Johannes Bulfin has picked up his 8wt and gone in search of pike but now he can't get enough. He shares a little about his addiction and a mouthwatering video of a monster he caught recently.
I am a rather recent convert to pike fly fishing but I know for a fact that it is now an aspect of my fly fishing that I will garner a lot of enjoyment from for a long time to come. In a recently published fly fishing magazine the question: " Why don't more people fly fish for coarse species?".
The responses were intriguing to me. They varied from " Trout are just so beautiful" right down to "How dare you mention fly fishing and coarse fish in the same sentence!!". Basically most of the responses were negative. This made me wonder how many of the respondants had ever actually tried fly fishing for these species..... I am aware that I might be treading on thin ice in some people's view so let me just plough right on and keep digging!
I'll make no apologies for it; I've always loved pike. Ever since my father held up a pike that was as long as I was tall (at the age of four mind you) I've been enthralled. Pike just don't care what you think of them! In fact what they are probably thinking is; "I wish he was a little smaller so I could have a go at eating him, maybe I'll try anyway!".
Where a trout demands my admiration for its beauty, a pike frightens me a little instead! It is an intoxicating and addictive kind of fear though. The two things that I love most about pike is their size and aggression - these attributes are only magnified by using a fly rod!
When the magical moment of the take is performed by a fish that is wholly intent on smashing its prey to bits then you are sure to have some memorable fly fishing memories. Below I share with you a fish and a memory that will last with me a lifetime. When I watch it I replay the take at least three times! I sincerely hope that you too will give the pike a chance to terrify and thrill you with its aggression and sporting abilities.
Read more from Johannes on his excellent blog