[SERE Nate]

I recently moved to Whitefish MT and am a block from Whitefish lake and the locals tell me that the Pike will be moving into the shallows soon. I have never caught a pike on the fly. I have a bunch of big old nasty streamers and some 30 pound mono. Any tips?

Anyone in the flathead valley want to get together for some fishing this fall??

 

[MattB]

It can be fun if you live in an area with decent numbers. Numbers suck down here, but it would be a ball if you could have a two digit fish day from a boat. The eats are a ton of fun to watch, but in all honestly they fight like shit. It's all about the eat. Here's the last one I caught on a 12" wiggletail double D. Definitely have had better success with bigger flies.

eta: you'll definitely want to fish wire, either steel or titanium. Fishing mono won't end well I'd imagine.

 

[jersey]

Such a cool picture

 

[Deceased]

Fish knot too kinky brand wire, 25-35 lb. Use a perfection loop to tie any knot with it. Fish red and white flies.

 

[Flyguy65]

Caught tons of smaller pike in Alaska on deer hair mouse patterns....cool shallow lake, fun but done that.

 

[ribka]

have been fly fishing over 30 years. My bite ratio is my higher using 50 to 60 lb mono and later fluoro vs wire tippet

Have a few bite offs but pick up a lot more fish eschewing wire. use a non slip mono loop or crimping

 

[Chucker]

Do whatever these guys do. They have it down!

 

[SaltyTippet]

What a sweet movie these guys are awesome.... pretty sure they alone have made Sweden a bucket list locale for me...

 

[freestoneangler]

It can be fun if you live in an area with decent numbers. Numbers suck down here, but it would be a ball if you could have a two digit fish day from a boat. The eats are a ton of fun to watch, but in all honestly they fight like shit. It's all about the eat. Here's the last one I caught on a 12" wiggletail double D. Definitely have had better success with bigger flies.

eta: you'll definitely want to fish wire, either steel or titanium. Fishing mono won't end well I'd imagine.

Those damn things look more like a weapon than a fish. A new fishing friend here in the valley has been going on an annual trip for years to a lake in Canada to target these guys. He says they're the most you can have on a fly rod in freshwater. Also that he prefers to catch the smaller sized fish as they put on a much better performance than the monsters - who tend to dive deep and drag you around. Sort of sounds like Tarpon.

 

[WildBrookie]

Very interested in this thread. I'm headed to northern Manitoba next summer for my first pike trip. Super pumped. Never fished for them, let alone on fly. What weight rod do you guys recommend? Looks like they can get pretty big up there. I've read some websites that say 10 weight while others say 8 weight is fine. Thoughts? Also, best place to pick up some pike flies (I don't tie)?