FLYING PIKE

It was a cool spring day, the cold water combining with warmer moist surface air to create a foggy mist, shrouding the bay I was fishing in. Out the fog, flooded timber emerged like sentinels guarding the entrance to this back bay. As I eased my Lund Pro V between two branches in the water with my Minn Kota troll motor there was a swirl near shore a short distance away.

Quickly I stripped out some line off my fly reel, false casting a couple of times to get some line out, then on my third stroke I dropped my red and white Bunny fly close to the shore, just past were the edges of the rings of water were dissipating. As the fly softly kissed the water and started to slowly sink, a massive wake appeared. There was no vicious strike but my fly line tightened up quickly and as I lifted my fly rod ever so slightly, the fly didn't budge. Something very large had clamped down on it and was taking it sideways towards a big log that was laying in the water.

Not totally panicking but with an extreme adrenaline rush, I leaned back on my nine weight Fenwick fly rod and started putting some serious muscle into whatever was trying to run away and hide. Suddenly the water erupted as this shallow water monster rolled and twisted in reaction to the pressure, displacing enough water to fill a bathtub. Moving toward the fish with my front troll motor, I continued to keep my fly rod up at 45 degree angle, exerting as much pressure as I dared. Luckily the fish decided to run toward the boat instead of the log, and as it surged under by bow, I could see the width of the back on this trophy pike; a measurement that suggested lineman, not linebacker. Yes, this was indeed a hog, a fish that was used to eating well and as it headed out under the boat for deeper water, I quickly swung the bow of the boat around as if in a fulcrum with my troll motor to prevent the line getting caught in the back motor. As the fly line screamed off my Fenwick machined reel I couldn't help but feel as elated as I have ever been fishing. People ask me all the time what I prefer to fish for and how. Well, for me this is the Super Bowl of angling, throwing out big streamer flies for shallow water pike. There is nothing more satisfying that watching these magnificent creatures lock onto target, open their massive jaws and inhale a well presented fly.

On this particular trip the ice had been off the lake we were fishing for about a week and the pike were looking for the warmest water available. By using the surface water temperature gauge and searching around you will usually find big pike. It is not every bay that will have fish, but if you are persistent, you usually will be rewarded. On this particular day we found the mega load of trophy pike in a small bay that was a fair distance from the main bay, separated by a large flat of shallow water. It also happened to be on the north shore of the lake, exposed continually to a hot May sun that was pushing up the surface water temperature to about eight Celsius. This contrasted dramatically to the main lake itself which was still just above freezing at about two Celsius.

As my fishing partner and myself moved around the bay very quietly with the troll motor as to not spook these shallow water pike, we caught, landed and quickly released fifteen pike over 100 centimetres. It was an exhausting but totally exhilarating experience as we guided huge pike past logs and through numerous obstacles. One especially large specimen decided to head for deep water and we had no choice but to follow for a long distance with the front troll motor.

A friend of mine in the next boat, who had been watching us catch these fish on a fly rod for the last two years, decided this part spring enough was enough. He went out over the winter and bought himself an inexpensive outfit, ordered and tied a few streamer pike flies up, practiced a bit of casting in the farm yard and was ready when spring rolled around. On this particular day, though his casts were not long, he caught as many or more fish than we did, demonstrating that you don't have to be an expert fly fisher to catch pike or many other species of fish on a fly rod.

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