My buddy wants me to tie him a few pike flies. How long (in inches) do you normally tie them?
3" to 7" work well in Indiana. Lots of saddle hackle, EP Fiber, and holographic flash. Deer hair makes great heads and use the biggest eyes you can fit onto the fly. Gamakatsu G10S hooks 3/0 to 6/0 work great as well as some of the large Gamakatsu catfish hooks. If you want articulated flies use 40# steel leader wire to connect the parts. Also, Use gel spun thread and plenty of cement.
Good luck and have some fun with this. Be creative with the use of material. There are plenty of videos on tying pike flies. Hint, big browns will also eat these things.
Jery
Mine average 4-8 inches. Use a lot buck tail, saddle hackle, spey hackle, long estaz, and some with artificial material. Here’s a couple I’ve tied
Do I need hooks made for pike flies?
Thanks, guys. Do I need hooks specifically designed for pike flies?
Have you ever used these hooks for pike flies? 100ct. Mustad 4/0 Needle Point 91706N, Spinnerbait Hooks, Ringed Eye Hook
I never have. I am a big fan of the Gamakatsu and Owner hooks for pike and musky flies.
Jerry
I was trying to figure out what I used on the ones in the pictures. Top one is tied on a 2/0 Gamakatsu 60 degree Jig hook. The middle one is tied on a 3/0 Eagle Claw gold Aberdeen hook. Bottom one is tied on a 4/0 Partridge barbless Pike hook. Not a big fan of Mustad. I like Gamakatsu, Owner and Eagle Claw. Spinner bait hooks, spinner bait trailer hooks, Long shank worm hooks
What do you typically use for a leader?
50# test Seaguar fluorocarbon for both pike and musky. I will sometimes back of to 30# test Seaguar fluorocarbon for pike knowing I might get cut off once in awhile.
Jerry
I was at Walmart and I bought Eagle Claw 3/0 O’Shaughnessy Hooks on which to tie some pike flies. They’re ring-eye and silver. They should be fin to tie some flies, right?