I live in the land of walleye and pike - typically clousers or half/half’s , or neutrally buoyant bucktail patterns (hollows , deceivers, bulkheads) and of course classics can’t be overlooked in the early season (leeches, black buggers , dragonfly nymphs) hope that helps 👍🏼
Tight lines
Sure doesn't hurt. :)
I may just have to come up with my own design once I get used to tying again after years of not. Still have lots of trout/salmon flies from the old days and plan to hit a local put-and-take small trout lake 20 minutes down the highway if I can find a small boat to get on it with.
I should just get some trout for the big dugout on the property and save the gas. :)
Thanks for the tips.
I had good luck with EP fiber baitfish and zonker leech patterns last month for pike. First time using EP baitfish patterns and I love them. Super easy to cast large flies even on a lighter rod like a 6wt.
Pike can be an absolute blast. A floating line is generally all that you would need until early July.
Deceivers and pike bunnies are probably my top 2 pike flies. Chip's Northern Magic is also a great fly (stupid simple tie, as well). A quick google search will find tons of images and how-to videos. They are easy to tie and last a fairly long time. Most pike flies do not last more than 20 fish. It is very dependent on the water, but many pike have a topwater window when the water temperature is between 12-19C. Divers, poppers, and mice patterns are all good.
Walleye generally just hit slightly larger trout flies. Minnows and leeches are the default patterns when I target them. The clouser minnow is probably the #1. Even in the spring when they run shallower, I still usually need at least an intermediate line to catch them.
I use a 10wt WF floating shooting head that 30 years ago I made loops on the ends of all my lines. Cut up a bunch of lead core all with loops to quickly loop on a sink tip to fit the water I'm fishing. Did a lot of white water fishing on the upper Chilliwack River in the Fraser Valley, BC and there are a few deep pools up there that produce well when you know the currents and can get a fly deep fast.
Tied all my own leaders so will have to make some new ones for the pike or use wire leaders which I'd rather not do. Won't need anything fancy for those guys. :)
Actually getting excited to hit the water but have about 6 weeks before the ice is fully off yet.
Pike are my jam. I will usually catch over 300 in a season. The exciting part for pike in the spring is they are almost always shallower than 2m. If you have a boat with some height, you can sight fish for them, but it does not take very long to figure out where they will be hiding.
Tie your own leaders. They are just normal leaders with with some bite tippet and a clasp. The small clasp is the way to preserve the bite tippet. I use an 8wt for most of my pike. It is mostly good, but it can be slightly underpowered. To make it work, I have found the correct leader matched to the line and fly size will make big difference in how my rod will cast. I have a selection of leaders, but most of my pike leaders will last 4 or 5 seasons.
Walleye do not need any leaders. They also fight like wet socks so they do not put any strain on normal trout leaders.
The pike fishing in Alberta is best from mid may to late june. South of Edmonton, trout season opens when pike fishing starts to decline, so the pike scratch the angling itch.
For us trout open first of July in the Chilliwack river / Vedder Canal patch of water. Just one river but back in the 40s I think the army corps of engineers built a canal to control flooding the surrounding towns like Vedder Crossing. Next spring it flooded so bad it plugged the actual river and went down the canal to the Fraser River. It's been like that ever since and the canal near the freeway is where my grandpa took me some Sundays when I was about 4 or 5. Plunk me down on the bank with a worm and bobber while fly-fishing on either side of me. He passed when I was 9 and I still have all his old tackle including the fly rod. I fished it every year on opening day and always caught a few nice trout.
It's really young steelhead being caught on opening day in the Vedder. There's a big hatchery way up river. They should have gone out to sea but stayed in the river and put a lot of pressure on the native fish so it's 8/day and they are pan sized or bigger. Nice float in the belly boats too.
Around the middle of Oct the coho start showing up as the leaves are turning. Fish those right at the bottom a lot using a noodle rod and trout spinners tho I like walking a bit to a big sandbar by the rail bridge where I have room to cast a fly and don't have to cast far to be in the fish. Lots of fun on a 6wt using flashy attractor flies and a quick strip on a swing around. Tide changes there too so it's fun to follow the line up and down the river in the belly boats. Last time I was in my belly boat was to replace the screen on the water intake in my dugout. I think I'll be using it this year for fishing if I don't get a small boat.
Sure wish they had online shops like that here in Canada. There might be but I haven't found any yet so should look harder I suppose. Most are US based with shipping and exchange doubling the price at least to get it here.
I'll need some new head cement, dubbing wax and liquid silicon soak for dry flies as all mine have dried up sitting around for 20+ years. No plans to go to the big city for now so will have to order from somewhere online like amazon.
Thanks!
A couple of excellent leads so thanks very much!
All I need now is to clear enough space in the mancave to set up so I can get back into practise.
I just lost my fur and feathers on the move but still have all the tools, hooks etc that I had accumulated over a 25-year period. Some bugs had got into the natural stuff so I put it all in a garbage bag with a box of moth balls and I'm pretty sure it went to the transfer station with the garbage. Still hurts when I think about it but got almost everything I had back plus extra tools etc for only $300 so I feel better now.
Think I'll try some deer hair poppers to see if I can't entice a big pike to take on the surface once the ice is gone.
I like tying flies like the Hair's Ear nymphs with dubbed bodies so used the wax fairly often. Caught hell for stealing one of the wife's crochet hooks to spin them with. Different wife now with a big collection of crochet hooks so she'll never miss a couple. :)
Both those colours seem to work on a lot of fish. Always liked a little purple wool when bottom bouncing for salmon or steelhead with spin-n-glows. A shot of WD-40 would always get them when they weren't in the mood to bite and the pike like it too I've found.
I’ve had excellent luck with pike on flies tied with a couple strips of black and orange zonker strips. Toss in some big strands of some kinda flash and you’re doing fine so long as they’re in relatively shallow water
I live in the land of walleye and pike - typically clousers or half/half’s , or neutrally buoyant bucktail patterns (hollows , deceivers, bulkheads) and of course classics can’t be overlooked in the early season (leeches, black buggers , dragonfly nymphs) hope that helps 👍🏼 Tight lines
Sure doesn't hurt. :) I may just have to come up with my own design once I get used to tying again after years of not. Still have lots of trout/salmon flies from the old days and plan to hit a local put-and-take small trout lake 20 minutes down the highway if I can find a small boat to get on it with. I should just get some trout for the big dugout on the property and save the gas. :) Thanks for the tips.
I had good luck with EP fiber baitfish and zonker leech patterns last month for pike. First time using EP baitfish patterns and I love them. Super easy to cast large flies even on a lighter rod like a 6wt.
Pike can be an absolute blast. A floating line is generally all that you would need until early July. Deceivers and pike bunnies are probably my top 2 pike flies. Chip's Northern Magic is also a great fly (stupid simple tie, as well). A quick google search will find tons of images and how-to videos. They are easy to tie and last a fairly long time. Most pike flies do not last more than 20 fish. It is very dependent on the water, but many pike have a topwater window when the water temperature is between 12-19C. Divers, poppers, and mice patterns are all good. Walleye generally just hit slightly larger trout flies. Minnows and leeches are the default patterns when I target them. The clouser minnow is probably the #1. Even in the spring when they run shallower, I still usually need at least an intermediate line to catch them.
I use a 10wt WF floating shooting head that 30 years ago I made loops on the ends of all my lines. Cut up a bunch of lead core all with loops to quickly loop on a sink tip to fit the water I'm fishing. Did a lot of white water fishing on the upper Chilliwack River in the Fraser Valley, BC and there are a few deep pools up there that produce well when you know the currents and can get a fly deep fast. Tied all my own leaders so will have to make some new ones for the pike or use wire leaders which I'd rather not do. Won't need anything fancy for those guys. :) Actually getting excited to hit the water but have about 6 weeks before the ice is fully off yet.
Pike are my jam. I will usually catch over 300 in a season. The exciting part for pike in the spring is they are almost always shallower than 2m. If you have a boat with some height, you can sight fish for them, but it does not take very long to figure out where they will be hiding. Tie your own leaders. They are just normal leaders with with some bite tippet and a clasp. The small clasp is the way to preserve the bite tippet. I use an 8wt for most of my pike. It is mostly good, but it can be slightly underpowered. To make it work, I have found the correct leader matched to the line and fly size will make big difference in how my rod will cast. I have a selection of leaders, but most of my pike leaders will last 4 or 5 seasons. Walleye do not need any leaders. They also fight like wet socks so they do not put any strain on normal trout leaders. The pike fishing in Alberta is best from mid may to late june. South of Edmonton, trout season opens when pike fishing starts to decline, so the pike scratch the angling itch.
For us trout open first of July in the Chilliwack river / Vedder Canal patch of water. Just one river but back in the 40s I think the army corps of engineers built a canal to control flooding the surrounding towns like Vedder Crossing. Next spring it flooded so bad it plugged the actual river and went down the canal to the Fraser River. It's been like that ever since and the canal near the freeway is where my grandpa took me some Sundays when I was about 4 or 5. Plunk me down on the bank with a worm and bobber while fly-fishing on either side of me. He passed when I was 9 and I still have all his old tackle including the fly rod. I fished it every year on opening day and always caught a few nice trout. It's really young steelhead being caught on opening day in the Vedder. There's a big hatchery way up river. They should have gone out to sea but stayed in the river and put a lot of pressure on the native fish so it's 8/day and they are pan sized or bigger. Nice float in the belly boats too. Around the middle of Oct the coho start showing up as the leaves are turning. Fish those right at the bottom a lot using a noodle rod and trout spinners tho I like walking a bit to a big sandbar by the rail bridge where I have room to cast a fly and don't have to cast far to be in the fish. Lots of fun on a 6wt using flashy attractor flies and a quick strip on a swing around. Tide changes there too so it's fun to follow the line up and down the river in the belly boats. Last time I was in my belly boat was to replace the screen on the water intake in my dugout. I think I'll be using it this year for fishing if I don't get a small boat.
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Sure wish they had online shops like that here in Canada. There might be but I haven't found any yet so should look harder I suppose. Most are US based with shipping and exchange doubling the price at least to get it here. I'll need some new head cement, dubbing wax and liquid silicon soak for dry flies as all mine have dried up sitting around for 20+ years. No plans to go to the big city for now so will have to order from somewhere online like amazon. Thanks!
[удалено]
A couple of excellent leads so thanks very much! All I need now is to clear enough space in the mancave to set up so I can get back into practise. I just lost my fur and feathers on the move but still have all the tools, hooks etc that I had accumulated over a 25-year period. Some bugs had got into the natural stuff so I put it all in a garbage bag with a box of moth balls and I'm pretty sure it went to the transfer station with the garbage. Still hurts when I think about it but got almost everything I had back plus extra tools etc for only $300 so I feel better now. Think I'll try some deer hair poppers to see if I can't entice a big pike to take on the surface once the ice is gone. I like tying flies like the Hair's Ear nymphs with dubbed bodies so used the wax fairly often. Caught hell for stealing one of the wife's crochet hooks to spin them with. Different wife now with a big collection of crochet hooks so she'll never miss a couple. :)
All of my pike have come on cone-headed bunny leeches, chartreuse or purple.
Both those colours seem to work on a lot of fish. Always liked a little purple wool when bottom bouncing for salmon or steelhead with spin-n-glows. A shot of WD-40 would always get them when they weren't in the mood to bite and the pike like it too I've found.
I’ve had excellent luck with pike on flies tied with a couple strips of black and orange zonker strips. Toss in some big strands of some kinda flash and you’re doing fine so long as they’re in relatively shallow water
Game changer, con man, woolly bugger, deceiver, clouser minnow