fly art

Another of my favourite flies from this year given the photoshop treatment. I might just have to get a print done of this one as well. Click image for a better view.

Fly Candy

Some Purple/Black bangers which I've been using late afternoons here to great success. Days are shorter now here and light fades fast so I have a few dark coloured flies with me at the mo.

Out and about

With some rain this week I might be able to squeeze in a few more days but things here on the island are looking more and more icy as each days passes. Anyway Thanks to Jani who always has his camera phone with him I managed to take a pic of probably one of the last fish for the season the other day.

Bugbond uses

Another great use I get from bugbond is coating the albright knot used to join my wire trace to my 60 lb mono leader with a blob of it. It just makes everything nice and tidy. I know a few lads use it for this purpose as well.

Fly Candy

Red/Black Lazy boys are another one of my favourite flies to fish with. Prefered line of attack...Intermediate line with a sink tip mono leader.

Out and about

Went out this morning before sunrise...well you know the early bird catches the worm.Didn't have many fish early on.....3 to be exact, then moved further down and second cast in I caught the fish below on a fly very similar to this. Only difference I had natural bunny zonker instead of snow white.

Yes I know!...... I had my camera with me, but it really is a detramental piece of shit these days. Anyway I managed to keep the pike in a small pool while I set the timer and took one image in the hope that it would work,which is this one. Length 101cm (39 inches) Small in comparison to yesterdays but probably an average fish for me this spring. I cant praise these fishskull enough. Used with my vibe 85 floating line and a 2 meter slow sink 60lb mono leader the fly can be retrieved & regulated at different depths depending on how fast or slow you strip back.90% of the takes this Autumn have been while the fly has been on the drop or during hang time at the end of a strip which these fishskulls have definitely helped in achieving. I've slowed the retieval down to a slow plod now the water is around 3'c and it seems to have helped with better fly presentation. Anyway not many more days left to go fishing for this year....Uuuuuugh!

PB's

You know fishing is a funny old game.Here I am in no shorter terms quite litteraly slagging off synthetic baitfish patterns when I bag another PB this evening on this same fly. a fish skull mirror image perch pattern. It was a quite session with just one strike.The current flowing under the bridge was extremely quick and as this was the only weighted fly I had in my box of 5, I was obliged to use it. Again no photos but the people across from where I was fishing got to see the whole story unfold and saw the fish first hand, when I unhooked it. 118cm (46.45 inches - length) & 61cm (24,55 - girth) estimated weight through a weight converter is 40 lb,76 = 18.34 kg My 1st 40 lb'r.

As so rightly pointed out in the comments section....it isnt 18,34 kilos as I 1st stated but more 13kilo's
Sorry to anyone I mislead. Still I'm happy with that even though I am a fucking amateur!

Still I've had a great Autumn season

Naturals vs synthetics

Here's a great example why I prefer naturals over synthetics. Here is a typical baitfish pattern tied with EP fibers. Sure there is no doubting they catch a lot of fish and the boys at Dykers produce and tie an extremely good looking and realistic fly, but as you can see synthetics when tied onto a hook goes extremely thin and the action it gives off although reminiscent of a fish in distress is rather limited. Again......these kind of realistic flies do account for a lot of fish being taken and at certain times of the year when pike are weary of a fly and have bellies full of fish this is probably the only line of attack.



Here on the other hand is a prime example why I prefer natural materials over synthetics. This double bunny has all the traits of what a fly should be doing for you in the water.Its bright....so it's visible & It pulses,vibrates and wiggles which in turn gives off a hell of a lot of vibrations under the surface. The downfall to using these kind of attractor patterns many people say is that they become extremely heavy to cast with. Well I can't argue that fact, but I've found that using these heavier waited flies I'm able to load my line better for casting and to be honest there is no need to be casting these kinda flies 25m. Another great aspect why I prefer naturals is..... if tied correctly it will last you ten times longer than a synthetic pattern purely because naturals are far more forgiving in a snotrockets gob. Some time over the next week I'll show you some examples of flies I've used this season between synthetic baitfish patterns and feathered fur streamers.

fly art

Messing around with photoshop again.This time with one of my Vanilla whip salmon flies. To be honest I think I'm going to get a larger print of this purely because it came out so well.
click for larger view.

Micro barb saddles

Getting back to the Predator flies I've become quite fond of.Here is a great video of an Intruder fly mainly used for Steelhead showing how effective microbarb saddles are when tied onto a fly. This is why natural materials are far better suited for pike flies than synthetics in my view. Its all about movement and getting the fly to breath and pulse under the surface.

Adapting new techniques

Raccoon Bunnies have accounted for me catching so many fish this season. These tube versions are fucking deadly to say the least. They have increadible longevity due to them being pike mouth friendly. I've got some here still from the beginning of the season that are still catching me fish.I've been testing a new method called the "Moffet angling system" with this model fly, which entails a trailing tiny circle hook instead of a wider gaped longer shanked hook pushed into the back of the tube. First tests this season have proved very positive indeed as 95% of all the pike I've caught have been on the outside of the mouth.



These raccoon bunnies have been a perfect test subject for this method purely because they are a great attractor fly that has a lot of movement under the water and as I've mentioned are pike mouth freandly due to the natural materials used.




My favourite colour combo the olive/Brown tube bunny with a splash of gold flash thrown in. I'll out fish any jerk or wobbler fisherman with this fly no questions asked.

Neon glow

I've been realy impressed with these predator flies I tied up a few months ago. the micro barb saddles give this fly a lot of movement under the water and the front end pushes a lot of water under the surface. Will be tying more of these in the winter but not on these Ad Sweir 6/0 hooks. The 80cm I lost the other day and couldn't get out of my mind was caught with the black/orange model and had it probably have been tied onto my usual Tiemco 600sp I probably would have held it.

Anyway was playing around with Photoshop last night and liked how the neon glow effect worked with these flies. Click image for larger view.

Maybe an advertising billboard in Vegas might be on the cards

pike on the fly in the States

BugBond

I know I’ve mentioned Bug-bond on here before, but If there’s one product that has revolutionised the way I finish off my flies it has to be this product. Yes there are a few similar UV Cured resins on the market today, but none cure as quickly or without any tack, like Bug-bond does. For those that still use 5 min epoxies to coat their flies, then you really are still living in the dark ages. This is how simple it is to use

After the fly is completed and the eyes are placed in the position I want them. I add a thin coating over the eye as well as the front. Slowly rotate the vise a few turns until it has settled and spread evenly.

Turn on the UV Torch and shine over the area coated. 3 -5 seconds, is all that is needed.

Turn vise over and coat the other eye. Rotate vise a couple of times and use the UV Torch again for 3-5 seconds and the fly is finished. No mixing of 2 pack 5 min resins, no irritating tiny air bubbles, no yellowing or discolouration and above all no mess! Another aspect which elevates Bug-bond above all other competitors is how easy it is to apply. The handy squeeze bottle and applicator tips allow you to administer as much or as little as you require for each specific job. A 20ml bottle generally allows me to coat between 60 - 70 baitfish heads.

The Standard Kit

Bug-Bond have recently started offering a Standard Kit comprising a Multi-LED UV Light (currently a 12 UV LED Light but subject to change - Batteries included) together with a 20ml bottle of Bug-Bond and a Pro-Tip kit for £29.95 GBP plus postage is by far the cheapest tack free UV cure kit available on the market today. Until the end of October they will be giving away a Pro-Tip kit worth £4.95 GBP (subject to availability) with every Bug-Bond kit ordered.

The Bug-Bond Pro-kit comprises 1x 20ml bottle of Bug-Bond and 1x Nightsearcher 395 UV torch and costs £59.95 GBP (you will require 2x CR123a batteries to power the UV light).

For those living in the United States, Bug-Bond is now fully available through Greg Becker at Whitewaterflies.com http://www.whitewaterflies.com/catalog/-c-11_96.html or either with Scott Wessels at Bear’s Den http://www.bearsden.com/page102.html

Once you’ve tried and used Bug-bond, you’ll understand why I rate this product so highly. Click any of the links to visit the Bug-bond website to order yourself some. David Edwards owner of BB, is a fantastic chap to deal with and will answer any questions you might have. Visit his blog “Deesox” or the BB Facebook page to read how versatile this stuff really is.

Golden eye!

Had a mad hours session this morning.Second cast in and bagged a 106cm snotrocket then followed that with 3 fish all around 85cm. I then moved over the other side of the bridge and then recorded a PB in length and probably weight at 112cm. You might ask...well wheres the pics to prove it Si? 95% of my fishing is done alone & I very rarely take my camera out with me these days purely because it's become too unreliable due to old age. I'm also one of those old school blokes that doesn't have a camera on my phone either. Maybe its time for change! I hear the new Nokia N8 calling me. Anyway even after catching those two nice fish this morning, my mind has been clouded more by a smaller fish of around 80cm that I lost close to hand. I should be reliving the glorious PB, yet all I can think about is the one that got away!

Fly Candy

More teardrop tube baitfish tied with flash n slinky off white 'n Black.


These are White/Chartreuse models ready for a wetting.

Fly Candy

Some cross over teardrop tube baitfish patterns primarily for saltwater purposes but equaly at home in freshwater. I started with first tying on some white slinky fiber then added some off white over that onto some Eumer teardrop tubes.

Pike on the fly in Canada

Top Honours

Rather stoked to report that Pike fly fishing articles has been voted the best outdoor blog in Finland through CISIONWIRE - the leading press release distribution website for journalists, bloggers, PR pros, investors and just average folks. beating the likes of websites such as HikingFinland.com freestylekayaking.blogspot.com.

1. Pike fly-fishing articles http://pikeflyfishingarticles.blogspot.com/
2. Hiking in Finland http://hikinginfinland.com/
3. Wapaalla http://hetkiretki.vuodatus.net/
4. Taimen minun silmin http://taimenmies.blogspot.com/
5. Reppuun kasattua http://kaarnikanfuuruja.blogspot.com/
6. Naisretkeilyn koko kuva http://niceretki.blogspot.com/
7. Suomen freestylemelontajoukkueen blogi http://freestylemelonta.blogspot.com
8. Verta ja kasa hylsyjä http://tosiextreme.blogspot.com/
9. Perhokalastusblogi http://pietarisipponen.blogspot.com/
10. Asentopaikan päiväkirja http://www.asentopaikka.fi/wp

It was also Pike fly fishing articles 2nd birthday a couple of days ago,which I forget to mention, and to celebrate I'm gunna be announcing a wicked competition next week where I'm going to be eventually giving away that **** pikesaber rod to some "lucky" reader. All will be revealed very soon, but it intails some flies being tied, some clever guess work on your behalf,an auction, and a donation to a worthy fly fishing charity.So if any of you know of one that would like to get involved, or who I could get in touch with,let me know. Yabonga kakulu! for all your visits and support over the last couple of years.

Vibe 85 from Vision

For the last 6 weeks I've been using the Vibe 85 line from Vision and If you want my honest opinion it has to be one of the best lines I've used in the last 5 years. It is perfect for turning over large flies even in strong winds and in yellow is extremely visible over 30m. I'ts not a pike specific line in any stretch of the imagination but it should be. Not that one needs too, but one can punch this line out 30m no problem, and with the low stretch core it has you really do feel every take. The new Vibe lines have a long lasting slick and supple coating which remains memory free even in cold conditions. The slickness is achieved by adding Teflon® particles to the coating and this way the slickness doesn’t wear off either.The Vibe 85 has an aggressive front taperd 8.5 meter long head,which acts similar to a shooting head.

I recently visited Vision headquarters last week when I went to give that talk at the Espoo fly fishing club and I can now say they have some new tackle coming out for next d´season specifically for us pike fly fisherman which I'm extremely excited about. Firstly they will be retailing the new "Big daddy pike fly rod" with its own "Big Daddy fly lines" in floating,Intermediate and fast sink range. Firstly the rod looks the business in green and yellow (modelled on the pikes colouration) and will have a fast/medium action. No pictures yet I'm affraid, but will be able to get my grubby little mits on a couple in the near future and will definitely be reviewing this rod. I can tell you that this is a class piece of kit and will be retailing for a lot less than some of the crap that is on the market at present....Stay tuned!

Readers fish porn

I've known Jussi "djuza" Lindqvist for a while now. I first met him last year at the Helsinki fair and then at the Tampere fly fair and then last week In Espoo when I gave a talk on fly fishing for pike at his club " Espoo perhokalastajat R.Y". As you can see he's no mug with a fly rod when it comes to pike on the fly. I'm hoping I get a chance to fish with him sometime next season....fingers crossed. Anyway for all you Fins he has his own blog called "Piketeaser" which is always a good read.....Oh and he also ties a mean fly!

Thanks for this Djuza, tight lines with the autumn my friend.

Fly Candy

As Lefty Krey says "If its not chartreuse it's no use!" Its a favourite of mine as well. I was particularly lazy this weekend with regards to flies and only used these 2 from Thursday onwards. Thurday saw me do well with them as I interchanged between either one as the tally clocked up. Friday and Saturday though, saw the water level around the island here at its lowest in 3 years. A culmination of strong north Easterly winds and moon phases has pushed much of the water out of the Gilf of Botnia and water levels dropped around a meter which played havoc with the fishing. I've noticed that such extreme drops like this truly do affect the feeding habits of pike on the Baltic. Why?..... Is a good question. I think a culmination of faster currents flowing around the island and the drop in pressure they feel through their swim bladders might have something to do with it.

In fact I've noticed the flow of the current here plays a very big part in a pike feeding habits. If currents are flowing from East to West as water gets drawn out of the gulf of Bothnia, the fishing is pritty dismal but once that changes around and water starts to flow back up and the currents flow from west to East the fishing improves drastically. Its impressive to stand on bridges and watch large shoals of baitfish use these currents to move between areas here on replot, as water levels rise again. Higher water levels means safer feeding grounds for these shoals but you can guarantee that where the shoals of fish are the pike aren't to far behind. Hense why the fishing will improve in the next day or so.

Mono vs wire

I spent the whole of last season fishing with a 120lb mono trace on one of my rod set ups and was pleasantly surprised how well they stood up.Out of the 52 wire traces I replaced on my other rig, I only changed 12 mono traces.....which I thought extremely cost effective and thought maybe it was the way forward. Thats until I put the tournament on in May and saw first hand why I had always used a wire trace to a heavy mono trace. One of the English chaps who's been fly fishing for pike for many years and been using his own hand made 120 lb mono traces, had never had a pike bite through one in 5 yrs until the 3rd day of the tournament and he lost a very very big fish, not once but twice, which could have won him and his team mate the tournament. Since hearing that story I have replaced my other rig with another wire trace and will never ever use another mono trace ever again. Those of you that do use a mono trace should seriously consider changing back to a wire set up before you loose that fish of a lifetime.

Fly Candy

I caught 73 pike last week,and this particular pink/white replot stinger accounted for 17 of them. every time I clipped it on to my line I didn't have to wait long before it became wedged in a snotrockets mouth. With my one fish one fly policy I have, I was torn between just keeping it on my line all the time and having to replace it with a different model.

Whether its the combination of fur and feathers or colour scheme this fly is quickly becoming my favourite mode of attack. There is room for development, maybe not a lot.....but then on the other hand,why change a winning formula!

Pike on the fly in Canada

Fly Candy

Another version of the "Replot Stinger". This time I tied white & black hackle saddles towards the bend of the hook and added a couple of green grizzly & plain white microbarb saddles over those. Then added a couple of strands of green flashaboy. Then dubbing brushed some chartreuse green Raccoon then added a dubbing brush of grey to finish off the collar.

Spey daze!

As a guide I've come to realise that one should always expect the un-expected, and that you should keep a wide variety of options open when dealing with clients. Takashi, Hiro and Yumi recently visited these shores for a four day pike on the fly trip from Osaka. The difference being they had all brought double handed Spey rods with them to do the job. I've been seriously looking into this kind of technique a lot this season, and after watching how effective this method is while they were over I'm convinsed that pike on the fly with a double handed spey rod is the way forward,especially when wading and fishing from the rocky shoreline here around Replot.

Saying that though, its probably not the best technique when fishing from a boat which I found out first hand & several pike that had followed the retrieve were lost close to the boat when setting the line and fly or the next cast. We were able to fish larger areas due to the distances they were able to cast, so more water was covered over the four days than usual, But we probably could have fished many more different areas had I not spent a lot of time getting the boat positioned for ease of casting.

Happy camper.


Wading the shallows in Bjorkoby.