I grew up on the East coast so other than a few encounters while bass fishing in Ontario I hadn’t had a lot of contact with Northern Pike. With my fishing on the Bow, guiding, bartending, and a saltwater-fishing addiction I still hadn’t had alot of time for pike fishing.
But I always said I would treat myself to a fly-in trip to a northern lake to fish for “trophies.” Well, last June was the time. Pike are not known for great selectivity. It is often said, “If it moves and it is big, they will strike.” No doubt that pike are extremely aggressive. So maybe we do put more thought into our pike flies than necessary. As fly tiers we enjoy tying these flies and are always searching for the next big thing.
But there are things about the way we all fish and present our flies that is unique to each of us and make one fly work better for us than for others. One of the reasons I like this fly is because of its excellent visibility at distance which plays into the way I like to fish for northern pike. Generally white flies show extremely well against dark water or bottom, but when I tied the beacon on to the leader I was amazed at just how far and how deep I could see it. For me a lot of the fun of pike fishing is watching the fish follow the fly and you can adjust your retrieve accordingly.
Materials:
Hook: Talon Diver 2/0
Thread: Flourescent orange flat waxed nylon
Tail: Flourescent chartreuse Craft Fur (just the longest of the fibers)
Flash: Gliss n Glow in pearl or chartreuse
Collar: EP Anadromus Brush flourescent orange
Eyes: XL Stainless steel bead chain
These flies are also great tied in reverse colors. You can also try them in Black/Red, White/Red, Yellow/Red… whatever your favorite Pike colors are.
