Jeroen Schoondergang has the second instalment of his excellent advice on fly fishing for pike. If you are a light line angler then you might just enjoy this!
Fly fishing for pike isn’t rocket science. A good kit and some common sense will go a long way. In the second part of this two-part article, I am taking a closer look at lines, leaders and flies. It is amazing how simple pieces of string can make a difference.
Even an average caster like myself knows that even the best fly rod is worth nothing without a proper fly line. Over the decades fly lines have come a long way. Modern lines with thick and short bellies have opened up a new spectrum of fly fishing. They allow the use of heavy flies to reach new depths and flies the size of small feather dusters, to imitate the prey very large predators feast on.
For a newby to pike fly fishing, the number of lines that are on offer can be daunting. To choose one isn’t all that difficult though. A very good fly line for any type of fly fishing for pike, should be capable to turn over big and wind resistant flies. Several of the big brands have lines with the name ‘pike’ in them. Almost all of them have a heavy front taper to turn over flies and many have an intermediate tip, designed to keep bulky and therefore buoyant flies under the surface.
Light lines
With the concept of a bulky front part of the fly line in mind, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that Scotsman Mike Barrio has developed such a line. He designed his SLX-line for casters who like to use single handed spey-techniques. The fat and short front taper is also extremely suitable for transporting very big flies on relatively light rods. In fact, as the line comes in weights as low as aftma 4, I can now cast relatively big flies on very light rods. Unfortunately, the Barrio SLX is only available to aftma 8. This means that for pike fishing on big water, where I like to use nine- and even ten-weight rods, I will have to keep on searching for my ultimate pike line. But Mike, if you are reading this. I know that there is quite a demand in my country and in the UK, for the Barrio SLX in XL-sizes.
This Swedish pike pattern can be comfortably fished on light fly gear
Going down
When fishing canals and smaller waters for pike, a floating line is all you need most of the time. There are however circumstances that call for a fly to go down. When you can expect pike underneath sunken bushes or tree roots, or in submerged culverts, it pays to fish a little bit deeper than possible with a normal floating line setup, even with an intermediate tip. For these conditions I have cut several lengths of RIO T8 and T11 line. This level sinking line is available as bulk or shooting head. The coating contains tungsten which makes that it sinks extremely fast; the number behind the T relates to the number of grains per foot of line. I cut three to five foot pieces and loop them between the fly line and leader. This is a fast and instant way to get your fly down where the pike may have their lie.
Leaders
There are a couple of schools of thought concerning pike leaders, one of which is the ‘straight piece of heavy mono and nothing else’. I must admit that until recently my leaders weren’t much more than a straight piece of mono, heavy enough to double as bite tippet. And it must be said: not one of the pikes I hooked with this setup, managed to bite through the tippet.
An open loop knot is the best way to attach the wire to the streamer
The past couple of years I have paid more attention to detail, where leaders are concerned. I have found that a tapered leader will deliver my pike streamers better. I start off with three feet of fairly stiff heavy mono. On it I tie a foot of slightly lighter mono. This is the base of my leader. The tippet is four of five feet of 12 lbs. fluorocarbon. I don’t tie this directly to the leader, but use a fluorocarbon swivel from Invisaswivel. These swivels don’t add weight to your setup, but do prevent the tippet from kinking as the streamer rotates during the cast. It will save you from having to change tippets that curl up.
A fluorocarbon swivel keeps the tippet from kinking
With a more subtle and elaborate leader setup, I can’t rely anymore on the tippet being strong enough to stay intact. What to do? Should I cut a heavy fluoro bite tippet which would undo a great deal of the subtleness I aspired to reach? Or should I resort to wire? I could go for the multistrand stuff. But from saltwater experience I know that the types I used curled up like a cork screw after experiencing some pressure. The single strand stuff I tried in the past is too solid and certainly affects the action of my flies.
My view on metal changed when Poseidon, a Dutch fly fishing wholesaler, sent me a couple of lengths of Knot2Kinky. This titanium/nickel single strand wire has some remarkable qualities. It has an incredible small diameter, it stretches, it is knottable and it actually doesn’t kink under pressure. I have been using it for a full season now and I couldn’t be happier with the performance. The wire is attached to my tippet with a simple Albright knot and I attach my streamer to the wire, using a non-slip loop knot.
Flies
The choice of flies deserves a complete article. But a couple of pointers and examples go a long way. When fishing shorelines of canals and lakes, I like to construct my flies so that I can cast them easily with not too heavy gear. This means a slim design. The lack of water replacement is compensated by materials that have a natural movement in the water. A bait fish pattern tied from Himalayan sheep or Yak hair gives that natural flow to a pike fly. Zonker strips are heavier, but you don’t need much to get that soft plastic action.
Keep the profile of your streamers for shore-fishing slim. There is plenty of movement in the chosen materials, like bucktail and zonkerstrip
For ultra-light fly fishing, one fly stands out in my opinion. I don’t know much more about the pattern than that it originates from Sweden. The tail consists of a couple of ostrich (white) herls and one or two strands of flashy material. To prevent the tail from being caught by the hook, the body is tied beyond the hook bend, using either heavy thread or floss. This fly has accounted for quite a few pike for me in urban canals. I can cast it with relative ease on a four weight.
A beautiful predator at every size (photo: Floris van den Berg)
Barrio fly lines: www.flylineshop.com
Invisaswivel and Knot2Kinky: www.aquateko.com
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