Pike has been around for a very long time. Centuries have passed and pike has evolved from prehistoric times and has been around. With their flat heads and their long bodies, they are one of the apex predators in water bodies across the world.

Pikes wait in anticipation for their prey, only to strike fast and powerful. The dorsal fins of pikes, which all pikes share across the world, sit on the center of their body, right ahead of its forked tail.

When it is attacked the prey, the body is bent in the shape of an “S” shape and then moves forward at a staggering speed, ranging from ten to fifteen feet every second. As it approaches its prey the mouth opens and flails its gills, permitting the victim and water to go in its mouth which is where hundreds of sharp and backward-facing teeth are waiting for it.

Northern pike who are breeding are easily spotted in the deeps due to the huge stir they generate when mating. Some males and a female can be seen fighting in the shallow water, while the female will lay up to 30,000 eggs. It is a crucial production since only a small number of the fry live to see.

If the pike lives and feeds itself normally it’ll grow rapidly. When they’re about a foot long they’re no longer consuming zooplankton, but fishing for smaller fish. At 3-4 years old northern pike can reach 20 inches. They’ll be 30 inches when they’re 7 or 8 years young, and pike can be around ten years old.

Anglers fishing for northern pike enjoys the intensity of pike’s battle in addition to their tasty, flaky white flesh.

Pikes Characteristics

Pikes are known for their visual spotting and will hunt for flashy colors for lures. They are quick to respond to sound and vibrations. So strolling flies and buzz bait plus lipless cranks can attract pikes to your lure. Pikes are famous for chomping, so when selecting a lure do not be frightened of selecting one that is too large.

Pikes are fierce fighters, and they’re tough therefore your reel, rod, and line have to be strong enough in order to catch an eel and catch it. Heavy to medium-sized power rods as well as a sturdy braided line — 30 to 50 lbs.–are necessary to make sure you don’t take a devastating flash during your fight with water wolves.

Be sure to pay attention to the safety of your boat. They can be very aggressive and sometimes it can be hard to keep composure when you have a fighter on your line.

You’ll require a durable leader to shield your line from northern pike’s razor-sharp teeth as well as glitzy lures and a strong rod. A strong or sturdy fluorocarbon leader can save you cash and time when pike fishing.

Best Flies for Pike

In evaluating some of the best patterns to use for pike fishing, we thought it would be sensible to consider the various options available to make a top ten list of the top pike fly patterns. So let’s start with some known things.

• The fly can as simple imitations of fish or fry
• Lures can be used to attract the fish and get it to be aggressive. She will surely bite. Other forms of nourishment than fish and fry

After determining these requirements, let’s take a look at which top pike flies to take into consideration for your fly collection, or bag. Many of these patterns double as bass lures particularly the topwater patterns.

Choosing the best flies for pike fishing is a matter of trial and error. The most important factor is that you find the flies that work the best for your particular situation. When fishing for pike, it is important to remember that they are very skilled hunters.

They will watch your lure with their mouths to determine if they are worth the time and effort to pursue. This means that your pike flies need to be very simple in structure and design.

Pike fishing requires that you use a fly that is either streamlined and light or that has a lot of body. This means that you should not get a fly that is very thick or that is spindly.

In general, if you buy a fly that is too thick or girthy, it will get cut off during the action. On the other hand, if you buy a fly that is too thin or light, the fish will just brush it aside. You want a fly that is about one-half the length of the fishing rod.

The second factor you need to consider when choosing the best flies for pike is whether you are going to use live bait or dead bait. If you are going to use live bait, then you will need to choose flies that resemble the real food that your prey feeds on.

Some examples of this food are minnows, worms, shad, or preying bass. Most often, the best way to simulate this food is to use a preying bass or worms.

Once you have found the food source that mimics the prey you will be using, you can use an attractor to help attract them. The attractor needs to be at the same level as the pike you want to imitate.

You do not want to use the attractor higher than the pike; however, you also do not want the attractor lower than the bottom. In other words, you do not want the lure to cover up the pike you are trying to imitate.

Another important factor in choosing the best fly for pike fishing is your fishing conditions. The northern pike fish love to hide in deep water and if you choose to go northern pike fishing, you need to make sure that you go fishing where the water temperatures are warm.

This means that most likely you are going to have to stay out of the deep water. If you are going to northern pike fishing, especially in Lake Erie, you are better off catching the pike in the shallow water and bringing them up to the boat.

Some of the best flies for pike are called hair wing and minnow hair wing. Hair wing is usually used when fishing for pike in the deeper water because it gives the fish a better chance of hiding under the surface of the water. Minnow hair wing is best used with lures that resemble small minnows or other baitfish such as shad. These types of lures often come in large sizes.

Some of the best flies for pike are

• Hairwings are usually imitators flies that have small eyes. They usually have two or three colors and are your first choice.
• Tube Flies that are used for other bigger fish. This type offers a really fast change of patterns which could attract fish.
• Bunny tails are one of the ultimate flies you can use. These can be very colorful and are made from real rabbit fur. They are great imitators as they can really move in the water.
• Clousers are another type but in here we have a fish hook towards up. This is good if you have a grassy water body.
• Wooly Buggers are also a great pic as they can imitate leeches and salamanders.

Some tips and tricks

1. When selecting the fly for fishing pike, you must first understand what they like to eat. The most common flies for fishing pike are the large white foam fly, baitfish pattern, and zonkers.

2. Next, you should decide which type of water you are fishing in because each type has different qualities that affect your fly selection. You should always ask yourself questions like: “What depth am I fishing at?” “What is the bottom composition?” “How deep is the water bed?”

3. Finally, bring the right gear for your conditions to avoid missing out on that big catch because of something simple like forgetting to bring a net or rod holder.

4. You need to understand that flies can animate in so many ways. They can imitate breathing, swimming, acting erratically. So this all will bring you close to the fish.

5. The new type of synthetic material flies are very big but they are truly lightweight. These are a must-have if you want to fish via a floating line.

6. Smaller flies will work better after winter when it’s warming up, and bigger ones will work best in autumn. While the summer is going the fish will bait on any type but of course, you need to think about the conditions and go from there.

So with all that, we hoped you learned a lot more about pike and how to fish this aggressive but magnificent being. Be aware that this fish is very smart and catching it will always be a challenge as no pike is the same and no-fly will work in the same way. Happy fishing.,

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