CHOOSING THE BEST GEAR FOR PIKE ON THE FLY
Delicate presentations, ultra small flies, picky appetites; need a change? If so, take a break from our cold water friends and dive into the heavy hitting world of the northern pike. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of having a dinosaur-like shadow rise from the depths towards a 10″ fly, a fly that a trout fisherman would be proud to catch. However, before you run to the river to mess up these toothy critters, a few things need to be beefed up. The sheer size of these fish and the power needed to turn over pike flies requires a heavier and stronger setup compared to our trout rigs.
ROD
Like our trout rods, the range of rod weights for pike can vary depending on many variables. We all want to be that guy holding a 40 inch hammer handle but for many, your home waters may not hold such pike. Finding a good compromise between having the backbone to deliver flies while not overpowering your hooked prey is the goal.
A good rule of thumb is to stay in the 8-weight to 10-weight range. If you want to throw a 10” streamer and have the potential of reeling in a big ol’ snaggletooth, you want a 9 or 10-weight rod. At these weights, you will have the umph to rollover the wet tube sock-like streamers. However, if you know your pike are staying in the 20” – 30” range you may want to step down to a 8-weight. No one wants to overpower a fish on the fight, the battle is what the adventure is all about.
REEL
No doubt, pike get big. But don’t let their scary size confuse you into choosing the wrong reel. The awesomeness which is pike fishing is the first eat. It’s powerful, aggressive, and will keep you coming back for more. However, once they exert all that energy into messing up your $15 streamer that is pretty much it. If you are looking for a down to the backing, tarpon like fight, you are in the wrong waters. If you are on a budget, this is a good place to cut some cost. No fancy ceramic braking system needed. As long as your reel size matches the line weight of your chosen rod, you are good here.
LINE
Usually the first line for the new fly fisherman is the full-floating line. While this does have its place ripping top water poppers, floating line can cause some trouble for our below the surface techniques. Even though a pike fly has the mass of a Shi-Poo puppy when wet, don’t let it fool you…it’s not a sinker. With the amount of magnum-sized rabbit strips and pterodactyl hackle wrapped around a giant hook, these flies need some help to get down.
In order to get your fly to the perfect zone, above the weed beds, we like a full sink line with a sinking rate of 3-6 inches per second, with roughly a 30ft head, and an intermediate running line. A few exceptional examples that we’ve used are Cortland’s Compact Sink type 6 or Rio’s InTouch Pike/Musky Sink 6. Now keep in mind this is for unweighted pike flies. This combination allows your fly to get down quick and keeps your fly properly suspended during pauses between strips. Since a majority of your time in the water will be in depths less than 10 feet, we believe this is the line of choice for most situations. When the dog days of summer hit and the pike move to deeper water you will have to increase your sink rate or pair your current sinking line with heavier weighted flies.
LEADER
When throwing giant pike flies like the MegaJerk, Grumpy Muppet, or the Double Deceiver, yes pike flies also have awesome names, you need a leader with some umph to it. However, compared to a trout leader, we are going to simplify this setup immensely. Unlike their cold water predator friends, pike aren’t particularly leader shy, at least not from our experience in the northeast anyway. The only characteristics we need is a poundage that is sufficient, ability to turnover heavy flies, and a tippet that protects us from those razor like teeth.
Now, you can save yourself some knot tying trouble and go with preconstructed tapered leaders from companies like Rio or Scientific Angler. They offer specific leaders for sharp-toothed critters. However, we feel a fancy, expensive, 7.5 foot leader is too much in terms of length and coin. Especially when running any type of sinking line. Simply rip off 36 inches (3’) of your favorite 30-pound monofilament or fluorocarbon and tie on around 12 inches (1’) of 20-pound wire bite tippet and you are ready to rip some pike lips. For a full step by step instruction on tying pike leaders check out this article.
FLIES
Now for the fun part of the setup, the big ass streamers! For most target species, the choices of flies are endless. However, pike make it easier on us because they just want to eat and eat big. The general flies range in size from 4 to 10 inches, but they do get longer. These flies mimic big baitfish that will fill big bellies. The ideal pike streamers are mostly neutrally buoyant due to the mass of dense animal hair and long synthetic fibers. Buoyancy is the main concern in pike streamers. When a big slimer is tickling his nose with your synthetic fibers, you want the ability to stop the streamer and stay suspended in front of him. This injured baitfish movement can cause the predatory instinct to kick in and trigger the strike we are all out there for. These flies can get pricey but play with different sizes, shapes, and colors. Figure out what the pike in your water like. When you find the secret weapon, hold on and enjoy the rush!
Pike want to eat and they want to eat big. Feeding them a 9″ MEGA-Jerk pattern designed by Gunnar Brammer is just the ticket. Check out Gunnar’s website for all the information on how to tie one up. If you just want to take the easy route and purchase them, check out Erik Reed who has Gunnar’s permission to sell the pattern. You can contact him at his Instagram page, @REED981
We hope this article has been a helpful starting point for all of the newcomers to the chase of the great northern pike. Like any equipment for fly fishing, the options are endless and at times downright confusing. If you have any questions about our recommendations or need clarification, don’t be afraid to leave a comment below or send us an email. We hope you enjoyed this article and look forward to your feedback.
AUTHOR
CHOOSING THE BEST GEAR FOR PIKE ON THE FLY
Delicate presentations, ultra small flies, picky appetites; need a change? If so, take a break from our cold water friends and dive into the heavy hitting world of the northern pike. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of having a dinosaur-like shadow rise from the depths towards a 10″ fly, a fly that a trout fisherman would be proud to catch. However, before you run to the river to mess up these toothy critters, a few things need to be beefed up. The sheer size of these fish and the power needed to turn over pike flies requires a heavier and stronger setup compared to our trout rigs.
ROD
Like our trout rods, the range of rod weights for pike can vary depending on many variables. We all want to be that guy holding a 40 inch hammer handle but for many, your home waters may not hold such pike. Finding a good compromise between having the backbone to deliver flies while not overpowering your hooked prey is the goal.
A good rule of thumb is to stay in the 8-weight to 10-weight range. If you want to throw a 10” streamer and have the potential of reeling in a big ol’ snaggletooth, you want a 9 or 10-weight rod. At these weights, you will have the umph to rollover the wet tube sock-like streamers. However, if you know your pike are staying in the 20” – 30” range you may want to step down to a 8-weight. No one wants to overpower a fish on the fight, the battle is what the adventure is all about.
REEL
No doubt, pike get big. But don’t let their scary size confuse you into choosing the wrong reel. The awesomeness which is pike fishing is the first eat. It’s powerful, aggressive, and will keep you coming back for more. However, once they exert all that energy into messing up your $15 streamer that is pretty much it. If you are looking for a down to the backing, tarpon like fight, you are in the wrong waters. If you are on a budget, this is a good place to cut some cost. No fancy ceramic braking system needed. As long as your reel size matches the line weight of your chosen rod, you are good here.
LINE
Usually the first line for the new fly fisherman is the full-floating line. While this does have its place ripping top water poppers, floating line can cause some trouble for our below the surface techniques. Even though a pike fly has the mass of a Shi-Poo puppy when wet, don’t let it fool you…it’s not a sinker. With the amount of magnum-sized rabbit strips and pterodactyl hackle wrapped around a giant hook, these flies need some help to get down.
In order to get your fly to the perfect zone, above the weed beds, we like a full sink line with a sinking rate of 3-6 inches per second, with roughly a 30ft head, and an intermediate running line. A few exceptional examples that we’ve used are Cortland’s Compact Sink type 6 or Rio’s InTouch Pike/Musky Sink 6. Now keep in mind this is for unweighted pike flies. This combination allows your fly to get down quick and keeps your fly properly suspended during pauses between strips. Since a majority of your time in the water will be in depths less than 10 feet, we believe this is the line of choice for most situations. When the dog days of summer hit and the pike move to deeper water you will have to increase your sink rate or pair your current sinking line with heavier weighted flies.
LEADER
When throwing giant pike flies like the MegaJerk, Grumpy Muppet, or the Double Deceiver, yes pike flies also have awesome names, you need a leader with some umph to it. However, compared to a trout leader, we are going to simplify this setup immensely. Unlike their cold water predator friends, pike aren’t particularly leader shy, at least not from our experience in the northeast anyway. The only characteristics we need is a poundage that is sufficient, ability to turnover heavy flies, and a tippet that protects us from those razor like teeth.
Now, you can save yourself some knot tying trouble and go with preconstructed tapered leaders from companies like Rio or Scientific Angler. They offer specific leaders for sharp-toothed critters. However, we feel a fancy, expensive, 7.5 foot leader is too much in terms of length and coin. Especially when running any type of sinking line. Simply rip off 36 inches (3’) of your favorite 30-pound monofilament or fluorocarbon and tie on around 12 inches (1’) of 20-pound wire bite tippet and you are ready to rip some pike lips. For a full step by step instruction on tying pike leaders check out this article.
FLIES
Now for the fun part of the setup, the big ass streamers! For most target species, the choices of flies are endless. However, pike make it easier on us because they just want to eat and eat big. The general flies range in size from 4 to 10 inches, but they do get longer. These flies mimic big baitfish that will fill big bellies. The ideal pike streamers are mostly neutrally buoyant due to the mass of dense animal hair and long synthetic fibers. Buoyancy is the main concern in pike streamers. When a big slimer is tickling his nose with your synthetic fibers, you want the ability to stop the streamer and stay suspended in front of him. This injured baitfish movement can cause the predatory instinct to kick in and trigger the strike we are all out there for. These flies can get pricey but play with different sizes, shapes, and colors. Figure out what the pike in your water like. When you find the secret weapon, hold on and enjoy the rush!
Pike want to eat and they want to eat big. Feeding them a 9″ MEGA-Jerk pattern designed by Gunnar Brammer is just the ticket. Check out Gunnar’s website for all the information on how to tie one up. If you just want to take the easy route and purchase them, check out Erik Reed who has Gunnar’s permission to sell the pattern. You can contact him at his Instagram page, @REED981
We hope this article has been a helpful starting point for all of the newcomers to the chase of the great northern pike. Like any equipment for fly fishing, the options are endless and at times downright confusing. If you have any questions about our recommendations or need clarification, don’t be afraid to leave a comment below or send us an email. We hope you enjoyed this article and look forward to your feedback.
AUTHOR
You should make this post like into a definitive guide or something. I bet a lot of your new readers that come to this site would want to be able to find this post. It’s too good to keep secret!
Thanks! We really appreciate the positive feedback!