I normally use a steel or titanium leader when using spinning gear/lures to fish for northern pike.
I plan to target them with fly gear this year.
So…can I just attach the fly to the same sort of leader I use for spin-fishing, or does that not cast very well?
Would it be better to use a metal-core “bite tippet”?
What do you folks use?
Thanks! 
I used to live in Northern Ont for the nineties. Top of Lake Superior. This is big pike country. We caught literally hundreds in a good season. We would use fine wire leaders from Canadian Tire Corp. but after about half a dozen fish they would pig-tail or break. The best leader is a 50 lb (or more) flourocarbon leader. Just a straight length of flourocarbon. Five to six feet is lots. Lines, boats, waving fishing rods don’t bother hungry pike. Presentation is not particularly important - just get in front of them and they will do the rest. The guides at the fly shop here use heavier (80lb I believe) for muskie. Don’t even think of using heavy monofilament. I tried thirty pound test, special abrasive resistant ice fishing line and it would not even stop a five pounder. They cut through like it wasn’t there. When tying the fly to the line it is important to tie a knot that lets the fly have some action and stay right side up. I can’t remember the knot but I do believe it is a type of saltwater knot that is used for heavy lines. Dave didn’t you post somewhere that you were going to Canada sometime this year? Just wondering where? (if it’s not to bold to ask :))
I am currently fishing for pike here in MI and what ive been using is the Pike leaders that have the built it wire tippet. Only bad thing is they give you a couple of sleeves to secure the fly to the leader. After 2 or 3 changes your done with that leader. However, I have been experimenting with taking the clasp part of a swivel and securing that to the leader using the metal sleeve so it will allow numerous changes. I have also found normal pike tippets that are used for lures to work as well. I use the smallest ones I can find to avoid the weight issue and if im going for bruisers I use an 8wt so its really not an issue.
I’ve used tyger wire for a bite tippet and tied the fly directly to it. The only knot that worked for me was a plain clinch knot. What I didn’t like was every time I changed flies the wire got shorter and shorter until it was useless and I had to put on a whole new leader and bite tippet. I’d rather attach the fly using a light locking snap but I’ve had worse luck attaching the fly that way than knotting it on.
For Pike and other toothy critters that I have fished for I use Tyger wire for a bite leader. A small, high quality swivel is attached to the end of the class tippet. The wire is attached to the swivel using a figure 8 knot or clinch knot. No need to cut back the leader as the wire is changed and the swivel doesn’t adversely affect casting. The swivel has the added benefit of eliminating twist in the leader if are using a fly that had a tendency to spin during the cast. I attach the wire to the fly using a two turn non slip mono loop knot. Very simple setup.
I do quite a bit of Pike fishing during the summer in SW Colorado.
I buy the nylon coated wire they sell for stringing beads. It’s inexpensive and it comes in a thinner diameter than the premade leaders sold for conventional gear type fishing. I make short (no more than 3-4 inch) leaders and put a Duncan loop on both ends. On the end that will hold the fly, I place a small DuoLoc snap. I tie the other end to my tippet. No using up the wire when changing flies. I’ve caught five or six fish in one morning without damage to the leader. Very light for casting. To help with visibility, I buy the silver colored ones and use a permanent marker to add black and dark green markings to ‘camoflage’ them (I’m not sure the fish care, but I do. Once marked, they are very hard to see in the water).
I tried the 30 pound flourocarbon as a leader, but you have to tie a loop knot, which uses up a lot of the stuff, loop knots aren’t very strong, and I had one very nice 40+ inch pike cut right through it in one bite…so now I use wire.
Good Luck!
Buddy
Great tips, thanks everyone!
Tig…Although there are 40"-50"+ pike in the lake, we don’t run across the big ones very often. I’m expecting mostly pike well under 40". So pike don’t usually cut through the 50lb+ fluorocarbon lines? That is interesting.
The lake we fish in Ontario is Nungesser Lake, about 40 miles NE of Red Lake. 4 of us have been going there since 2001. We typically go around the first week of August, and the fish are usually about 20’ deep. Last trip we went late June, and many fish (pike and walleyes both) were in 5-8’ of water. This year, we are going mid-June, so I’m expecting the fish to be at least that shallow again.
OK…another pike question then, since obviously a number of folks here target them often.
What are some of your favorite pike patterns for early season (after ice-out)? I want patterns that are easly to cast, not too bulky.
Yak hair streamer patterns.
Like these but smaller 6-10". This one is 16"
Hello Flyfish Dog,
What hook and size did you use on that Handsome Beast?
Gamakatsu SL12S 8/0 I like TMC 600SP better but costs more tho.
Personally I think using high quality superbraid is much better option than wire. Stuff like moss color 50lb Powerpro is almost indestructible, has zero memory, its so light it floats, it’s very thin and 10 dollar spool will make lifetime of leaders. You need special tools just to cut it and in 10 years I’ve been using this stuff I had never had a fish bite through it.
FishnDave wrote:
“OK…another pike question then, since obviously a number of folks here target them often.
What are some of your favorite pike patterns for early season (after ice-out)? I want patterns that are easly to cast, not too bulky.”
So far I’ve had my best luck with a red & white deceiver.
cycler68: Check out Bill Sherer of “We Tie It Fly Shop”. He is located in Boulder Junction,Wisconsin. His web site is www.wetieit.com. Listened to his lecture and presentation at the Spring 2011 -Badger Fly Fishers fund raiser here in Madison,Wis. on 2/11 /11. Very knowledgeable,super fly tyer,innovative, and a great guy. He has taken fly fishing for muskies to another level. Boated over 160 muskies last season which borders on miraculous. He knows what he is talking about,especially what flies to use, when,size,color,etc. Hope this helps and have a smooth day .Michael J. Burda
I keep it simple and just use the Rio toothy critter leaders. They already come with wire, and a small cross snap on the end to make changing flys easy.
In some of the old In fisherman video’s when Doug Stange used to fly fish for Pike and Muskie he used a leader material called Twist Weld and never got bit off. Course ya gotta carry a butane lighter to fuse it but it works. No more snaps or sleeves to tangle you up.
I’m with Mikie Finn; some of the spectra lines in a 30-50 lb test work really well; my last trip to the Boundary Waters I used 30 lb test Fireline for all my leader material and it never failed. Best part … it’s not cost prohibitive.
I have been using 55lb test Maxima Big Game hard mono. Its stiff enough to turn over big flies. Braids I found does not turn over a 1/4 or 1/2 chicken fly to my likings so I dont use them.
Back to your leader question. I just found at Bass Pro shops an item called “Critter Wire”. Its made by Cortland. It is a thin diameter wire for pike, musky, barricuda, etc. Costs about $8 for a ten foot roll. Comes in 15# and 40# test in two colors, bronze and I don’t recall the other. Anyway, if you go to the flyfishing dept that is where I found it with all the other leaders. Also go over to the regular fishing dept and look for the sleeves to run the wire through to make the loop that you can crimp down. I found some there also, a pack of about 50 for $3. Hope this helps, and good luck on the pike.
I use 40lb Seagar Fluorocarbon shock tippit 10-15" with a short tapered leader behind it. I use a Rapala knot to connect to the fly, it leaves a loop for better action on the fly.