Our ESF contributor in Bulgaria, Stan Mankov, is back this month where he tells us about a lake he revists for pike.
I wrote about this lake in Issue 3. Almost one year has passed, a whole season, so here is the latest news from pike's paradise... but let`s start with a bit of a tale.
A Swedish guide told me once: ``you must be wrong I haven`t heard of any monster pike lake in Serbia, it must be somewhere else``. Well it is not, it is right there in Serbia in a region called Voivodina and its name is Joca Lake. The lake that keeps our hearts beating when the brown trout is out of season in our part of the world. It is situated next to one of the biggest natural reserves in Europe – Tzarska Bara and is open for the anglers only since 2009.
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Joca is true paradise for the pike fisherman. The good thing is they are trying to make it even better. Only electronic motors are allowed now and of course it is catch and release only, no bite only artificial lures and flies. It is not only a place to go fishing but is a paradise for any naturalist, birdwatcher or wildlife enthusiast.
This year me and my amigos decided to make a short movie for that lake which you can see here. It was a great adventure. We witnessed plenty of wind, cold, birds, wild bores swimming in the lake, friendly people and of course plenty of huge pike attacking our streamers. The average size of the fish caught was about five pounds but this year we had a couple of 20 pounders and a stunningly beautiful 25 pounder. We also had bitten fingers and a bit of blood to add some colour to our movie.
Here I`ll give a bunch of updated tips I consider a must when pike fishing on a fly. I might repeat myself but I add a couple of new cool ones. So:
- Please take this friendly advice and do not put your hands even close to a pike's mouth.
- Dress properly - waterproofs, wind stoppers, woolly hats, eyewear and everything you can think of that will keep you safe, dry and warm! And if you are taking your dog with you make sure there is a warm enough place for him in the boat.
- Use stiff rods 9ft, 8wt at least. Of course you can catch a pike with a 6wt but you don`t want to tire the fish to death. Fight them hard and quick. Don`t take too many photos, release the fish with care like it is a trout. All fish deserve respect, no matter how scary and toothy they look.
- Use long trace at least 50cm as there are huge mouths out there. I do not recommend fluorocarbon although some people do. I`ve tried it, caught two pike on it and it broke in my hand when I was unhooking the second fish. I guess no one wants to lose his pike of a life time because of fluorocarbon.
- Don’t rush in taking your fly out of the water when it comes close to the boat. Instead of taking it out, twitch it with the rod and move it slowly around the boat. The fish might have followed your streamer all of the time and this last twitch could often be the moment when it will take the fly. You will be amazed how many more fish you will start catching by doing this. It is just like the hang in trout fishing from a boat.
- Cast as far as you can. By doing this you will present your fly properly every time. I think it is better to make a good presentation on 15 meters then a bad one on 20. Try to make more open loops. For more tips about casting big flies please have a look here.
- Tie your flies with a loop guard – single or double. It helps a lot and all the rumours that you won`t hook the fish are not true. You will save many flies and will be able to fish in a place where it looks impossible and where the big fish usually stay. Make your loop guard from fluorocarbon, because monofilament is too easy to be destroyed from the pike`s teeth.
- Be quiet as much as possible.
- Use finger protectors. If you make 200 casts a day and each cast is 16 m then about 3 km of line goes tough your fingers. That might start to hurt at some point.
- And finally if you are with your dog in the boat. Tie him on a lead as he might decide to swim to the nearest island which you don`t want to go on, especially if you forgotten your waders.
I really hope you`ll enjoy our amateur movie. Pike season is at its best before it closes now, but the trout are rising on dries and it is quite a dilemma. It`s all up to you!