Getting To Grips With Pike On The Fly
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 03 February 2010 10:21
- Written by Scott Deakin
Over the past decade or so more and more UK fly anglers have begun to take on the fresh challenges of targeting non-salmonid species, predominantly pike and a whole host of saltwater fish. As with any sport or activity, starting from scratch can be daunting, so much to learn and so little time to do so, hopefully this article will help get any prospective pikers off to a flying start.
Esox lucius
The pike, or esox lucius (water wolf in latin) is a truly incredible creature, it is a shining example of perfection through evolution, it is little wonder these somewhat mean looking predators are so popular with anglers throughout Europe and North America. Pike are masters of ambush, their perfectly camouflaged flanks blend into any underwater vegetation allowing them to pounce on an unsuspecting prey fish, the poor things don’t stand a chance! 
A quick glance at its body profile gives some clues as to how the water wolf hunts, a torpedo like shape enables it to travel exceptionally quickly over short distances, I read somewhere that they can reach 30mph within their own body length, this is not at all unrealistic and can be observed quite clearly when said beast unleashes its primal fury on your fly. Its lower jaw is covered in sensory pits that trace vibrations made by potential prey, its extremely sensitive lateral line serves a similar purpose, the cherry on this somewhat murderous green cake is a pair of grooves which act like rifle sights that run along its snout from the large, cold predator eyes that make its attacks deadly accurate. Once its prey has been caught it stands little chance of escape due to the several hundred backwards pointing teeth lining it jaws and throat, its saliva also contains anti-coagulant which prevents its victims blood from clotting post attack, meaning that IF a roach etc is able to escape it can be tracked down using its keen sense of smell.
It is not at all uncommon for pike to reach weights in excess of 20lbs, indeed they can and have been caught on fly tackle to well over 40lbs, it is a safe assumption that most waters containing pike hold at least a few double figure specimens.
Your Arsenal
As you might expect, big strong, aggressive fish require sturdy tackle to subdue them; rods in the 8 to 10 weight category are ideal for the pursuit of pike. A fairly large proportion of pike fly anglers would have you hung, drawn and quartered for using anything less than a ten weight, fine, if you regularly catch 20-30lb fish but lets be serious, how many people can claim this to be the case? Personally I use a rod rated #8/9 with a clean conscience; this is perfectly substantial for the vast majority of pike I will catch. Rod actions are a matter of personal preference, for what it’s worth I prefer to buck the trend of using fast, stiff rods when casting large flies, a medium to medium fast rod handles the “budgies” better in my opinion. The standard length for pike rods seems to be 9ft, the thinking being that a longer rod in such high line weights will be very tiring over extended periods of usage, I have to agree on this, a 9ft rod is still your pal at the end of the day.
Line-wise I favour a shooting head system for several reasons, this is basically a short, heavy fly line designed for distance casting, normally used in salmon or saltwater fishing. One of the main advantages of this set-up is that I can carry various lines in my pocket as opposed to having 3 or 4 (expensive) spare spools with similarly expensive lines on. Also I can change lines in two minutes flat without having to undo my entire rig, all I have to do is swap heads and re-attach my leader via loop to loop connection. An added advantage is that these chunky, steep tapers turnover bulky, air-resistant flies with ease. If you’re still not sold on shooting heads then also consider that they are cheap and / or easy to make from old lines and if like me you get bored easily, you can cast to the horizon! Several specialist pike lines are available, although a standard WF line with the forward taper cut back slightly will do the job perfectly well.
A solid reliable reel is a valuable asset in the pursuit of pike too, although not in the same league as tarpon or bonefish, they can strip line at an alarming rate and playing the pike by hand has resulted in burnt fingers for me on a few occasions. Reels needn’t be expensive, most tackle manufacturers sell perfectly adequate kit for £30-50. Although you will not need endless lengths of backing a decent capacity will give you peace of mind, any reel in the 8-10 weight bracket should meet this requirement.
Tackle at the business end could not be simpler. I find a leader of similar length to the rod is easy to cast and gives enough of a gap between fly line and fly. Mono or fluorocarbon no lighter than 12lbs should be used with a wire trace of around a foot in length being absolutely essential to protect both the pike and your leader. Every angler will have his own preferences but I make my own wire traces using a simple and sensible recipe. I crimp a loop in the wire on the leader end, this allows me to attach my trace to the mono leader loop to loop, meaning that my leader never shortens when I inevitably have to change traces throughout the day, finish it off with a snap swivel on the fly end, this has never failed me yet although many people refuse to use a snap swivel.
As far as flies are concerned I honestly do not think the pattern matters too much, suffice to say I always carry a selection of bunny bugs, flashabou streamers and surface poppers in my box in various weights and sizes, this should cover most situations you are likely to encounter. As long as there is plenty life-like movement in your fly the pike will take a fancy to it when they are in the right mood.
A set of long forceps, a fish friendly landing net and importantly a pair of polarizing sunglasses should complete your basic pike taming kit.
Down To Business
Now that you have your kit ready and you are eager to connect with a “croc” you are faced with the unenviable task of learning to cast flies that are similar in size to your average catch. Common sense (not to mention health and safety) dictates that a regular overhead cast is going to put large, jaggy things in uncomfortable proximity to your face, for safety’s sake if nothing else I prefer to hold my arm just a little further out and slightly to the side in order to keep the threat of flying hooks to a minimum. Double-hauling is an invaluable tool in pike fly fishing, it helps you punch otherwise difficult flies out with ease, although tough to master it is well worth the effort, failing that a single haul on the back cast will help your cause no end.
Thankfully for the angler’s sake pike are fairly predictable in their location, like most predators they favour structure from which to launch their attacks, it stands to reason that if your flies are near structure, your flies are near pike. Now, what can be defined as structure obviously varies from water to water: on canals, for example, it might be a marina, bridge, moored boats, lock gates or the marginal shelves. On most lochs or ponds they tend to be found in amongst weed-beds or in any depression on the loch bed, again any jetties etc will hold fish. Generally speaking in the colder months pike and baitfish will shoal up tight in and around prominent features, whereas in spring, summer and early autumn they become much more widespread and tend to prefer shallower areas, often in a foot or so of water in all but the warmest of conditions.
Winter piking can be a grueling and downright tortuous pastime, what with the fish being distributed in such a concentrated manner, vast areas of water are left without fish and tracking them down can prove difficult without a sound knowledge of the water in question. Expect to fish slow and deep in and around the most obvious features, seldom will they be caught in shallow water, the only time I would expect to see them near the surface would be when they follow shoals of small roach into the upper layers. At this time of year I would not bother attempting to cover as much water as possible, much better to focus your efforts on key features. Over time these will expose themselves, betrayed by the odd pike that cannot resist a well presented fly. Obviously it is most practical to use sinking lines, short leaders help you keep the fly at the appropriate depth in this instance, a leader of 3 or 4 feet long is adequate.
As the winter fades away and spring begins to creep in the pikes’ metabolism begins to speed up and they become more active, with thoughts of spawning just around the corner they begin to feed in earnest. I actually find this to be a particularly tough time to locate fish because it is a period of transition. You are not sure whether to fish the shallow spawning grounds or trawl the depths as you would mid winter. 
When you do find them however you will know all about it, what with the fish being fairly close together sport can be fast and furious although great care must be taken with fish that are approaching their spawning season; for this reason I prefer to just observe pike when they do actually decide to breed, not that they are interested in feeding by then anyway.
The following months between early May and early October for me are the prime time to target these fish. Quite often they can be spotted in shallow water and cast to individually, this to me is the pinnacle of predator fishing in Scotland or the UK in general, there is quite simply nothing to beat the excitement of dropping a surface lure within a pikes firing line and watching it shoot at incredible speed with the sole aim of annihilating your offering.
I tend to love rather than fear weed-beds at this time of year because invariably there will be a fish nearby; even the heaviest of weeds are no match for suitably stout and carefully considered gear. I tie a lot of my flies with hard mono weed-guards and in the case of my poppers and surface flies I tie them so that the hook point is upside down meaning I can literally drag my fly across the top of lily pads etc. Surface fishing can be incredibly tense and the takes are so savage that I cannot possibly communicate through words alone just how violent this can be! Quite often a wave will form behind your fly at great pace then your carefully tied creation will disappear in an explosion of water and teeth, simply put, incredible. There is no standard retrieve, just experiment with various, speeds, starts and stops, remember, the objective is to present your fly like a dying baitfish or any other similarly easy target. It is worth bearing in mind in any pike fishing scenario that much like trout, they are designed to look upwards for food and fishing too high is better than fishing too deep.
Another standard method I will use is to scan the water for leaping baitfish or “nervous water”, this is the result of pike pushing its prey to the surface and the poor roach/ perch etc leap as high as they can to escape a quick death. Now I’m sure I don’t have to explain to anyone reading this how exciting it is casting to rising fish, but casting to surface feeding creatures that may well be into double figures or even over the 20lb mark is an incredible sensation. In this situation I try to “match the hatch” meaning quite simply either a silver roach type pattern or something more somber that could represent a perch or trout. It can pay dividends to offer something completely different on occasion though just to help your fly stand out from the rest of the shoal.
Before you know it you are back to late autumn and it’s a case of scraping the bottom again…..
Care
It is impossible to read any pike related literature nowadays without being bombarded with militaristic orders on how to handle your catch and take care of it. Suffice to say that great care and respect should be granted to these surprisingly delicate beasts at all times and try not to keep them out of the water for any longer than necessary, unhook them in the water where possible and always hold onto and revive the fish until IT is ready go back of its own accord. Personally I prefer to chin my fish out thus negating the need for a landing net and unhooking mat as I unhook with all but the pikes head still submerged, but where this isn’t possible these are two vital pieces of kit. DO NOT attempt to chin a pike without having been shown how to do so for both you and the fishes sake, there are plenty of online tutorials but there is no substitute for a first hand lesson by an experienced angler. Do be aware that both the several hundred teeth and gill rakers can inflict nasty wounds on inexperienced (and sometimes very experienced) hands.
The Future
This is a basic overview of pike fly fishing, there is still so much to learn and a million and one variables. One of the most exciting things about this aspect of the sport is that it is still relatively “young”, therefore constantly evolving, unlike the often prejudiced and restrictive realms of say chalk stream dry fly fishing there are no rules set in stone or roads we are expected to follow. In Scandinavia for example there is a growing trend in using switch rods, a form of short double-hander for pike. Many fly tiers are now tying their pikey creations onto tubes and in the UK even a fairly old-school method abroad like popper fishing is only really being pioneered and used by the minority; all examples of advances in the last few years alone. You owe it to yourself to have a shot at them, I would be very surprised if you were not hooked instantly!