Go Chase The Pike With A Fly..

I moved slowly upstream peering intently into the gin clear water, the bright sunshine allowed me to see every pebble, stick and even the minnows in the bottom of the pool. No breeze ruffled the surface. A shoal of bait fish hung close to a weed bed. Nothing moved as I peered intently into the water. The combination of my long peaked cap, and polarised glasses helped me search deep into the flowing water.

I blinked, and then squinted. Did I see a pike? Yes, there it is, I spotted a fin movement, then a tail moved, enough for me to realise I was looking at a pike. The perfect predator. My eyes move slowly up the length of a fish, it must be thirty inches or more in length. My heart beat a little faster as my brain went into overdrive as I computed the angle of the cast, then distance to target. I launched some line, then realised I needed a bit more. I pulled a few more feet from the reel. All the time I was keeping my eyes on the fish. I was the hunter; the hunted is a fish that goes back a few million years. It probably weighs 14lbs It's there for catching, if I don't make a mistake.

The fish is moving slowly upstream, I have just one chance. I shot the line, the fly landed with a slight plop, hardly breaking the water surface. The fish moves its head slightly then slowly turns. This is the moment I have been waiting for all morning. I twitched the line imparting life into the fly - a fly that was created in Northern Canada. It's tied up on a 3/0 Partridge hook using Polar bear hair and a few strands of crystal flash. It's some six inches long and comes alive in the water when moved.

I made a six inch strip; the pike was off the starting block moving fast towards my fly, creating a bow wave. I gave another quick strip of some three inches. The big one couldn't resist it, there was a big swirl, a boil. Then the fly had disappeared as the fish turned for the deep water. The strip strike set the hook, his speed and momentum carried the fish skywards, head shaking, gills flared. For a second, perhaps two, I stand spellbound, watching this fighting fury crash back into the water. It's like an explosion as the water erupts, the ever increasing circles going across the river. After some minutes the fish is bought to hand. I bend down then take the barbless hook from the scissors of the pike's mouth then watch it swim off slowly. Below is what I made to catch the pike, go ahead and try it for yourself

If you were to take a look in the fly boxes of a few anglers who target the pike, you will discover hundreds of different fly patterns. Just as today's anglers fishing for rainbow trout, carry several boxes of fly patterns, but only use a dozen flies. It's the same with us anglers who target the pike. I have several boxes of flies for pike, but for most of my fishing I probably only use a dozen patterns - but with various colour combinations that dozen probably grows to a hundred or more. Most of my pike flies are tied up on Partridge CS43 2/0 to 4/0 or Cox and Rawle Uptide 1/0 TO 5/0 A few flies have been tied up on Ade Sweider designed hooks.

One of my most successful pike fly patterns is without doubt the Polar fly. It's tied as follows.

Tail-white Polar bear hair, not synthetic hair, and pearl crystal.

Body- pearl fritz or silver tinsel strip. The wings of white Polar bear hair, again not synthetic hair with pearl crystal hair.

Remarks- Two types of bodies should be tied up, as one will often work when the other doesn't. I don't know why this is so but that's the nature of the beast. This pattern is also excellent for many saltwater species including the bass

Other patterns are the Polar perch with a tail of Polar hair, a body of gold tinsel with 12lb mono rib. The wings are yellow buck with green buck over tying with black silk. You can add purple crystal hair strands to wing, create barring effect on wing with black permanent pen. A fly pattern I really like is the Red tailed rat. There are many occasions when pike ignore a submerged fly, but will savagely hit a surface fished one. The Red tailed rat is quite simple to tie, with a tail of red buck and red crystal hair. The body is black deer hair, wedge shaped, tying silk is black. At one time I had eyes fixed on these mouse and rat type patterns, but I now feel they are a waste of time and money. All the pike will see is an outline of the red tailed rat as it is worked across the surface. Takes are usually very savage.

The tail of this fly comprises two orange marabou left on the quill, with a body of orange marabou with some silver oval, tinsel rib or orange cock hackle, palmered down the body. Wings are four orange cock hackle. Purple crystal hair may be added to the tail and wing. This is a good pattern for coloured water.

Thread-white and chartreuse, Tail-white buck tail, shank length, inside white neck hackles (2 each side), extending one and a half times shank length, Body-silver tinsel with a collar of white buck tail, extending nearly to tip of tail. Topping-is chartreuse buck tail, as long as collar. Throat-several strands of red Krystal Flash. The head-is Chartreuse thread, lacquered. Eyes Applied with Faber-Crystall uni-point marker.

I also have two frog patterns which have proved excellent fish catchers. We all know how pike love weeds, my frog patterns can be fished in the thickest of weeds, without getting caught up. When fishing reed beds I have had pike come a foot out of the water to grab a frog pattern as I pulled the frog up the reed stems..

Rods Reels and Lines

The Tackle Shop stocks a great selection of Fly  Fishing combo's and rods. In your tackle shop you will find several brands of line which will be suitable for chucking big flies for pike. One line will not cover all aspects of pike fly fishing. To get the best out of the sport, you need at least three lines. Cortland lines are my first choice, the nine weight Ghost tip is probably my most used line. I can fish flies from the surface, down to four or five feet, depending on the speed of retrieve. This line comes with a fifteen foot clear tip, which is then built into a floating line, it will also lift cleanly off the water. Two other Cortland lines I use are both sinkers, a medium and fast sink. It's surprising how often you will use a fast sink line when fishing the big reservoirs and gravel pits. When fishing with a fast sink line I will often use a leader of three feet, perhaps eighteen inches.

To buy some of the products I have been talking about try The Tackle Shop or for Fly Fishing Books or DVD's go The Fishing Shop