This summer a friend and I will be heading to Northern Minnesota to chase some Northern Pike with a fly rod. I’d like to tie up some pike flies. While I tie a fair number of trout flies, I don’t get too caught up in the “what hook is best” debate. I tie my flies on whatever dry fly and/or nymph hooks I have on hand. I figure I’m going to lose most in a tree before the actual hook type makes much difference.
Anyway, what types of hooks would any of you recommend for pike flies? From the little research I’ve done it seems heavy wire is important and, to a point, hook gap is probably more important than shank length.
Stout hooks are important for such large fish…and a wide hook gap is extremely important.
Here’s some hook ideas to get you started (in sizes 1/0-3/0):
-TMC 600SP
-TMC 811S
-Umpqua U502
-Allen SW001
-Allen SW002
I disagree that any heavy wire hooks are required at all for pike flies. I have never had a pike bend any quality hook. Good “standard” wire hooks such as Mustad C52SBLN or Gama B10S are completely sufficient. The stretch inherent in fly line and your leader, as well the cushion of your rod do not generally allow you to “horse” a fish or put as much hard pressure on them as the guys with casting tackle and very heavy nylon or braid. Add to that, heavy wire is more difficult to set into the bony toothy mouth of a pike. You don’t need heavy wire hooks.
I agree completely… except that Gami B10S is about as good as hooks get, IMO&E.
Stay away from anything short shank as getting them out can be difficult there amongst the white pointy stuff.
We have not used wire leaders in many years and see little need for them… a short tippet of heavy Maxima with a good loop knot will give you plenty of action on the fly and just check it regularly for wear. A common day for us here is well over 100 pike and we seldom lose flies due to teeth. Longer shank hooks will stay out past the teeth better in most cases, too.
Locally, ADF&G started a new program a year or so ago to Catch, Chop Up, and Release pike. All fish caught must be killed, whether kept or not…
art
When we fished for pike using spin rods and baitcasters and lures we never used any special leaders and seldom lost and pike to bite offs. When we started using flies we thought we could do the same thing but found that about every third fish bit us off. We found as ‘hap’ says that longer shanked hooks make a difference but not enough for us. We currently use heavy fluorocarbon (50lb or heavier) for pike and up to 80lb for muskie. The difference we found was the fact that the retrieve on the flies was slower than with lures and the pike had more opportunity to inhale the whole fly exposing the leader to their teeth. I like to use the single hooks that guys use on spoons for downrigging salmon. I tie the head of the fly on these then add a tail tied to a treble hook. The treble hook with material tied to it will give the fly some added action.
Art, I have heard that about not needing leaders. From my past experiences using spinning gear and 8 or 10 lb test Fireline, for example, pike will slice right through that before you can finish your hookset!
I’d like to try your suggestion. What pound test of the Maxima do you recommend?
(edit: I was typing this while Tig was also responding).
I use either 40 or 50# Maxima and over the course of a day usually only cut a bit off a couple times a day… That means at least a couple dozen fish between leader adjustments. Two things to realize, too; pike are chasers and tail biters so articulated stuff with “Fenwick Iron Thread” for articulations is a good idea, and tube flies solve a lot of problems.
We use a lot of bunny leeches… they are tough enough to handle a ton of fish… Use plenty of CA glue on them and they will go until you lose them…
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.
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.
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.
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
