Pike fly line for HT10

[piffilus]

Since I nowadays own an HT10 I'd like to target pike and I wonder what kind of line I should buy as my first line. I've seen some Vision guys saying that if you only get one line (at first anyway) it should be an intermediate line.

I had a look at Visions lines, Grand Daddy and Big Mama. Looking at the lines head weights though lifts an eyebrow or two, Grand Daddy 8.5 m head #8: 19g, #9: 21g, #10: 23g and Big Mama 12.8 m head #8: 24g, #9: 27g, #10: 31g. I don't remember the aftma line weights by heart but these seem to be quite heavy... Of course pike flies usually are quite big, but what do you think about that? Other brands and models to look at?

Any recommendations from you pike anglers here would be welcome, VIKING Lars, Bernd and Martyn White springs to my mind as knowledgeable in this field.

[Bendix]

Hi

I would agree with the “Vision Guys”, and say that an intermediate line is the best all round line for Pike. Unless you are fishing with poppers, that is…

My favorite line at the moment, is the Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan sink tip, which is floating, with an intermediate tip. But that is mainly because, most of the waters I fish, are relatively shallow, and with lots of weeds. For water with more depth, a full intermediate might be better.

What I like about the intermediate line, is that some of the big, modern tube flies I use, are basically “weightless”, despite their big size (I usually purchase ready tied tube flies designed by Nicklaus Bauer). This means, that the flies will float, unless you have a sinking line to pull them under the surface.

So my advice would definitely be that you choose some sort of intermediate line to start with.

Regarding which weight will suit the Hot Torpedo, I unfortunately have no idea… Someone else will probably be able to help you with that.

/Bendix

[piffilus]

Thanks for the information Bendix.

I know that Viking Lars has the HT10 but I don't know if he use it for pike fishing though. If I remember correctly Paul use Rio tropical Technical Tarpon #9, which is a 9.5, for his Snakehead fishing. But the poppers he use are much smaller than a pike fly.

As I understand it it's the balance between weight and air resistance that is responsible for the fly being easy to cast. A heavy fly with little air resistance or a light weight fly with a lot of air resistance would both be hard to cast with ease, if I've understood what I've been told correctly.

The lake where I fish for trout holds pike too and that is quite shallow except for a few places in the middle where there are a couple of holes that are 4.5-5 meters deep, which isn't very deep either.

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

Well, not exactly for "pike" but for snook, which I think is a Florida equivalent to a pike...

Last winter I started using a 9 wt Scientific Anglers Sonar Camo Intermediate line on a 10 wt Scott Sector. The line is supposedly "one half line" heavy. The SA website lists all labeled gram weights for all their line heads.

Based on my experience with a HT 6 and some heavier HT prototypes, I would say the Sector likely has a slower action.

My flies are in the 5" range, so not as big as some of the monster pike flies I've seen, but the line carries these fat-head "mullet" fly pretty easily.

My flies are weighted and full synthetic, so they sink faster than most. This intermediate line keeps these flies 2 - 3 feet below the surface on a moderate retrieve with no appreciable pause to allow things to sink. The water is slightly salty so maybe a bit lower in full fresh water.

Previously, I was using the Bario Predator lines, which I found to be much heavier than labeled, and the head profile was much more aggressive than my current SA line. I found the Barios to be more than I needed for carrying my flies even when I down sized one or two labeled weights. So, if your flies are bigger these may be better.

Hope this helps!

[piffilus]

Thanks Mangrove Cuckoo. I'll take this into consideration. I live by the Baltic Sea which is brackish water, but I guess I'll mostly fish in lakes since the pike population has dwindled in the Baltic, where I live anyway, since I was a kid and I'll be bankside fishing.

[Lasse Karlsson]

Where are you going to fish for pike? Low water or deep water? How are your flies?

Cheers
Lasse

[piffilus]

Where are you going to fish for pike? Low water or deep water? How are your flies?

Cheers
Lasse

I'll start out in lakes like the one I fish for Rainbows in which is quite shallow, 5 meters in a spot in the middle of the lake, around the edge I think it average around 2 meters. But I may well find other lakes that are deeper. I may try out the archipelago later on.

As for flies I'll begin tying them. Hook flies for starters on size 4/0, some with stingers and tails and some without. I'm going to tie together with Martyn White over Zoom this Saturday. I know we will be some with dumbell eyes, bucktail and saddle hackle tails but he may have other patterns as well.
I may have a go at tube flies later on, who knows.

Cheers, Piffen

[Paul Arden]

This rod was originally developed using a Río technical tarpon true to weight 60’ head. It’s not available now as it was then. I then switched to SA Redfish which is 1/2WT. And I like the 9.5 for the sort of fast shots I have here. I mentioned this to SA and they sent me the Infinity 9.5 which was in prototype design stage and I’ve been using it ever since.

However for throwing socks on shooting heads I would use something else. But I haven’t done this. I will ask Viking Lars because I trust him on these details and always pass on fishing shooting head questions to him (and Lasse!)

Cheers, Paul

[piffilus]

Thanks Paul. Yes, you told me about those lines earlier. Your fast smallish popper casting is a bit different than throwing large wool socks at pike. And there's the parameter of getting the sock at the right depth. The videos I've been watching says that if you only have one line, it should be an intermediate. I'd like to have a response from Viking Lars to hear what he has to say since I know he fish for pike.

Cheers, Piffen

[Viking Lars]

Hej Piffen,
This is of course a difficult question to answer as there are so many variables and personal preferences involved.
First of all - I fish 22 gram shooting heads on mine, usually around 9m long. I cut them from double hand lines and customise the line, so it has a thicker tip section that helps in turnover woth big flies. I have shooting heads in intermediate down to a sink 6/7. But I rarely fish anything faster than a sink 3. A sink 3 is fast enough that just waiting a few moments gets it down well.

For surface fishing and near-surface-fishing, I prefer a WF-line and my current mojo is the Matery Titan - excellent line. I have a few friends who are very fond of the Vision-lines also.

Lars