| About a year ago. Noting that pike fly fishing really was on the increase, I recommended to Mike Gormley of Shakespeare that he might think about doing some special purpose fly lines for pike fishing. At the same time I suggested to Tony Lockett, of the same firm, that a good pike fly rod wouldn’t go amiss.
PIKE FLY RODS So let’s begin with the rod. The one I have been using is the 3m AFTM 10 Xtra Power Fly, suitable for both sea work and pike. It comes in a robust green canvas carry tube less than 3ft long (it’s a four-piece rod), and it is three metres of stiff-action, light carbon fly rod. Some heavy duty rods weigh heavy, but this one you can use all day. Another problem with many heavier fly rods is that they are too soft in action. This rod is stiffer and is excellent for both chucking a No. 10 line and for setting the hooks in a pike’s jaw. Soft action rods sometimes fail to set the hooks in my own experience of pike fly fishing – especially when striking smaller pike which, after all, make up most of the catch. The rod also comes in AFTM 8 and 9, but I prefer the 10 for piking. The cost is £ 120 which, again, is a very competitive price in this field. Sections joints are put-over and all the rings are lined, two or three legged, low stand-off. The rod is all black except for the dull purple whippings. And the rod has a rod bag which goes into the protective carry tube, the ends of which, internally, have foam protectors. PIKE FLY LINES There are three ranges of fly lines suitable for pike fly fishing: the WFS Steelhead WF9, 10 and 11 (floaters), the WFS Saltwater, floaters and high density sinkers in WF9, 10 and 11. And the WFS Pike in floaters or high density sinkers, WF9 – 11 in each case.
For much pike fly fishing a shooting head is probably not necessary – certainly not in the fens – but one does come as a shooting head nevertheless. Prices range from £ 45.50, and suitable backing material is also available. WFS stands for Worcestershire Fly Specialist. The Hi-D lines come in dark green, and the floaters in Ivory or light green. I have to say that it amazes me that in the one very short year that the Pike Fly Fishers Association has been going we have moved on from virtually no custom built pike fly gear available, to just about everything we need. Pike flies of course, have long been available, but even these are now much more widely available. And are we seeing a new trend in that many dyed-in-the-wool reservoir trout anglers are trying their hands at pike fly fishing? |
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Both suggestions were well received because they had already had thoughts themselves. Even so, I was caught unawares when the Shakespeare trade manual for 2002, less than a year later, listed a good choice of rods and lines – and, naturally, I have been trying them out. Of course, I’ve been a Shakespeare consultant for many years, and whilst you might anticipate a little prejudice from me, most anglers also know that I only recommend what is good.
The profile of these lines is illustrated in the catalogues, and they are, in effect, torpedo head lines, exactly what the pike anglers have been asking for for fly fishing.
