The spawning season for pike is over and the fishing is open again. And that is of course good news for those of us who enjoy fishing pike on the fly. Pike may not deliver the strongest fights, but they offer good chances of really big fish. And even so, I think most are in it for the take.
In the winter you can get soft takes where the fly becomes heavy, but when the water gets warned, you’re rarely in doubt whether it’s a pike or a snag. The hit to kill! In warmer water they also turn their attention to the surface, where the find much of their food. Frogs, for instance. And yes, even ducklings – it happens.
That means that fishing poppers for pike becomes not only good, but sometimes even more effective than fishing below the surface. And hard hit-to-kill strikes from potentially quite big fish on the surface is just exciting. Even mid size pike can hit a popper do hard that it feels like someone dropped a refrigerator on it.
Even though the fishing is open, they might not be done spawning, so if you start catching big, fat females who are still carrying their eggs, so consider stopping the fishing. If they are done, they’re hungry and aggressive and you can expect some excellent fishing. They have 700 razor sharp teeth, so take care!
If you need inspiration for tying some poppers here is a few from our YouTube channel:
