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ztm91

Pike flies, 1 hook, hook and articulated shank, or double hook?

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Hi all, new to the forum. I have only been fly fishing for less than a year and have been tying flies for a couple of months. I live in NE ohio and have been tying mostly trout and carp flies but I am looking to start tying some pike flies. Currently an 8wt is the heaviest rod I have, and the pike near me don't get incredibly large, so I am looking to tie some middle of the road sized pike flies. 

Many of the patterns I have seen are single hook, with a substantial amount of material hanging past the bend of the hook. Do people have issues with pike short striking these flies and failing to hook up? I am worried if I tie up some tandem hook steamers that they will be too large and challenging to cast efficiently (I have essentially no experience casting large streamers). 

Has anyone tied up pike flies with for example a 1" articulation shank in front of a single streamer hook so that the hook point of the single hook is extended back another inch from the head of the fly? Will having that set up cause a strange motion to the fly in the water? 

Thanks for any opinions or advice! 

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Welcome to the site, ztm.  Lot's of members fit your question ...

8 minutes ago, ztm91 said:

Has anyone tied up pike flies

So look through past threads and ask questions ... and definitely show your flies, so you can see your improvements as you proceed.

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I have never had a problem with pike short-striking a fly or lure. Their' mouths are so big and they are so aggressive that they seldom miss.

I tie eight and nine inch pike flies on single hooks, up to size 11/0 and haven't had a problem. That being said, the extra action that a jointed fly can give you is worth the effort.

I tie them in every configuration. Streamers, poppers, and deer hair flies, both joints and on single hooks. I've even tied jointed poppers.

Pike will hit flies as big as they are so tie the biggest fly you can cast with your eight weight. Certainly, a six inch fly should not be a problem.

It's all just for fun so tie what ever you want. Be creative. Bring one of those mouth jacks to hold the mouth open and some needle nose pliers. Don't put your hand in there. Be kind to the fish. Have fun.

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I have tried them in every color and length and have had luck with 4 inch as well as 8 inch but never have tried to do a articulate fly and not to sure I would  casting a 8 inch bunny leach wet is like cast and a 10 inch trout and then having a second hook in the mouth of a 25 inch pike would not be something I want to try to handle and also one bad cast in the back or you head with one hook is not good with two hook no thank you  

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36 minutes ago, James said:

I have tried them in every color and length and have had luck with 4 inch as well as 8 inch but never have tried to do a articulate fly and not to sure I would  casting a 8 inch bunny leach wet is like cast and a 10 inch trout and then having a second hook in the mouth of a 25 inch pike would not be something I want to try to handle and also one bad cast in the back or you head with one hook is not good with two hook no thank you  

That's a good point James. A second hook certainly adds another level of risk unhooking and casting. 

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Lots of great information already on this thread for you. As a relative beginner, keep everything simple and catch some fish. Post pictures and ask for help. This is a terrific forum and the moderators work to keep things positive. I typically tie on a 5/0 hook and the flies run about 9” and throw them on a 10 wgt.  Look at the Gamakatsu b10s hooks in 2/0. They are about 1.75” , are easy to throw, strong, and give you about 1.25” of tying space. Remember that pike are a stomach with teeth. The problem with tandem flies is that the back one can be deep in the throat, making it difficult to release fish. Again, keep it simple and have fun. As you catch fish, you will see ways to solve the problems you encounter. 

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I use single hooks for my pike flies.  I usually tie them on size 1/0 to 4/0 hooks.  Long shank if I can find them.   I did tie a couple of articulated flies early on, before there was such a thing as an articulate shank.   I don't remember catching anything on them.  They were probably in the 8 to 10 inch range.   Most of my flies are in the 6 to 8 inch.  I used mostly spey hackle, I can hear the salmon fly tyers on the board groaning, for the body.  Can't find white anymore, I'll switch to webby schlappen for any new ones I tie up.   The rest of the materials I use are buck tail, saddle hackle and flash.  The body is actually, alternating wraps of spey hackle and long estaz.   The smaller flies are light enough that I can cast them with my 6 wgt.  A couple of pictures, ignore the props on a couple of them.  I've removed them  as they twisted my leader.  First up the two articulated flies I tied and couple of others.  The last picture has been my best producer for pike.  I've also caught stripers and bluefish on it.

Jointed Pike Fly 1.jpg

Jointed Pike Fly 2.jpg

IMG_0603.JPG

P3270171.JPG

IMG_0530_1.JPG

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hi I lost a 20lb pike on a Jointed fly the problem with jointed flies is you can't retrevie them slow enough usually deeper water is better I fished with single hooks more sucessfully the double or jointed flies I tie and design my own patterns and ownly tie with synthetic material's so the fly dosent get water loged I use a 10ft wt 10 line the Line I use to kwickly load my rod is a wf11 my leader is 30lb amneasia  the bite proof tippet tiger tail jewllery wire I have tried more expensive wires but in my opinion and my friend who has been pike fly fishing and tying for 30yrs he tuaght me how to tie pike flies and they are excellent flies very good pike flies look on you tube Beechy 99 there's film's of greg strelley  formalley of pike trek UK there's pike flying film's and fly fishing for pike if your going to chase big and resonable sized jack pike and have  ability to cast 6"- 8" flies into wind and any condition's you come across in your fishing day when tying with synthetics a 5/0 sakuma hook in the heavier wire is better to cast and gives you better hook up's as with any new style of fly fishing hurry slowly and try to connect with experienced pike fly fishermen of may be join your local club gag's are not necessary fish handling skills are essential so you don't get bittern and the pike is handled correctly for catch and release hope this gives you a starting point tight lines    kind regards Steve

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Wow thank you everyone for the great information! Ironically I had already grabbed some gama 2/0 B10s as I thought they looked like a good size to try throwing. I also grabbed some 3/0 and 5/0 daiichi 2461 streamer hooks. 
 

The rod I have currently is a 9’ 8wt batson revalation and I have 8wt rio big nasty line. I’ve only tried to pike fish once or twice before with this set up and the rod felt real whippy with this line and I didn’t feel like I could load it and shoot it well. Obviously I have almost no experience fishing this set up, so it’s most likely just my lack of skill causing issues currently. Most of my fly fishing has been trout or carp fishing. I’ll have to see how my next trip goes and see if I can figure it out. 

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Most game fish attack their prey from the side and head not from the tail. This is not to say they won't grab a fish however they can get it but attacking the tail of a fish is more of an emergency change of plan rather than the actual plan of attack. The notion of short striking fish is largely a missed hook point or a missed hook set rather than a fish short striking the tail end of of a fish. Articulation is good and all my articulated flies are tied on shanks and one single hook. The effects of articulation are more felt thru the lateral line of the fish and not necassarilty through its eyes. fish eye sights are better in some fish than others but generally it's to provide a more general image of something and the lateral line is used to further define the object as prey.  At least that's my layman non fish biologist belief. 

Here's a great video on a pike eating a fish. Note how he had ample opportunity to grab the tail but he positions to go for the head.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E0rGuRG8l6c

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Well here is my first attempt. A hackle tail with some red spinnerbait skirt strands. Red marabou with red and white buck tail. Lateral scale and then white Congo hair. 

4E570CA9-FF83-48F8-AD4E-4BF14FB63FE5.jpeg

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That look great you might want to tie them in chartreuse also. I have no idea if the book by Barry Reynolds is still available but if you can find a copy it is well worth locating one. 

Pike on a Fly

It has bunny flies and if I am correct it may cover the behavior of these toothy guys

 

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28 minutes ago, ztm91 said:

Well here is my first attempt. A hackle tail with some red spinnerbait skirt strands. Red marabou with red and white buck tail. Lateral scale and then white Congo hair. 

 

That should do it. Like James mentioned, tie it in other colors too.

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