Jump to content
Fly Tying
Sign in to follow this  
Christopher K

What makes a good musky fly?

Recommended Posts

I'd say it has to shed water easily, make noise/vibration, have good movement and be extremely durable. What do you guys look for in a musky/pike fly? Does anyone have experience with large 6/0 poppers?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For my big pike flys i look for something that flashy, bright colors, and moves a lot. I dont really care if its all that durable. I would rather make an awesome fly that will catch fish and get destroyed in the process, than a fly that lasts forever but doesn't catch as many fish. The biggest ive gone in poppers is a 5/0.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like to use artificial materials on my pike flies. Doesn't hold water and sheds it easily. I can tie large, light weight flies, 6 to 8 inches that can cast with a 6 wgt. I've found that an all white flies seem to work well on pike. Other than that red/white, yellow/white, though I'd like to do it with fluorescent yellow if I could find that color, fire tiger/perch. Subtle flash rather that a whole lot. As far as poppers go. I think the largest one I've tied is on a 4/0, the fire tiger pattern, the white one is on a 2/0 the last one is tied on a size one but stretches out to about 5 or 6 inches.

post-309-0-46925700-1392264669_thumb.jpg

post-309-0-49208400-1392264731_thumb.jpg

post-309-0-03494800-1392264829_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I like to use artificial materials on my pike flies. Doesn't hold water and sheds it easily. I can tie large, light weight flies, 6 to 8 inches that can cast with a 6 wgt. I've found that an all white flies seem to work well on pike. Other than that red/white, yellow/white, though I'd like to do it with fluorescent yellow if I could find that color, fire tiger/perch. Subtle flash rather that a whole lot. As far as poppers go. I think the largest one I've tied is on a 4/0, the fire tiger pattern, the white one is on a 2/0 the last one is tied on a size one but stretches out to about 5 or 6 inches.

I like that first one! Do you find there is a lot of resistance you get with big heads like that?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I use my 8 wgt with it and a 6 to 8 foot piece of 30 or 40 lb of fluorocarbon for a leader. It's can be chuck and duck if I try to cast it with my 6 wgt. Out of curiosity, I just dug it out of one of my fly boxes and weighed it. It only .2 oz or 6 grams. A lot lighter than a lot of the heavy Clousers folks cast. Still wouldn't want to get hit in the back of the head with it. So casting it isn't bad. Picking it up to for another cast is a different story. I have to bring it back to the boat or shore and do a couple of false casts to get it back out. You can pick it up 15 to 20 feet out, but it digs in and is more likely to come flying back at you once it breaks free. Not to mention the commotion and noise it makes. Enough to scare the fish away rather than attract them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Big, bright, obnoxious, lots of movement and pushing a lot of water.

 

And remember fellas, muskie flies demand a HEAVY rod, I do most of my fishing with a 10-weight, and if I'm fishing a body of water with REALLY big bait and predators, I've been known to use a 12-weight as well. I'll never go below a 9-weight for muskies,and even for Northern Pike, I only use an 8-weight in a pinch if I stumble across pike while bass fishing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not sure if I agree with that. With the materials available today, you can tie a 6 to 8 inch fly that can be cast with 6 wgt. or an 8 to 12 inch fly that can be cast with an 8 wgt. Not sure I'd want to take on a 40+ inch muskie with it, but it would be interesting. The 8 wgt is the heaviest rod I own and the majority of the time I fish with a 6 wgt which is what I use for smallies when I go up to Northern Ontario for my vacation and I've landed quite a few pike in the 24 to 28 inch range and smallies in the 16 to 20 inch range on it. The fly below is not the greatest looking fly. It was my first attempt to tie a large tube fly that imitates a large bunker/shad. It measures out at 11 inches. I can cast it with my 8 wgt. Not going to set any distance records with it, 40 to 50 feet is the best I can do with a really good cast

post-309-0-53613100-1392352030_thumb.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

And you can easily stress and kill a very magnificent and already stained resource by not be able to bring the fish to hand quickly and efficiently. Just because the fish swims away doesn't mean it lived. Respect the resource ladies and gentlemen.

 

Steve

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Given the incredible lightness per strength in modern rods, and the occasional need to lift and stop big predators from diving

into the thick stuff, I'd use the heaviest rod I can manage casting w/o tiring early for pike, musky, kings, and even when on the hunt for large mouth of major size. Much of the serious action is at boatside with them and moving them to net with a noodle is a seriously drawn out job.

 

I do size down to 5-7 weights on steelhead and even 4 weights on smallies as I fight them the whole way in and the endgame is

usually over pretty fast w/o so much drama.

 

Rocco

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Its irresponsible to fish for Musky with an undersized rod. Musky fights should be short and they only way to make them short is with the proper # rod and a reel with a drag that fits.

 

"wearing out my arm" That would be a weak excuse for downsizing when the difference in weight between 6# rod and a 12# rod is 1-1 1/2 ounces tops, yeah yeah, "but the reel and the line" blah blah.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For pike fishing I use a 9wt rod with a 10wt line and the overweight line made a huge difference with casting distance and accuracy compared to the 9wt line. As for materials I prefer using natural over synthetic. The synthetic materials can handle more fish, but I think the natural materials give a better presentation.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...