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After catching a few smaller pike, which we released, I got a solid hit. The fish made two strong runs and it felt like it would be in the 15 pound plus size range. Halfway through its third run, the line went slack. My tippet had been broken by a large pike.
This is one of the problems with fly fishing for pike. A short section of steel fishing line will mean a pike's sharp teeth will not cut your tippet. Casting a steel line tippet is awkward and difficult. The best solution I have found is to use Cortland's Cobra Flat Mono. Flat Mono always turns over the same way so you can keep the streamers right side up by using this for a tippet. Use 30 pound Cobra for the leader butt and 20 or 25 pound for the tippet. Besides casting well, the Flat Mono seems to have a very tough surface that stands up to a pike's teeth.
The first thing I did when I reeled in my line after losing the large pike was to check the tippet. It had not been frayed, nor had it broken at the knot. It had broken in the middle. In my hurry to pack my gear for Cree Lake, I had forgotten to put in a spool of Flat Mono. I had borrowed some other mono for a tippet, but it must have been old since it broke in the middle. After each fish, it is a good idea to check the tippet to see if it is frayed. If it is, just cut off the frayed section and tie on the fly once again.
You do not need a special reel to fly fish for pike, just one that is balanced to your rod. Pike rarely make very long runs, so 100 yards of backing should be sufficient. Usually only heavy winds or motor trouble will cause you to need all of the backing. A nice feature to keep a wildly spinning reel handle away from you is a fighting butt. It will allow you to lift heavy fish because you can jam the butt into your stomach and provide the rod with a fulcrum.
Fly tyers complain because popular fly patterns are often hard to tie and very small. Not so with patterns for pike. The rule seems to be make it big and make it gaudy.
The most successful patterns seem to be anything that represents a minnow and has lots of flash or glitter to attract pike strikes. Tie all of the flies on long shank hooks. To help prevent unnecessary fly loss due to sharp pike teeth, tie the patterns with materials far back on the hook and leave as long a section bare as possible. This style of tying first achieved recognition when Stu Apte used it to catch tarpon in salt water.
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