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Pike and flysize

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Thomas
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Pike and flysize

#1

Post by Thomas »

Hi everybody,

I would like to hear your opinions on flysize when fishing for pike. Here in Sweden most flyfishers who are in pursuit after pike use big flies. These flies are often 25-30 centimeters in length with two hooks and a tail. Now, there are several things I dont like about these flies. First, they are expensive as hell. Second, they are a pain in the ass to cast. I am not an experienced pike-flyfisherman and I mostly use flies that are about 15 centimeters long. These flies are cheaper and easier to tie. I can cast them relatively easy on my an 8-weight setup (I dont have a heavier set up). Now, are there any big advantages to these gigantic flies? Do they catch more pike? Should I bite the bullet and tie my self some of these flies and get myself heavier gear as well? I know that there are som experienced pike-fishermen on this board (I am talking about you Lasse and you Berndt... :)) and I really would like to hear your opinion on this matter.

Cheers, Thomas
Thomas
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Re: Pike and flysize

#2

Post by Thomas »

Hello fellow pike-flyfishermen... Anybody there?
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Paul Arden
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Re: Pike and flysize

#3

Post by Paul Arden »

We used to catch 20-30lb pike on one inch long flies by mistake :D
I guess that doesn’t help!

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Thomas
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Re: Pike and flysize

#4

Post by Thomas »

Not bad! Nice Pike!
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Paul Arden
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Re: Pike and flysize

#5

Post by Paul Arden »

It was a UK reservoir. They got big by eating trout! It held the British record 44lbs for many years. I think it might have spoiled me with this fish species :D

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Thomas
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Re: Pike and flysize

#6

Post by Thomas »

That's a HUGE pike! Congratulations!
Viking Lars
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Re: Pike and flysize

#7

Post by Viking Lars »

Hey Thomas!

I have a few thought on this subject, and some of them might be slightly self-contradictory, but here goes.
1. If there was ever a species, where the saying "big bait, big fish" holds true, it's for pike. I think my five-six largest pike were all caught on really big flies (+20cm anyway).
2. When you hit the right conditions and pike are really on the hunt, I don't think it matters much if the fly is 20 or 30cm.
3. If you fish brackish water, at least in Denmark and Northern Germany, it's my experience in "small" is if not better then at least as good as "big". In Southern Denmark I rarely fish flies over 15cm for pike. Bernd is the real expert here - he's probably on of the fly fishermen who's caught the ost brackish water pike!
4. Sometimes "small" will get a strike or three on an otherwise eventless day.

Lars
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Paul Arden
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Re: Pike and flysize

#8

Post by Paul Arden »

The British record was not caught by me nor was it on fly! My mate caught a 32lb pike on a black buzzer size 10. It was hooked at the edge of the mouth so he landed it.

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Thomas
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Re: Pike and flysize

#9

Post by Thomas »

I misread "It held the British .." for " I held the British.." :)

Thanks Lars. I should perhaps add that I rareley fish the Baltic. I live on the Swedish Westcoast and fish for pike in rivers and lakes.

Cheers, Thomas
Viking Lars
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Re: Pike and flysize

#10

Post by Viking Lars »

And just to add - I can't stand those Wiggle Tails, Dragon Tails etc. I think they're totally unnecessary and they're certainly not cheap either. If you're looking for pike flies that aren't too expensive to tie, check out some of Paul Monoghan's flies on YouTube - they're relatively simple and quite awesome flies. Piketeaser on Instagram also ties nice pike flies and my friend, Daniel D. Holm, also has a lot of pike flies on his YouTube-channel. There's plenty of inspiration out there.

Lars
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