Pike On The Fly.
(Fishing for The Slough Shark)
By Chris David

Imagine if you will, a quiet shallow bay full of submerged weeds, and logs on one of the many clear lakes in Northern Alberta. You are standing on the flat deck of a 17-foot boat with your 8-weight fly rod in hand, drifting silently into the heart of the calm water, or the calm before the storm shall we say. Suddenly the logs that you observed earlier begin to move in all different directions. You strip out your line,and cast a 6-inch long buck-tail streamer right at one of the sub like fish lurking in the bay. You strip it in erratically, then pausing, and striping hard with 3 sharp 12-inch movements. As you watch the scene unfold, one of the leviathans turns and stalks your helpless fly, and your heart begins to race and skip beats. Just then a depth charge like explosion breaks the water, and on the other end of the line is a 20-pound super charged submarine called the Northern Pike. The battle lasts for nearly 15 minutes, and your rod has been punished with out question, and now you hold your prize up to the camera, and back into the water it goes to battle another day. The Northern Pike has quietly become one of the most sought after species on fly in the world today.



The Northern Pike goes by many different nicknames such as; Slough Shark, Jack fish, Snot Rocket, and The Fresh Water Barracuda. Any way you look at them, they are an aggressive predator that will burn out a fly-reel in a heartbeat if given the chance. As a professional fishing guide and host of “The Hunting Chronicles TV Show”, I have the opportunity to fish many different lakes for the big Northerns. I get revved up just thinking about hooking into a 48-51 inch monster, and the fact that sight fishing these huge fish, and watching them chase the fly, makes it just that much more exciting. Long being ignored by the fly-fishing world, the Pike has become a target by these purist anglers. Over the last 10 years or so, thinking has changed towards these high-powered eating machines, and why not? Look at these reasons alone and you will see the light as well.

1. Pike can obtain huge weights upwards of 40 pounds in some Canadian waters.
2. Explosive takes on the fly.
3. Powerful fighters when hooked. (10 pounds+)
4. Like the Great White Shark, they spend half of their life looking for food, and the other half eating it.
5. Not very picky eaters, most of the time.
6. Smaller Pike (3-5 pounds) are great eating when caught in cold water. (Winter & Spring).
Many people cannot tell the difference when eating Pike and Walleye caught during these seasons, and cooked together. Part of having a successful experience is having the right gear, and fishing the right locations. I recommend hiring a guide when fishing new areas. This will shorten the learning curve of the lake in mind, and add to your success tremendously. For those of you that now waters that hold big Pike, then here are some gear suggestions to help you catch that trophy of a lifetime.

1. Rod: (7-9 weight fly-rod). A good backbone is important.
2. Reel: (size 6/7 or 7/8). A good reel with a stellar drag system a must. The Okuma
Integrity, or Magnitude, are among the best for the price.
3. Lines: I recommend 3 types of lines. Floating lines are great in shallow water, a
Sinking tip is good for the 3-6 foot depth range, and the full sink type 3 lines are my
favorite. The full sink type 3 lines are a slower sinking line that allows for even line
distribution beneath the surface, and is great for suspended fish in the 4-15 foot range.
4. Leader: I would use a saltwater steel leader rated for 20 pounds or better.
5. Flies: I like to use big streamer patterns with lots of Black and silver in them.
Chartreuse works well, Red and Orange and Mouse or Popper patterns can be effective as
well. Most of the streamers I use are 5-7 inches in length, and have epoxied eyes on them
for added likeness.
6. Polarized Glasses: Pike on the fly can be an exciting experience, and when you
can watch them attack the fly, this heightens the event.
7. Structure: Shallow weedy bays near drop off points, and fallen trees will attract
Northerns. Contrary to popular belief, Pike turn off during low light hours, so concentrate your fishing to hours between 8:00am – 11:00am for the mornings, and in the evenings I would fish the 6:00pm – 8:30pm range. Most of the trophy Pike that I have caught and released have been between the hours of 9:30am and 11:30am. Some regions may vary slightly, but this has been my experiences. I promise that if you give Pike on the fly a chance, you will fall in love with it. You will see what all the hype is about!!
Tight Lines, and Happy Fishing.
Chris David/Host & Producer
The Hunting Chronicles TV Show
www.thehuntingchronicles.com
“Our Hunt For Adventure”

THE OFFENSIVE EDGE/ LINE SELECTION (The Good, Bad, and the Ugly)

Hey folks thanks for stopping by. I just want to share the importance of proper line selection. There's Hybrids, Braids, Nylon/Mono, Co-polymers, Fluros, where do you start? Well let's start with the basics, we'll start with Nylon or Monofilament.




Monofilament line is declared by some as your generic line. Is it good for all fishing applications? No! And I will break it down to the goods bads and the uglies of Mono line so you can see why Mono/Nylon line is not the line for all applications.

Monofilament, The Goods

•Easy handling casts well when on a spinning reel or even a bait caster
•Fair knot strength when using a clinch knot or improved clinch knot
•High stretch ratio gives nylon the ability to absorb the initial shock from a strike
•Floats on the water,sinks slower which helps top water fishing ;visualizing strikes

Monofilament, The Bads & The Uglies

•High stretch increases your miss/hook set ratio
•Low abrasion resistance causes more break offs when fishing rough structure
•High memory causes your line to retain it's form on the spool causing roll off, line twists, birds nests



Lets move on to the Braided lines. It's created by "fusing" multiple braided fibers of new types of micro filamentous materials like Dyneema, a gel-spun polyethylene (plastic). This is what you find with Spiderwire, PowerPro and Fireline. Is this the line suited for all fishing applications? No! And here's the Good, Bad and the Ugly to explain why.

Braided Line, The Goods

•Thin diameter allowing more line to be put on your spool
•High strength ten times stronger than steel, great for hook sets
•Abrasion resistant allowing you to fish heavy cover, rough structure, and toothy fish
•Low stretch increases your hook set/miss ratio
•Low memory allows for easier casting
•Extremely sensitive allowing you to telegraph strikes quicker

Braided Line, Bads & Uglies

•High visibility in water can spook fish in clear water conditions
•Low stretch can damage your reel drag and break your rod with hard hooksets
•Knot slip when using the wrong knot
•Very high strength again can damage your reel and rod with hard hooksets



Lastly lets talk about Fluorocarbon line, highly covetted for it's near invisible qualities. Fluorocarbon lines are a type of monofilament line in that it's a single strand line. It's a polymer derived from introducing fluorine to carbon. But once again is Fluorocarbon line the best line for all fishing applications? No! And once again here's why.

Fluorocarbon, The Goods

•High abrasion resistance allowing you to fish rough structure, and toothy fish
•Virtually invisible under water
•Moderate stretch but still allows for solid hook up vs mono lines
•Great leader line when accompanied with a braid main line

Fluorocarbon, The Bads & Uglies

•High memory make it virtually impossible to cast from a spinning reel
•Sinks (not necessarily a bad thing for crankbaits,but not if you're fishing poppers)
•Expensive due to it's high density strenght, low diameter and other properties did I mention it was virtually invisible? Nuff said.

Well I hope this helps some of you new anglers out and hopefully it helps some of you seaseoned anglers as well putting a perspective on line selection. As there's a rod for every fish, there's a line for every rod and reel. Choosing the right line for your reel for the rod and being able to bridge these three properly and effectively will help give you THE OFFENSIVE EDGE!

Until next time, I'm Ben McWhinney wishing you all, tight lines and trophy fishing.

What a great season!

Hey folks thanks for stopping by THE OFFENSIVE EDGE. I gotta tell you , the crew and I had one of the best Bass seasons this year. Last year I commited my time on the water to tube fishing. Fishing for large and small mouth bass with only using salty-tubes. I rigged them various ways to get the most out of my time on the water. This year I did the same thing; I commited my time on the water with fishing 4" & 5 " trick-stiks or senkos . All I know is they work just look at that perfect hook set position.

That little guy definately wanted that senko. That's the kind of thing that happens when you commit your time properly on the water. Picking a bait and sticking with it until you are successful using it, is all part of getting THE OFFENSIVE EDGE! Until next time, catch me here or on www.getreeled.com/profile/BenMcWhinney and remember FISH ON!