Welcome to my second pike fly collection. The pattern you see below is not completely new but they are all variants of my all time best working flies.
There are two things you have to consider when tying pike flies. Less is more!!. I starting to repeat : – ) Sparsely tie your flies and they will work great. It is a misbelief that pike flies need to be bulky and heavy. The flies you will see below are relatively long, 9 to 10 inches, and made out of very simple materials that are easy to get too.
In comparison to my first pike fly collection I used this time much longer bucktail and much less marabou. This should give the fly a more solid profile under water and far better castability despite its increased size.
Gimmicks like the colored guinea fowl feathers are more optical accessories rather than necessities. Although red spots are always attractive you can use any other feathers or fur instead.
Hint: The bucktail in all flies below has been inversely tied into. This secures the bucktail and gives the fly a better and more durable profile
Example tying instruction and sequence
Hook: Tiemco 600SP 4/0
(Layers from back to front)
Layer 1: Perch flashabou
Layer 2: Whiting orange and chartreuse rooster saddle hackle feathers
Layer 3: Hot orange bucktail
Layer 4: Black bucktail
Layer 5: Whiting chartreuse rooster saddle hackle feathers
Layer 6: Hot orange ostrich feathers
Layer 7: Hot orange bucktail
Layer 8: Chartreuse rooster saddle hackle feathers
Layer 9: Perch flashabou
Layer 10: Chartreuse bucktail
Layer 11: Blend of chartreuse, orange marabou and a few flashabou strands
Layer 12: Whiting black rooster saddle hackle for the back
Layer 13: Red guinea fowl feather
The materials!!! –> Bucktailis an excellent and essential material for all kind of pike flies. It has many advantages such as that it is easy to tie, it doesn’t soak up water and although it looks quite stiff it offers great movement under water. In combination with Ostrich herl This is the ultimate combination. The bucktail offers the shape of the fly while the ostrich herl offers the last kick of movement and length. Ostrich herl is by far my favorite material. It is awesome. Its long, Its super soft and doesn’t soak up water. I usually by directly at the ostrich farms and dye them to the colors I need. The most perfect material you can use for pike flies. Everything else like the Rooster hackles> are much more decorative than really needed, I have to admit. They have similar properties like the ostrich herl but are far more expensive. On the other side they are a joy to tie into and turn a successful fly into a beautiful successful fly. And in many cases flies also need to please our eyes. Marabou feathers are also a mixture of decorative and shaping purpose. In the correct color they ensure the correct visual imprint. Last but not least we tie our flies with Flashabou. It just gives the correct visual charms that attracts predators. On such a fly you don’t need a lot. A few strains of them and the fly is already shining.
This is my all time favorite color combination. Red and White is like an all black fly. It works literally everywhere. It is hard to say why such a fly works so great because red is one of the colors that gets invisible very quickly under water with increasing water depths. But especially in autumn when all kind phytoplankton died the water consistency is changing and colors like red or orange gets more and more visible. And they love these colors when they can see it.
Another fantasy fly in successful colors. Pink and Purple is never a bad color. These colors, especially also blue are colors that are visible to fish even in higher depths of water due to its wave length. My second biggest pike I caught on a purple fly.
The following two flies are more the category unobtrusively. They work great in clear waters or in rivers or also for taimen. Use as much as necessary and as less as possible. If you have doubts about the situation on the water and if the fish are very suspicious leave the flash completely away. The still can see the it.
tight lines
Philipp
schöne Fliegen! kannst mir ruhig ein paar binden….
Geniale Fliegen und super Fotos davon.
Hallo Günther
Vielen Dank. Ich werde demnächst noch ein paar veröffentlichen.
lg
Philipp
Nice flies you have there! Do you get these microbarb hackles somewhere at a good price? I’d like to use more of these as well, if the were more affordable..
Hello
Actually I’m not getting them at a extraordinary good price. I paid for them the standard prize a few years ago before they became famous for hair styling. I still have plenty of grizzly saddles in stock and dye them on my own.
greets
Philipp
Philipp,
Gorgeous flies, I’d have a hard time throwing these works of art in the water.
Have you ever done a “how to” tying video for any of your flies? I’d love to watch a step by step video of you tying one of these. I think we could have some fun chasing Tiger Muskie out here in Utah with some of your patterns.
Thanks,
Morgan
Hello Morgan
Many thanks that you like my flies. Yes I have thought about making a tying video or tutorial. The problem is that I’m missing the time for this. I promise I will do soon. And yes, I believe we would have a great time chasing Tiger Muskie. The Muskie is one of my most wanted fish. I really would like to fish once for them. Is it good to fish for them where you are?
Thanks for your comment
greets
Philipp