh fish higher up stream are the most trouty in my experience and more willing to take from the surface, thats the case on the Bulkley at least. Lower in the Skeena they will still take from the surface but maybe because they are running hard they are more likely to go for a sub surface option.
Sam
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