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Pike Panic
By: Nick Hart
So you fancy a toothy critter on fly gear then ? Tackle is fairly simple, but certain items are crucial to success and more importantly keep you and the Pike safe.
The rod should be powerful, I would certainly go no lower than a weight 8. There are two reasons for this, firstly the flies that are needed to lure Pike are big ( 3 - 6 inches ! ), and secondly if you hook a large Pike it will lead a very merry dance indeed. With my Thomas and Thomas Horizon bent double it has still taken me 10 minutes or more to beat a double figure fish so anything lighter and there is the risk of causing the fish unnecessary stress through a prolonged fight.
Reels should be capable of holding a good length of backing, 100yds minimum and lines from 8 - 10. A disc drag is not a must but extremely helpful when trying to control an angry Esox. Large Arbour models are ever popular, but I think this is purely down to personal preference.
Lines. Now this is very important ! By far and away my top density has been the intermediate. I use a Rio Aqualux as my fast intermediate and a Stillwater Mastery by Scientific Anglers, which is still quick, but slower than the Rio. The second choice line is a Floater and finally some kind of Fast Sinker. There are various specialist tapers now available on the market which will aid turnover of big flies, but personally I have used standard Weight Forwards for all of my Pike Fishing and have found that they perform very well. You can use full lines or if you find distance a problem, go for shooting heads. These are in actual fact very convenient as they remove the need for spare spools and provide a very quick system of depth control.
Now for the interesting bit, terminal tackle ! Even a Jack Pike of a couple of pounds has a formidable set of teeth. and I really do pity the fish which have to dodge these lethal weapons each day of their lives ! Straight mono leaders are a waste of time and while I have seen it written and heard of people using mono to get more takes and hook ups I can see no point in this whatsoever, when your hungry fish bites straight through the leader as if it were butter. I have even tried 30lb Hard Mason, a very tough saltwater nylon only to have it returned to me minus the fly which took half my fly tying box of materials to create! The standard set up I would recommend is 6 - 8 ft of good quality mono in 20 -30lb, looped to the fly line and then using an Albright Knot splice in at least 1 1/2 ft of 20lb twisted steel strand wire. This allows for fly changes and takes where the fly is engulfed. It is not uncommon to remove the fly from well inside a Pikes mouth and this means that the teeth have clamped down on the trace. To attach your chosen pattern thread on a couple of crimps, pass the wire through the eye of the fly and secure 1/4 inch up from this point by closing the crimps with pliers. This allows the fly to swing loose and aids movement once in the water.
Flies ! A selection should include plenty of large streamers. This is one game where it can be said that often " the bigger the fly, the bigger the Pike ! ", that said it doesn't stop the little ones having a go ! Black is a top colour providing a very strong silhouette, along with White and Chartreuse. One of the finest flies I have come across is nothing more than a couple of grizzle saddle hackles, a thick tail of crystal hair and a body consisting of stacked marabou. These are easy to tie but also available through Turrall ( 01805 804352 ) at a very reasonable rate. Poppers are also very useful and can consist of either spun and clipped deer hair or a block of plaztazote. One of my favourite flies, the ' Edgewater Wiggler '. uses shaped foam to provide a girgling, popping motion which any self respecting Pike finds hard to resist. In conclusion any big, hairy, shiny, fishy looking pattern will gain the attention of Pike !
The net should be strong, with plenty of room to fit a large Pike without risk of damage to scales etc., in short while the fish is within the folds of the net it should lie straight not be bent double ! Next you need an unhooking mat, something I have only recently aquired and an absolute must. To sort the hook out a pair of foot long predator forceps are required which ensures easy removal of the hook without risking serious injury if a Pike decides to snap its jaws closed. Many people also use some kind of glove, often the heavy duty garden variety, for extra protection.
U.K. Pike-A primer on the do's and don'ts
By: Nick Hart
So where do we start ? Well there are many venues across the U.K. which hold Pike including Canals, Rivers and Lakes. You may need to ask around and do a bit of behind the scenes research but odds on there is a water close to you with a stock of Pike, the only basic requirement of each is that there is some room to make a back cast.
Venues need to have features which will attract the freshwater tiger, a favourite being reed beds. Jacks are often found prowling up and down these nashing their teeth, ready for an unwary fish to make its mistake and venture too close ! Other things to look for include a weedy bottom, especially tall, ' stringy ' weed which stands up off the lake / canal bed and provides an excellent background for Esox to mould into. Ideal water depths can vary depending on your chosen location, size of fish stocked and time of year, but often 3 - 6 ft is an excellent starting point.
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Right, time to begin fishing. Thread up the rod which should be weight 8 and above, and attach 6 - 8ft of 20/30lb mono, loop to loop is ideal for this and when using such strong leader I go for the Perfection Loop Knot. Then using an Albright Knot splice in 1 1/2 ft of 20lb twisted steel strand wire, after which use the method described in Pike Article 1 to attach your fly. Pattern selection depends on a few criteria, mainly venue and weather conditions, my own first choice is often an intermediate line coupled with a Black Fly as described in the previous article.
To start fishing set yourself up to cast at one of the features mentioned above, ideally on a boat you will be 10 - 20 yds out from a reed bed and throwing the line so the fly falls extremely close to the stems. On a canal or river the best policy is to cast to the opposite bank on a diaganol or so it returns parallel with your own bank. Allow the fly a little time to sink and then start a very 'jerky' retrieve, remember you are trying to imitate an injured / dying fish or one which is frightened and alarmed by the presence of Mr Pike ! My standard retrieve is to use very quick strips of 2 feet or so and then stop dead. Hard, rod wrenching takes often occur just as the fly stops or when you resume the retrieve. One fantastic element of Piking is that often the strikes are so visual with a great push of water towards your fly, or the incredible sight of the fly dissapearing into the cavernnous mouth of a hungry Pike !
Another favourite tactic is the Popper ! A floating line should be your choice with a similar leader rig to that described above, and a bouyant fly made using clipped deer hair, platazote block or something similar. Cast your offering in close to the reeds, along river / lake banks and over weed beds. Don't begin an immediate retrieve, instead wait for a while, often Pike will become attracted by the noise of a Popper landing and launch a savage attack on what it thinks is a dead or dying fish. I have experimented with strikes and have found that you need to strip the fly home or lift firmly. Strike hard upon impact and often the hook comes loose which most likely has something to do with the way Pike turn their prey ( head first ) once consumed. All that and we haven't even begun to retrieve yet ! Start by ripping the line several times with a savage strip, this will cause the fly to suddenly spring to life, popping ( hence its name ) and gurgling towards the rod tip. Quite often there is an explosion behind the fly as a Pike takes pursuit and strikes out, once again though use plenty of pauses as often this can be the trigger point for an attack. One point I would like to make is that I do not often use weed guards as I feel that they hamper a decent hook up, many will disagree with this I am sure, but it is my own personal preference. Besides, I have witnessed on a number of occassions a fly eaten with a foot of weed trailing behind!
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Once hooked your Pike will do everything in its power to shed the hook, and quite often they succeed, but even this is a fantastic spectacle as the fly is tossed away in a shower of spray and teeth. Small Jacks are fun because of the incredible speed which they use to attack, having been hooked they will often thump around a little before giving in, exhausted by the energy needed to engulf the fly. Large Jacks ( 8 - 9 lb ) and double figure fish are quite different. Takes will almost always be a rod wrenching slam, followed by an aerial display to rival the Red Arrows and a run that Linford Christie would be proud of. It is now that decent wire traces, strong knots and plenty of backing becomes paramount for the successful capture of this hard fighting predator.
Playing fish is similar to any other heavyweight species, put on as much pressure as you dare ( that's quite a lot with 30lb line ! ), use your disc drag if you have it and try and beat the fish as fast as possible. Many people believe that Pike are incredibly hardy, but in fact they will go very belly up very fast if not handled correctly. There is a simple reason for this, they have no enemies ( other than each other ) and have been designed to attack and kill, so their biological system is not best designed to cope with being preyed upon themselves. Your first big Pike cart wheeling away at a formula one pace is certainly something never forgotten, but once beaten action is needed to avoid stressing the fish and inflicting injury on yourself.
Once in the net ensure the fish has finished thrashing and then quickly lift the fish out. Try and get the Pike on its back as this seems to calm them down, in fact they can go as quite as a mouse, and on to an unhooking mat ready for surgery. Then if you are using a glove place it on your unatural hand (i.e. the one you don't write with ) and get ready with the forceps. Place your gloved hand gently inside the gill plate using extreme care, never touch the blood red gill rakes. By holding the fish using this method you will cause it to flare open the jaws displaying to the world just why they are nicknamed the Freshwater Barracuda. It is then very easy to locate the hook and use the forceps to remove, never ever be tempted to use your hand, even if the hook is stubborn. One slip and you have a very nasty injury quite literally on your hands ! If this proceedure sounds risky please be reassured that with care and common sense it is very simple operation. Just remember 2 golden rules, never turn away from the Pike for even a second and keep your hands behind the jaws at all times. Please don't use a Pike Gag, they are outdated, don't always work properly and can cause the Pike injury.
Get a nice trophy shot and then spend plenty of time reviving the Pike before allowing it to swim away. I watched one guy chuck back a mid teen fish earlier this year having uncerimoniously dragged it to the boat, weighed, unhooked and dumped it back into the drink before picking up his rod and frantically re casting. I am sad to report that later on that day this magnificent fish was dead, purely because it had been handled with little or no respect.
Fly Fishing for Pike is one of the most exciting avenues
of the sport to come to light for years, so why not give it a go ? After
all where else can you expect a WILD double figure fish, on a regular
basis, in the British Isles ?