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            Me, Pikes 

   and  Flyfishing

Text and photos: Jani Ollikainen
Photos of the Flies: KTL

Pike, the fish, that everyone knows, and the fish, that some people depreciate. But the fact is: For a flyfisherman pikes are challenging fishes and much fun to catch. When you flyfish pikes, there is no need to drive by car hundreds of kilometers, and there is no need half a year earlier to make reservations for licences and pools. Pikes they are almost in every watercourse. It is easy to make a short, one two hours, fishing trip to fish pikes. Important is, that to flyfish pikes is not so easy, that every trip is productive, there is a lot of challenge in flyfishing pikes.

PIKES IN FINLAND

In Finland pikes (Esox lucius) are widely spread all over the country in both sweet waters and the bracked water of the Baltic Sea. In the sea pikes live in the areas where halinity is under 18 per milles. Spawning, however, is succesful only in the areas, where the halinity is maximum  7 per milles. Optimum temperature for pikes is, when the water is 12- 15 centigrades. 

Pikes as individuals live in quite  small areas. They stay in certain places and wait the baitfishes to swim so close, that the hit is possible. Some pikes (normally the big ones) wander around more than the small ones. If you catch a pike in certain place, you can be sure that next time this place has a new inhabitant waiting for your fly. When a pike is hunting, it stays quite on its hiding place, only the frontfins and gill covers are moving. When a baitfish or fly comes to the hunting area, it starts slowly to turn towards the coming object.. and hits like a lightning on the bait with help of its powerful backfin movements. Pike takes the bait in its mouth sidewards and turn the it so, that the bait can be swallowed head first.

Here in Finland pikes live mostly near by shore vegetation like rushes or rockweed, on on open waters hunting large schools of baltic herrings, smelts or whitefishes. Pikes hunt mostly using the eyes, this means, that they are active in daylight. Both sides of the noon are normally not the best time for pikefishing, but in summertime both morning and evening twilights are the hot times. Early springtime and late autumntime the hot hitting session can be at noon. Pikes are predators, they eat small fishes like roaches, bleaks, smelts, herrings and whitefishes. But, in the year 1987 I caught in a lake in the middle of woods apike, who had filled its stomach with dragonfly nymphs.

TOOLS

Commonly is thought, that when flyfishing pikes the rod has to be strong and heavy class, because pikes are fished with large flies. It is really fun to fish smallies (0,5-2 kg) in the rushes with a light rod (4 - 5#). When you are fishing "THE BIG ONE", then heavier rods are needed. Class 7-10 and about 9 feet is a good choice then.

The reel is not so important. It is enough to have about 50 meters backing, and brakesystem is nice, when the Big is on. If fishing in bracked water, the reel has to be corrosion resistant. Modern lightweight carbon reels are excellent choice, no corrosion and they are cheep.

                   

The lines? They produce lines specially for pikefishing (f.i. Cortland). Floating or sinking or between? That is a good question: If you do not want to spend too much money, buy a WF  intermediate, it is a nice universal line. If you are a materialist, buy floating, intermediate and grain. Shooting heads are pleasant to fish with, when the conditions are windy. Buy a DT line with your friend. Cut it in the middle and you have two shooting heads. It should be one or two classes heavier as the rod recommendation is. The right length of the shooting head you find by testing it.

Monofil (0,25-0.4 mm) and 1-1,5 meters is ok as basic leader. tippet should be shocktippet like steel or tungsten wire. I use tungsten, on which I add a splitring to the leader end and a light duolock at the fly end. Do not use too big locks, they prevent the fly to swim correctly.

Some extra tools I have always with me. Pliers are important to loose fishes, a mouthopener helps a lot,  and sunglasses are important to protect you eyes and to see underwater happenings. A floating tube is fun and handy way to move on the waters, but boats are ok , too.

FLIES

Two of the most important features of pikeflies are durability and easiness to tie them. That is why I tie my flies of materials like flashabou tinsels, Raccoon Zonker-strips of Finnish Fur Flies and marabou. Nowadays I do not use so much marabou as earlier. Tie some flies with weed guards of f.i. 0,50 mm monofil, too.   Crepla or foam is good material, when you need floaters for surface runners. My flies are from 5 cm to 20 cm long.

Two receipts:

            SURFACE RUNNER

               

HOOK:        Short shank # 4 – 2/0
WING:        Lilac flashabou and over pearly-flashabou
BODY:        Orange pearly-chenille
FLOATER:  Crepla or foam

            JANI'S PIKETINSEL

           

HOOK:   8 – 2/0 (Apparently there is not a hook big enough for pikes)
WING:   About 2 times the shank flashabou, colours by own choice (yours or pike's?)
BODY:   Flashabou, short stripes about the length of the body, tyed backwards pointing
EYES:    Bedchain
HEAD:    Black dubbing

TECHNIQUES AND SEASONS

Springtime is the golden era for a flyfisherman, who wants to catch big fishes. Then you find the pikes near by their spawning areas, where they can stay in really shallow water. The rushes near by large open waters are in spring places where you can meet even the big ones. You can meet pikes even under one meters depth. When the water is cold, the fly must be presented slowly, slow about 30 cm long ”strip” is good, and a while stop the fly totally.

             

When spawning is over pikes are really hungry, and they take eagerly on flies. Schools of pikes gather then in areas a bit outside their spawning bays to hunt small fishes and to recuperate of the exertions of spawningtime. Then it is possible to catch many nice fishes one one footsteps. If you find a place like this, limit your kill, do not kill your limit.

Summertime, when waters are warm, the big ones go out to the open waters and the small ones stay near by the shorelines in rushes and in rockweeds. If you want to catch big fishes in summertime, you have to fish the slopes falling to deep water. It is good, if there is some vegetation, too, to give shelter to the small baitfishes. The best fishing times of the day are morning and evening twilights.

The swimming speed of the fly can be fast, but do not forget the stops. One fishing method is so fun in summertime, that wonder they have not forbidden it by law. Use light equipments and a surface running fly. Fish between the weeds or near by the rushes. You can see and hear, when a pike hits. When autumn comes, and the waters get colder, the big pikes come again to shallow waters. 

I think in autumn the nature in Finland is at its most beautiful. Flyfishing pikes in the baltic this time of the year is one of the hottest things a flyfisherman can do. The colder the water is the slower you strip the fly in. You can flyfish pikes till the ices cover the sea and the lakes.

Final advice: When you strip the line in, hold the rod so that it is in the same line as the fly and the line, and hold the rod tip about 10 cm over the surface.

TIGHT LINES AND LET US ENJOY FLYFISHING PIKES! THAT IS FUN!