I don’t remember my first encounter with members of the pike family while using fly
tackle, but I certainly remember the last. I was out in my float tube, on a local lake, trying to
relax after a long weekend of working around the house. It was during the early part of June,
and the brand new 4-weight rod in my hand was getting a workout on the local bluegill
population.

The new rod worked great, and several slab sized bluegills were subdued, and brought to
the net. As I was working my way around the island in the lake, I cast my favorite popper, a
chartreuse Sneaky Pete, up under an overhanging branch. The popper had barely hit the water
when all hell broke loose. A big fish hit the popper from the side in a way that could best be
described by the word violent, and ran all of the slack line through my fingers before it snapped
the leader the instant I set the hook. I ended up with a painful burn on my line finger, and sat in
the tube in total disbelief as the popper, seemingly as if he spit it out in spite, rose to the surface
again.

Every once in a while a pike is an unintended surprise to a fly rod angler out for bass or
panfish, but they are a lot more fun when you actually plan on catching them. Pike; and by pike
I mean all of the members of the Esocidae family including northern pike, muskellunge, tiger
muskellunge, and pickerel; were created to be the ultimate freshwater predatory fish. They are
built for short bursts of incredible speed, and are armed with a jawful of sharp teeth. It is not
uncommon to find muskellunge up to the 40 pound class, northern pike that go over 20 pounds,
and pickerel up to 10 pounds in many areas of North America.

Fly fishing for pike is a lot of fun. The most productive time of the year to pursue pike
with fly tackle is shortly after they spawn, in the early spring. Pike actually spawn in late March,
often under the ice, and will be present in the shallow bays of a lake or a river, near their
spawning grounds, up until late spring in many areas. The bays that they will be found in are the
first waters to warm up in the springtime, and they will usually be in much less than ten feet of
water. One species, the muskellunge, also invades the shallows prior to winter, and can provide
good fishing in the fall.

Depending on the regulations in your area, pike fishing is most productive shortly after
the ice leaves a lake and the first warm weather hits. Here in New York State where I live, the
season begins on the first Saturday in the month of May, shortly after the ice typically leaves
many of our lakes.

The first item that a fly fisherman has to overcome for pike fishing is the teeth. There
are a couple of ways around this. A short section of heavy monofilament (up to 100 pound test
if you are fishing for big muskies, and around 50 pound test for big northerns) will work to keep
pike from biting through the leader. The trouble with this system in my opinion is that it is hard
to tie a fly on. I prefer to use bluefish leaders, that have a short section of wire. When you
change flies, you cut the wire, and use a crimp to put a new fly on. Another option is the new
bite guard leaders that Orvis sells, with a re-twisting haywire shock tippet made of 40 pound test
wire.

Fly rods for pike fishing should be in the 8-10 weight range. Ordinarily, an 8-weight will
do well for this sort of fishing. Heavier rods come in handy for big fish, or for heaving some of
the larger sized pike flies all day long. I prefer longer rods, in the 9-10 foot length range, for the
majority of my fly fishing, including pike. Nearly any reel will do, because the runs will be
quick, but relatively short on a hooked pike.

When it comes to pike flies, the selection is not too complicated. Pike hunt by sight, and
the bigger, the better, when it comes to flies. For surface fishing, big Dahlberg Divers in a
variety of colors are hard to beat. I would also recommend at least one big swimming frog
pattern. For subsurface fishing, saltwater streamer patterns are good. The Whistler and
Deceiever patterns in

a variety of colors are good flies. Tarpon, and saltwater baitfish patterns also work very well.
Hook sizes should range from size 2, up to 4/0’s when you are looking to catch muskies.

When you are landing hooked pike, be sure and have some pliers on hand to get the hook
out of the fish. It is also advisable to have a good sized landing net available. Pike can be
landed by hand, by grasping them behind the eyes. Be sure and not grasp the fish in the eyes.
Their eyesight is their ability to eat, and it is very unsporting to damage a fish that you are not
going to eat in this fashion.

Whether you encounter pike as an aside to other forms of fly fishing, or you join the
ranks of a growing group of fly rod anglers pursuing pike, you will always remember hooking a
big one. The violent way in which they take a bait, and the powerful runs that they make, are the
reason they are a great fly rod fish.