Pike

Three Flies

We have decided that we’ll start running a series of blogs with the same theme – Three Flies. These won’t be the usual “if you could only have three flies…”, but more as an inspiration to those starting fly fishing or venturing in to new species and locations. We’ll try and mobilise some of our Ahrex ambassadors and ask them about three essential flies for their fishing and local conditions. Since we’ll depend on the good will of our ambassadors and others as well, they won’t be regular entries, but ones that we’ll run every now and then. They’ll be seasonally relevant as well.

May and pop-pop-pop!

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.

JUST ONE MORE SNACK

The question is not how to fish, but why you do it. The author and his fishing buddies do it out of necessity. It’s more important than life and death to them to escape the human world, step in to water and wave a stick. Left on the shore is their misery and worries. Standing in the water they find freedom, healing and occasionally a fish.

Battles are lost and won with tongue in cheek and always celebrated with mountains of cake and an endless stream of fresh espresso coffee. To the band of brothers it’s more important who you fish with than how big the fish is; except for the ones lost.

You may not learn a lot about catching more and bigger fish, but reading these stories is like holding a mirror up in front of yourself getting a little wiser. The small why is a big one.

This artickel is written by Danish photojournalist Søren Skarby

Pike flies and dubbing brushes

From last years International Flytying Symposium; Brian Shumaker, Steve Silverio and Bob Clouser.

Before we get to that, let me remind you that we are attending the International Fly Tying Symposium in New Jersey tis weekend. We’ll be there so if you’re there, please come by and say hello.

Weedless pike flies

International fly tiers have contributed to a solution of an old problem. How to make sure you don’t catch weed, but still catch predators. Here’s the answer together with an effective pike fly.

By Peter Lyngby

(this artickle has been published in the danish magazine “Sportsfiskeren” and the online magazine “In The Loop Magazine”)

Floating sub-surface

*Another rainbow-trout that couldn’t resist the floating Booby fly fished on a sinking line.*

There’s nothing new about fishing floating flies on sinking lines and I talked a little about it earlier this month, when I was preparing for the Hökensås Trout Safari, where I am right now, writing this blog entry. Booby flies are very popular on the Hökensås lakes and following a discussion in the car on the way up here from Denmark, I had to write a friend to get a little bit of the history behind the fly.

Predator season

The summer’s high water temperatures are receding and as the water cools down, it’s time to get ready for the fall predator season. Maybe the lines, the wire leaders and the reels need a quick check up and maybe, just maybe, the boxes need a replenish with your favourite flies? Mine did – and still do. I’ve been enjoying tying flies with home made dubbing brushes recently.

I think I said it last week, or maybe the week before, May is a difficult month for fly fishers. Everything is on, everything is happening and there’s everything to choose from and a new mini-season is opening every two weeks. Soon it’s night fishing for sea trout in the rivers, but for now, let’s just focus on something that is very close to our hearts, here at Ahrex: Fly fishing for pike.

Snap, rigs and wires

We have a large program on hooks for toothy predators, cleverly named Predator Series. Big predators like muskies, pike, perch and zander simply are easier to land on proper, specialty hooks. The Predator Series is close to our hearts and roots, not least because Morten Valeur was one of the pioneers on pike on the fly in Scandinavia. He has in fact written a book dedicated partly to pike flies.

New Release – PR354 Popping Skipping Bug

It’s fall and fall is the same as new hooks in the line-up here at Ahrex Hooks. We’ve been very busy that last couple of months packing the new hooks for shipment, but that doesn’t hold us back releasing new hooks. This one in the Predator-series, the new PR 354, is a bit of an odd one. I’m quite sure that many of our seasoned readers are familiar with this style of hook, or may be able to figure out its use.