Pike fly stinger's

[Steeldrifter 0]

When you are attatching a stinger hook to a large pike streamer, say tied on on 3/0 hook, do you use a smaller hook as the stinger? and do you just tie the stinger onto the hook bend on the front hook?

 

Also if I use 50#floro for a leader, should I use that as the line for the stinger or go with steel wire between the stinger and first hook since it will not be visable?

[Blueman89 0]

Not a real expert on this but I would say go with either the same sized hook or slightly smaller. As for connection unless your able to re-tie it if it breaks, I would go with wire. You don't want to lose a trophy fish because he chewed through the stinger connection , do you?

[Pujic 0]

Hey Steve,

 

Usually stinger hooks are attached via wire, braid or some other form of heavy gauge leader material. You could tandem rig two hooks together but it would effect the gape on the front-most hook. Also, the stinger is usually smaller, sometimes even a treble (if you're fishing for gar for an example).

 

Just make sure the waters you are fishing allow for more than just single hooks. I've had that problem in the past.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Nick

[Steeldrifter 0]

Yup helps alot, I'll pick up some smaller trebles and wire before I do the couple patterns I want to put the stingers on, thanks

 

The impoundments of the Au Sable (where i plan to use these) is not a hook restrictive area so I should be fine, but good to keep in mind if I take them elsewhere

[Pujic 0]

Good stuff....one more suggestion.

Instead of tying your flies with the wire stingers right in there, try this:

 

1) Take about a 6" strand of stainless steel wire and double it over. Twist the two ends together so that you have a bit of a loop where the wire folds over itself and then the rest is twisted together.

 

2) Lay the twisted wire on top of your hook shank, so that the wire loop extends past the bend of the hook and the twisted ends extend past the eye.

 

3) Take the twisted ends, which should now behave like 1 wire and put them through the eye of the hook. Bring them back up and twist them around the shank and the wire as many times as you can (depends on the lenght of the wire and the size of the hook).

 

4) Using 3/0 tying thread wrap over the entire shank, securing the wire to the shank and leaving an exposed wire loop, almost like a tail beyond the bend of the hook.

 

5) Proceed to tie your fly.

 

By doing this you will have a permenant, secure stinger connection to which you can attach more wire, heavy mono or even braid should the occasion call for it. Otherwise you can use the fly as is, giving you a choice whether to use stingers or not. You can also dynamically adjust the distance of your trailer hook from the main body of the fly. You get twice the use out of the same flies that way.

 

It would really be much easier to show than to explain.

 

Nick

[Steeldrifter 0]

I had to read it twice but I understand completely what your saying Nick, and that's a great idea I really like that one because I could change the size&length of the stinger easy like that I'll pick some wire up at the shop this weekend and do that.

 

See even though there's no hockey this year you Canadians are still good for somethin'.

[Dble Haul 0]

You guys know that I don't use stingers for a variety of reasons, so I won't go there. However, I want you to know that if you use a treble as a stinger on a pike fly there's a good chance that that treble will be taken deeply by a fish.

 

Deeply hooked pike on trebles = bad news for fish and fisherman.

[rougetrout 0]

Again I will have to disagree with Mark, in a large majority of the cases where I have taken pike on the front hook of a stinger type fly the rear stinger hook has not been taken deep by the fish but rather superficially or not at all. I think everybody needs to try it for themselves and see how it works, for some it may and for some it may not.

[Sean Juan 0]

I think the stinger question boils down to a simple choice between two bad situations.

 

Don't use them and risk missing fish...

 

Or

 

Use them and risk injuring fish...not only in the manner it is hooked but also how long it takes to be released and how much it needs to be handled to do so.

 

Granted every time we fish we risk injuring or killing a fish - I've killed fish unintentionally using circle hooks. So I'd be a hypocrite if I said the health of the fish was the most important thing to me, being able to catch them on a sustainable basis is the most important thing to me.

 

So I never use stinger hooks - if I do my job as a fly fishermen and present a fly to a pike big enough to take it in such a manner that he truly wants it, they are unnecessary.

[Dble Haul 0]

QUOTE (rougetrout @ Jun 9 2005, 08:39 AM)

Again I will have to disagree with Mark, in a large majority of the cases where I have taken pike on the front hook of a stinger type fly the rear stinger hook has not been taken deep by the fish but rather superficially or not at all. I think everybody needs to try it for themselves and see how it works, for some it may and for some it may not.

I clearly said in my post that I wasn't trying to make this an arguement over whether or not anyone should use stinger hooks. If that wasn't clear to you, then please read it again.

 

If you really want to know why I don't use them, read SJ's post after yours. He's summed it up pretty well for me.

[rougetrout 0]

You may have said you didn't want it to be an argument but you did state your opinion exclusively without attempting to give any merit to the other side so it was an opinion. I was providing a counter to such an opinion, because you can type " I do not want to make this into a controversy" does not mean that you, have the exlusive right to pass along your opinion on the matter.

 

I feel that stinger hooks are the least of the worries when catching pike, stressing out the big fish simply by hooking and landing them on rods as heavy as 9-10wt has been documented as being lethal to a fair number of the fish, especially in warmer weather--many more than those in danger of taking the second hook too deep. Indeed as S.J. posts no fishing is safe fishing--for the fish.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Guys this was a post I started asking for informatiopn on size and style of stingers. If it turns into a debate on the damage stingers do or dont do then I WILL shut it down.

 

Everyones opinion is always welcome but I am new to pike fly fishing so please stick to the topic on this one.

 

SD

[Alex C. 0]

My 2 cents Since I haven't yet done battle with a pike on a fly rod this is coming from my spinfishing catching them. I have had a lot of rubber worms bitten in half by a striking pike, and I've pulled rubber worms out othe corner of many a pike's mouth. I always used to fish them( rubber worms), on a 1/0 hook, no stinger. Make the choice thats best for you, like SJ said

 

QUOTE

So I never use stinger hooks - if I do my job as a fly fishermen and present a fly to a pike big enough to take it in such a manner that he truly wants it, they are unnecessary.

 

and that sums it up for me.

 

So onto stingers being a bad thing due to the danger of deeply hooking a fish, why not use a circle hook as a stinger?

[rougetrout 0]

I just tried Nick's ideas on a couple of flies. I really like it. It also gives the flexability to "switch" the back half of the fly. For example I tied up a couple of stingers with palmered marabou and a couple with bunny leach rear halfs. now I can use either back with either front--great idea! This really broadens fly flexability on the river. I also use standard style using a loop of wire or fluoro tied through the eye of the rear hook and tied in on the front hook. The action on these babies is really good. It gets the fish going.

[Alex C. 0]

QUOTE

It also gives the flexability to "switch" the back half of the fly. For example I tied up a couple of stingers with palmered marabou and a couple with bunny leach rear halfs. now I can use either back with either front--great idea! This really broadens fly flexability on the river. I also use standard style using a loop of wire or fluoro tied through the eye of the rear hook and tied in on the front hook. The action on these babies is really good. It gets the fish going.

 

 

What an awesome idea!