Pike Primer Needed!

A pike trip has fallen in my lap here in the middle of May, and I desperately would like to have a go at them with my fly rod. I am in need of some good info quick that can help get me pointed in the right direction!

I have an array of 6 thru 8 wt rods, so I think I am good from that end of it. What I need to find out is flyline type, leader set-up and a good basic selection of flies to get started.

From my understanding we will be fishing for them in fairly shallow lake water (3-10 ft is what i am told) Not sure if a sink/sink tip is needed and what my leader length and set up should be. As far as flies, as stated I dont really have a clue other than something big and nasty!

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I would think in that shallow of water you would not need a sink tip. I usually fish with a short leader and some Tiger Wire or similar as a tippet. I like a simple red over white buck tail streamer with some flashabou along the sides. Also tie up some in Black/Yellow and Red/Yellow. Cast and strip, vary your retrieve speed until you get a strike and hang on.
Pretty simple set up but I have caught a ton of pike up to 10 lbs on it.
Good Luck.
TaG

Loop/loop your leader to a good floating line. I fish pike/muskie a lot and simply use cheap 20lb or so mono. You can go expensive if you want. My leaders are around 6-7'.

Take a length of braided, supple wire, Tyger brand or American (I use the 17lb stuff) and using an Allbright attach it.

Use whatever knot you like to attach the fly.

If using streamers this early be aware that pike will hit a smaller fly and slower retrieve this time of year. You'll find this out with follows, swirls and no hits if you go too quickly. Slow it down...

And take careful notice of the shallows. I mean the shallows....3ft and less! And less! Small flies! If the fish aren't there where you fish, begin to work deeper but start shallow.

The bugs hatch in dirty, muddy water that warms quickly. The minnows come in to feed. The crappies follow. The "teeth" follow.

Funny how this works....

Have fun.

If all else fails pick up a copy of Barry Reynolds' "Pike on the Fly". A great book for anyone interested in this stuff. Pick it up anyway.

Jeremy.

I've been taking an annual trip to Quebec for pike (and a some walleye) the past few years, although this is the first year I plan to take a fly rod. We typically go in early August and fish for pike in the weedbeds - this water is shallow (6 feet or less). I have been very successful with a medium heavy casting rod, 20 lb test mono, pitching and rapidly retrieving large, homemade inline spinners (typically with red/white or yellow/black bucktail). I intend to take an 8 wt rod, with floating line, and rig it just as Jeremy described - a short leader (probably just level 20lb mono) and a wire leader for the last foot or so for the teeth. Not sure what I'll do for flies yet, probably red/white clousers, maybe some large wooly buggers, and purists be damned I may even use my inline spinners.

A word of caution, last year I had one grasped by it's back, behind the gills and was removing the lure, when it lurched at me and sliced open my finger. Luckily I had a first aid kit (with antibiotic cream) in my tackle box. I am considering getting some toothy critter gloves for this year.

I have been fly fishing for pike for many, many years and make at least one annual trip with my son of a week or better. All flies. I never use steel leaders and consider them one of the bigger jokes foisted off on folks. Every once in a great while a leader wears through, but pike teeth are not as bad as salmon, IMO&E, for abrading line.

I use Maxima of 25# or so. I like a heavy furled leader to turn the big flies over. Pike pull hard, but very briefly, so a 6wt is plenty unless you have winds and use bigger flies with lots of wind resistance.

Stick to natural colors and you will find the pike will be much more receptive to the fly.

Dahlberg divers and bunny leeches would be top two picks. Dragonfly nymph patterns are deadly around the edges of weedbeds. Start unweighted and see if they get deep enough to be seen by the pike. Skating deer hair mice around is also good.

If the pike prove to be in deeper water away from the weed beds any bright or light-colored streamer will probably work. Expect lots of missed strikes as pike are hard-mouthed and require very sharp hooks. Trailer hooks are a great idea if allowed.
art

hap has it right, steel leaders are overkill in my opinion but I like some kind of 40 or so pound soft mono for a bite tippet, and sometimes I run that direct from the fly line. There are times when you want to get your fly to a certain depth, be that over or next to a submerged weed bed or down by some cover. Also there are times when they are in shallow- usually shortly after ice out when they are spawning in shallow sandy bays or coves. Your fly selection should be pretty simple, but the flies should be tied to reach a variety of depths for the water your in. A lot of times a fly that will suspend above a weedbed in about 7 feet of water is the way to go- so some lead in the fly but not so that it's a depth charge. Sometimes they want it to drag slowly and sometimes they attack anything fast moving with a vengance. Can't go wrong with red and white, yellow and white and chartreuse. I have been fortunate to fish for pike all over the place with my grandfather. It might help if we knew where you were going, at least the general region. In Canada I have seen them swim into the prop wash and I swear they were thinking about taking a bite of the propeller. They can be agressive but also tricky. Catching them on topwater flies is by far the best and sometimes they will hit a fly several times before they manage to get hooked. Best advice- when you get one on and think it's hooked set the hook a few more times, often the only thing keeping them on the line is the fact that they won't let go and they don't actually have the hook embedded anywhere in their mouth. Good luck, I have been targeting them here in MT and haven't been able to land one yet this season. Had a lot of follows and some half hearted strikes, a couple of them on the line, but catching them here is more of a sidenote and a nice way to get them out of the rivers that they are not native to.

Here are some flies that I've been playing with. They're about 6" long and the heads are tied with bucktail "Thunder Creek" style, then coated with epoxey. Big saltwater hooks. Bodies weighted differently for different depths. They cut the wind nice and have a great undulating action and the pike like them so far.
[IMG] http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/a...1&d=1209788179 [/IMG]

Where are you planning on fishing? If you're looking at big fish, you're probably on the light side with the 8wt. Leave the smaller rods for bass and panfish.

Kevin

Appreciate the suggestions from all as they have gotten me off on the right foot. Thanks for the insight from the Minnesotans, as my trip location is somewhere around Bemidji....I am sure you guys have a good handle on what you are talking about and looking forward to hopping the border and heading up that way....