For instructions in German please click here!
It’s getting colder now and the happy memories of trout fishing are slowly fading away as we enter into the pike fishing season. I have always had a serious soft spot for pike and fished almost exclusively for them in my teenage years in Scotland. There is no other fish for me that has the same bad ass attitude and everywhere you go, where there are anglers, there will nearly always be a story of an epic battle either won or lost with Grandma Esox. Fly fishing for pike was truly in its infancy when I was a teenager. Fast forward some 25 years later and we find ourselves truly gripped in pike fly fishing fever. It is certainly one of the more sporting methods available to anglers for catching them and this is the first fly that really brought success for me. It is an adaptation of a true classic, first tied by Bob Popovic. With the addition of some more modern fabrics we have a fly that is amazingly versatile and can fool the smartest of big old pike that have seen it all one hundred times before. My favourite way to fish this pattern is with long “start-stop” pulls. This should see the fly swimming back towards you in a deadly left to right motion very similar to a jerkbait. This is the orange and white pattern but it can be tied in any combination that you like! Try it out and see for yourself if you can also “deceive” a monster this Autumn!
(Please remember to fish responsibly for pike with the use of a proper wire leader and always carry the correct unhooking equipment!)
Hook: 4/0 – 2/0 Ahrex Trout predator strong
Thread: 100 – 150D GSP
Tail and Mid Body: Orange bucktail, orange Big Fly Fibre, white and orange crystal flash, silver Magnum Flashabou, orange EP fibre brush.
Head: White bucktail, white craft fur, white crystal flash, silver Magnum Flashabou, white Predator Dubbing
Eyes: Fish Skull Roach eyes
1) Secure the thread to the hook shank. (The lead wire is an extra option if you want a deeper fishing fly.) Add some superglue to the thread to stop it slipping. Then tie in a sparse bunch of orange bucktail and flare it up. Trim away the ends and form a nice neat base.
2) Take a 10-15 cm length of orange Big Fly Fibre and taper the ends. Tapering is simply pulling the fibres to different lengths to avoid all of them being the same length when they get tied in. Select the mid way point of the fibres and tie them in over the bucktail.
3) Fold the orange fibres back and around the flared bucktail.
4) Cut two sparse lengths of white and orange crystal flash. Taper them and tie them over the tail.
5) Fold them back and around the tail.
6) Cut four to six lengths of silver Magnum Flashabou. Taper them and tie them over the tail. Fold them back and tie them around the tail. It is a good idea to add some super glue to the base of the tail at this point!
7) Tie in an orange E.P. Fibre dubbing brush.
8) Wind the dubbing brush forward to just over the halfway point of the hook shank and tie it off. Brush the fibres out and back with a comb. Add some more super glue!
9) Tie in another bunch of orange (darker orange in this example) bucktail and flare it up.
10) Trim away the ends and tighten it down.
11) Cut a slightly shorter length of Big Fly Fibres and taper them. Tie them in over the bucktail and spread them round the top.
12) Fold them back over and around the bucktail.
13) Repeat steps 4-6. Add super glue to the base and then wind forward to around 10-5mm behind the hook eye. Tie in a sparse bunch of white bucktail and flare it up.
14) Take some white craft fur (or nayat) and spread it around the bucktail. Make sure to evenly spread it all around the bucktail!
15) Tie in some white crystal flash.
16) Tie in some silver Magnum Flashbou and fold them both back. Add some super glue to the base!
17) Now take some two bunches of white Predator dubbing. Tie one on the top and one on the bottom.
18) Fold them back and brush them through with a comb. This will even up the head, giving the fly a nice big bulky profile. Do a whip finish and add the final dab of super glue.
19) Take some rapid action epoxy resin and soak it into the head where the first eye will go. Don’t be shy with the epoxy resin! Make sure it soaks well into the fibres. Add the eyes on both sides. Allow 15 minutes for the epoxy resin to harden and the fly is finished!