flies

[baitfisher83]

For those of you who dont think i'd ever use a fly, these are what i'm gonna chase pike with this weekend, i dont have a flyrod but the walleye nail them even below a float......the bright green wooly bugger is what i lost a pike on last night.....
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i145/darksilver1983/GEDC0189.jpg

[ACM]

Flies are the absolute best way to catch Northerns!!!
Remember to use a steel wire leader or you will lose a lot of flies and line and pike of course. use a number 9 flyrod and it will be great!

[baitfisher83]

as i said, i dont have a flyrod, but how would you go about the leader thing????does the fly go on the end of the leader or is there supposed to be more line attached between the leader and fly?

[floppychicken]

...best to use a pike tippet or plastic coated leader wire. If you pick up a roll of plastic coated leader wire, then you can make all the 'tippets' or Leaders you want.
I also like to use the plastic coated leader wire for 4' lengths when bottom bouncing... I find that they stay straighter and don't get as tangled.

If you don't have that, just use a good strong (but thin...) leader in the 8" to 12" range. That should be plenty...

Don't be afraid to use MONSTER flies either (similar to that red and yellow one you have there...) ! I've seen people fishing for PIKE using 7" and longer fly's with Split-Shots ! :lol:

Cheers,

/FC....

[Jason Balesdent]

To answer your question, you attach the fly to the wire leader. Its there to protect your line from sharp teeth, rocks, etc.

[Beazer]

Also make sure your leader strength is at least twice as strong as your line. Presuming your using mono. Braided works best though. I like PowerPro in Moss green alot. Caught some heavy snakes on 10lb.

[CatchandRelease]

When im fly fishing for pike all i will use as a tippet/leader is 15-20lb power pro. There are wire leaders or fluorcarbon leaders you can buy that arent meant to be used with flies and fly fishing, but as you stated you arent fly fishing to just a normal wire leader should work just fine.

Don't be afraid to use MONSTER flies either (similar to that red and yellow one you have there...) ! I've seen people fishing for PIKE using 7" and longer fly's with Split-Shots !


Well of course they would. They are goin after the big girls. Pike PREFER (not always)to eat things that are at least 1/3 their body size so think a 30" pike is gunna take a 10" fly. As i said thats not always the case i have caught pike on a nymph no bigger then 1/4" while trying for whities. But when i comes to pike, bigger the better.

[baitfisher83]

yeah the guy at the wholesale sports fly shop told me to get that big streamer, but that pike i lost on wednesday was a pretty good size too, most of the flier i bought are eithe size 4 or 6...so hopefully i'll get a big one this weekend...cant wait to try that red and yellow one though.....and i think i have 10 or 12 lb steel leaders...

[CatchandRelease]

#4 hook still probably isnt big enough if your goin after the bigguns. I use #2 hooks for trout let alone pike. Next time you go shopping find the biggest, ugliest fly you can and it will prolly work, pike arent the smartest of the fish out there since they are alot more of a predatory fish, therefore they are a more aggressive fish which means they are willing to hit bigger uglier things, and pike are more known to hit on just aggression as opposed to the need to eat. I find the best pike flies are the big, un-natural colored flies.

Now all that i have said is to target the big girls which means you may catch less fish, if you are out to catch many fish stick with smaller streamers and you will have alot more hookups.

Good Luck
C&R

[Kingfisher]

Try fishing with clouser minnows. They are weighted with a bar bell head then usually the body is either polar bear or buck tail. Either one works well. The bar bell heads help with getting them down in the zone. I'd also put a couple of split shot about 24" up from the clouser as well. That will help with getting it down faster. Black and white ones have worked the best for me.

If you would like a couple of clousers then just send me a PM with your address and then next time when I'm tying flies then I'll tie you up a few clousers. I can't be sure when I'll be tying next, as I've been fishing lots lately. But I will get to them eventually.

If you are looking to start fly fishing then go with an inexpensive set up like a TFO, a Dragon Fly or an Amundson rod. All of these makes have entry level rods that are great for beginners.

As for a fly line most people start off with a dry line. But you can buy sinking tips to add to the dry line to help sink it down.

For pike I would say to stay with rods that are 6 to 8 weight rods. I've caught pike on 5wt rods but it's always a crap shoot depending on the size of fish you get. You can land a fish on any size of rod. But you really don't want to have to play the fish for 20 minutes just to land it.

As for leader. If you are going to fish at PCR then I would use heavy florocarbon. I tried the tieable wire leaders there and wasn't getting any walleye until we changed to 12lb florocarbon leaders. If you are just targeting pike in a lake like Clear Lake. Then by all means get the tieable wire leaders. You can buy them at Fishtales. They are about $14 for a 4 foot length of leader. So they are not cheap. But you can chop up into whatever lengths you like. So you can get 4 one foot leaders out of one package.

Have a great time. Let us know how you make out.

Rob

[Beazer]

As for leader. If you are going to fish at PCR then I would use heavy florocarbon. I tried the tieable wire leaders there and wasn't getting any walleye until we changed to 12lb florocarbon leaders. If you are just targeting pike in a lake like Clear Lake. Then by all means get the tieable wire leaders.

Rob

Extremely good point!

[jeprli]

You can also buy a roll of 25-30ft of thin solid wire leader, it costs maybe $3.
I've used it to catch pike at glenmore and CVR, works very well, it does kink after a fish or two(i'd suggest using a heavier gauge wire, like 50lb rating).
There is also hardmono leader, maxima 20-30lb is good for a pike or two before you have to retie.