Pike Flies

[itchmesir]

What are some of your favorite Pike flies? Got a new 8wt this year and am pumped to catch a big ol slimer on that bad boy.. got a chunk of flies coming in the mail.. but would like to know what patterns you fly guys have the best luck on

Thanks

IMS

[mainbutter]

Streamers, streamers, streamers, poppers, divers, and more streamers.

Bright colors, flashabou, and big feathers get my attention when thinking about pike flies.

Keep in mind that action is much more important to catching pike than it is for something like dead-drifting dry flies for trout, and YOU are the one giving life to your fly.

Action is one of the trickiest parts about fly fishing for pike, lots of flies work great because they look great, but the way you work it will be even more important.

[itchmesir]

So are you tossing mid-sized streamers like #2-#6 or are you throwing wet socks in the 1/0-3/0 range?.. maybe even as large as 5/0?...

I'm guessing it's gonna take quite a bit of practice and patients to toss a 4-5" fly? or does the backbone of an 8wt help compensate?

[Acemac]

yellow and red zerk strips.

[OnAFly]

Giant wooly bugger style streamers have been the most productive for me. I'm talking a 3/0 zonker tailed behemoth that feels like you're trying to throw a size 13 wet tube sock.

I try to find the biggest, longest schlappen I can find. I throw a 3" tail on there, wrap the body in krystal flash chenille and make sure to brush back the chenille so it all lays on top of itself. I throw a set of dumbbell eyes on the front then wrap the schlappen, again, brushing it back on itself, around the head. Throw on some rubber legs and you're good to go.

I would suggest upping a line wt. Throwing these isn't bad on a 9.

Also, see my post in the fly tying thread. There's a large popper in there.

I've had lots of follows on flies that are basically just a bunch of hackles and hair, but I seem to get less strikes.

[Mike_Top]

I just bought a spare spool with sink-tip line for throwing streamers with my heavier rod. There is a noticeable difference in casting since the sinking line is a little heavier and thinner diameter, so that might help in casting large streamers.

OnAFly, icthmesir, or anyone else; do you ever mess around with sinking lines? And if so, what do you prefer for casting to bass and northern? I'm anxious to get out and fish in lakes and bigger rivers once the seasons for those fish open up.

[itchmesir]

i bought a sink tip earlier this year.. have yet to use it though... or rather find myself in a situation in which i needed to use it

[panfishpounder00]

i usually throw large bulky streamers, up to 10" in length. alot of saltwater streamers for tarpon,snook,ect will crossover well in the feshwater scene. flashy is the key! long tails on those streamers is important also, as pike will slam a fly down its gullet, the bigger profile will cause a shorter strike, keeping it in the mouth more to be hooked. sinking lines are nice for deeper water, but dont need it for anything 10 fow or less. casting a full sinking line is a bit different than casting a wf floating line, youll want to roll cast it, no false casting!! if i do need to get a fly down, i just put in a sink tip, this allows me to change up rather quickly, use a loop to loop connection to make it even faster. if your using your gear for both bass and pike, just throw bass bugs, deer hair poppers..ect. i pike fish with my 9/10wt, but it serves as my muskie rod also, i use my 6/7 wt for bass and only bass, but i have hooked into numerous pike on it. heres a few examples

[Lakeside_Nelson]

It's pretty hard to beat the classic black bunny strip.

[OnAFly]

Nearly any bunny strip fly will work.

I've got a 9wt sink tip line spooled on an extra reel. I use that when I want to get down. I don't see the point of a full sink for pike. The SA Wet Tip line I have casts well, so I like it.

My 10wt is the SA Magnum taper. The rod I use with it is fairly fast, so my casting needs to be on otherwise I just end up whacking myself in the back repeatedly If I'm in need of a break, I go back to my slower 9wt set up and fish a little deeper.

Here's the contents of one of my pike/bass fly boxes. A lot of the stuff named on this thread is in there. They'll all catch fish.

[itchmesir]

Cool.. thanks guys