Loops Booster twin tip

BIG FLIES, BIG FISH!

Here's something new from LOOP to check out. Featuring a short front taper, superb weight distribution and a low-stretch core, the Booster Twin Front WF turns over ”biggies” with ease. The Booster comes with two interchangeable fronts: Low Float and Sink IV. With its integrated loops on both ends you’ll easily change front and leader.Retails for €89,00 is well worth checking out if you use this line of attack!

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Loop Opti booster shooting heads

Featuring a short front taper, superb weight distribution and a low-stretch core, the Booster Big Fly shooting head turns over ”biggies” with ease. With integrated loops on both ends you’ll easily change leader and line.

This for sure is a line for big nasties, be it fish or fly.

Integrated loops and low-stretch core.
Length 8,8-9,0 m.

Comes in Float, Clear Intermediate and S III/ S IV. Line #8-9.

If you fly fish for pike with a shooting head like I do then I highly recommend you get yourself one of these LOOP Opti booster shooting heads. They load real well and cast flies like a bullet..........that's if you have a nice stiff front end to your rod, that is,and I'm not talking about your knob!

Pike fly lines & shooting heads

Firefly Pike Lines
Created specifically for the pike and musky fly fisher, the Pike line has distinct advantages over other lines. The medium length head is slightly heavier to load modern fast action rods quickly for both long and short controlled, accurate casts with large pike flies. The short bullet front taper turns over large bunny leeches and streamers into the wind with ease. Made with a supple coldwater coating, the line remains memory-free in cold fishing conditions.
WF7F - WF10F/Length 100ft (30.5m)/Colour: Lt. Charteuse

Snowbee SSPI- Spectre Pike
clear coated dark green
intermediate line for Pike and toothy predators in all waters
SPI – Spectre Pike 28g/7-8, 36g/8-9

I have used the Snowbee line on a number of occasions and although not a bad line in general, my only gripe with it is that it is very hard to see once it drops through the first 3ocm of water.I personally like to see my line as it drops through the water column but thats just my preferance.

Pike fly lines and Shooting heads

Guideline power taper shooting head
The best selling shooting head system in the world.
Available in various densities

The Cortland 444SL Pike fly line is a floating line that is designed to throw large, wind resistant pike flies with ease.
It features the Cortland Rocket taper with a dramatically shortened front end.
It is coloured green and red for a quick easy pick up.
30yrds per spool.

I havent used either of these lines but I do know the Cortland 444sl comes highly recomended in the pike fly-fishing fraternity.

Pike fly lines and Shooting heads

Here are two lines that I am preasantly using.My Opti Booster from Loop is just the correct length and turns over my flies with ease. With the Mastery series fly line though I have shortened it by 120cm and re-looped it.I just found it to long for my cast action and wasn't loading my rod correctly enough.Always remember if you are going to shorten it cut the head back around 12cm-15cm at a time. What I do Like about this line is its visability over open water, especially when I'm using poppers.

Scientific Anglers™ Mastery Series Fly Line - Pike/Muskie

Scientific Anglers™ Mastery Series Fly Line for Pike and Muskie has a large tip diameter and short front taper to deliver huge flies long distances with accuracy and control, while the line's short head minimizes the need for false casting. This line has a specially formulated 3M coating made of PVC integrated with AST (Advanced Shooting Technology). The line coating is specially formulated to float higher for easier pickups, while its suppleness minimizes memory in cold water. Color: Sunset Orange.

Loop Opti-Booster

BIG FLIES, BIG FISH!

Featuring a short front taper, superb weight
distribution and a low-stretch core, the Booster Big Fly shooting head turns over ”biggies” with ease. With integrated loops on both ends you’ll easily change leader and line.
This for sure is a line for big nasties, be it fish or fly.
Integrated loops and low-stretch core.
Length 8,8-9,0 m.
Float, Clear Intermediate and S III/ S IV. Line #8-9

Pike fly lines and Shooting heads

12 yrs ago when I begun my journey in to the world of pike fly fishing, there was very little technical information available for me to access so as to be able to determine what would be my best set up in targeting “Esox lucius”. Coupled with that there were very few fly-fishing companies at the time developing specific pike fly-fishing tackle.
But in just 10yrs due to the upsurge in the sports popularity in Europe, The States & In Canada much has been written about it & one can spend hours now reading informative articles by many of the sports first pioneers on how (through trial and error) they have developed their own ways and techniques in tackling Pike on the fly.
Although there were enough rods out there that would stand up to the rigors of pike fly-fishing It has been the development of specific pike fly-fishing lines and shooting heads by fly fishing companies that has helped in propelling the development of this sport.
I won’t go into all the technical aspects about pike lines and shooting heads except to say If you are starting out in the sport, remember that to be able to chuck flies of 15cm-25cm with ease, one needs to have a heavier line and special Pike taper lines with an exaggerated weight forward profile is what you should be looking to invest in. So if you have a 9” rod with a 9 weight forward line rating you would use a 10 weight shooting head. Some even go as far as to say that it’s even better to go two sizes higher with your shooting head rating but that to me is a matter of opinion of which the latter will suffice quite easily. Lastly, a good word of advice from me would be to just buy your self a slow sinking intermediate to start with. This is a good all round line and depending what fly you use will depend on what level of the water you can fish at.(Read my articles on Fly retrieval & the art of cricket & Fly fishing with Poppers) to see why.
Its not always easy tracking down specific pike lines and Shooting heads and can also become quite time consuming so to ease your efforts, Over the next week or so I be listing a few brands to look out for. Some fly rod manufactreres are now developing their own pike lines specifically for their pike fly rods but these can also be used for other set ups as well.

AIRFLO COLD SALTWATER

These lines have a short heavy front taper which loads any rod really quickly, allowing for distance casting and easy turnover of big air resistant or heavy Pike or Saltwater flies. These lines have been tested extensively over the last 12 months to great effect in both Pike and Saltwater fly fishing applications. Great for Baltic conditions


Masterline toothy critter pike fly line

These fly lines have been specifically designed to meet the challenges of fishing for pike with the fly. Tough and durable, these lines have a powerful upfront taper to help carry large flies out to the fish and ensure a smooth turnover.
These pike fly lines are available in 9 and 10 AFTM weights and in two versions; a yellow floater and a clear slow sinker.
The fly lines are slightly longer than usual at 32 yds. The floating line has a braided nylon core for suppleness and low memory, while the sinking line has a transparent mono core.
The sinking line is rated at 2.5 - 3 inches per second (IPS).
Toothy Critter Pike Fly Line - Floating WF (Yellow)
Toothy Critter Pike Fly Line - Sinking WF (Clear)