Hooks for Pike flies

[Buddy Sanders]

If time is an issue, or you don't want to mail order hooks, bass plastic worm hooks work quite well in pike flies. I like tandem hooks for most of my pike flies, as Hap noted, they tend of be tail grabbers. Either two single hooks, or a trailing treble will help you hook more fish.

As far as needing a bite leader goes, I prefer a light three to four inch wire leader to heavy mono. I buy the stuff they sell for stringing beads, it comes in several colors. I like the green, which I 'camo' by adding some black sharpie to it. Works for me, and the lighter wire doesn't seem to impact the action of my lies like heavy mono does.

Pike are amazing on the fly. Have fun,

Buddy

[cheech]

Lazer Trokar

This hook is kind of new to the market, and I use them a lot for bass fishing. I have been tying pike/musky flies on these for quite a while, and the hook points are extraordinarily sharp. They aren't cheap, but in my opinion, big predator flies and streamers are more like investments and it's worth spending the extra money if the fly has the potential to catch you a fish of a lifetime.

Here's the link: http://lazertrokar.com/products/tk10

[Royce]

Thaks for all of the advice. You've given me some good options. It appears that many of you are much more knowledgeable about pike fishing than i am so rest assured that over the next couple of months I'll be picking your collective brains more. At the moment I feel a bit intimidated by the leader set-ups (length/weight, mono vs. wire, knots/loops, etc.) so will need a lot more advice moving forward. Thanks again.

Royce

[Arkman]

Where in northern Minnesota are you headed?

[Royce]

Where in northern Minnesota are you headed?

Lake Kabetogama. Just a little east of International Falls.

[hap]

Frankly, pike do not pull very hard for their mass... And they especially fail any endurance test...

That first tug is what they are about. Fine wire hooks and a little finesse is plenty for the largest pike, IMHO&E.

And I have caught double digit pike into many, multiple triple digits over the last five decades...

[hap]

Having trouble trying to explain my experience and not sound like I am blowing smoke up a bunch of ticklish orifii...

I have had opportunity to fish some of the best pike waters known to man; many, many times for a very long period of time... The largest pike ever recorded by Man was netted, tagged, and released back into Alexander Lake in SC AK. It weighed more than ten pounds more than the All-Time World Record pike. My son and I flew into Alexander every year for many years in search of that pike and we spent about a week every year. We caught thousands upon thousands of Alexander Lake pike, all on flies. We never caught the "Big" one, but we caught an incredible number of huge pike.

I have fished some of the best sloughs on the Yukon, Six-Mile Lake down by Illiamna, and many more remote lakes with pike fame attached. I have been beyond lucky... I have caught a ridiculous number of "Once in a Lifetime" pike.

I also spent a season in Plattsburgh, NY and fished the pike along the edges of Lake Champlain in early spring.

They are an over-rated fish... Does not diminish my love for them but I am an ultimate realist.

Their teeth are no sharper or more numerous than lake trout teeth... And forget about comparisons to saltwater fish!

Their juice is gone after the first attack... Cutting the points off hooks and just watching the pike tear into flies is worth the price of admission...
art