catchingemonfluff

Catching 'em on Fluff

By Simon Ellis

Thinking about it, if you are reading this then you probably already know how to do it. However, I thought that I might write about how I go about tackling my favourite fish on my favourite method.

Pike are incredible creatures, as I am sure you already know, they have remained unchanged for many thousands of years (unlike us). They have evolved into a striking fish. Large growing, fast swimming and bloody infuriating to fish for.

Now it must be noted that I am nothing special when it comes to pike fishing and I do not catch hundreds of fish per season, with umpteen twenties and a liberal helping of thirties- in fact at present my largest pike is a fish of twenty one pounds (not on fly I hasten to add but on a sprat). But I do really enjoy doing what I do.

So how do I do it? Well my tackle is very simple, I like to take a rod and reel, a box of flies, landing net and a waistcoat with my bits in and off I go. There are a few bits that you should never go fly-fishing without and these I pack into the pockets to allow easy travel on the bank. You should also never leave the house without a peaked hat and a pair of glasses. Not only do these aid in spotting fish in the water but it will go some way to preventing a size 4/0 hook penetrating your eyeball (it does not stop them piercing your ear, mind you, but they heal). Forceps (essential), camera, scales (if you are bothered), sling and first aid kit (because there is always one that gets me!!) are also taken.

Flies are simple. E.P. flies, Bunny Bugs etc. are all very effective at winkling out pike. The rods I use are a 9’ #10 and a 9’6” #9. I generally use an intermediate line as I can then fish a wide variety of depths. Floating lines are only used in summer and full sinkers are not usually necessary where I fish. The leaders I use are quite short, 6 to 8 feet long of 15-20lb flourocarbon, as I find it easier to turn over larger flies with a shorter leader. Tippets are up to you. I use a bite tippet of 17lb toothy critter fly wire. Too this I add a small cross link to aid fly changing.

Retrieves need to be varied. Some times pike want the fly gently wiggling along powered by nothing more than a slow figure of eight retrieve, other times they want it stripped back (even the fastest retrieve is nothing compared to the speed a spoon comes back at) I generally find that a combination of the two is most effective.

Pike often follow flies for a long way without taking with a steady retrieve; a day at Rutland demonstrated this fact nicely. My friend and I were fishing over one of the shallower areas at Armley Wood. We were casting long lines (for us) towards the shore. As soon as the flies started moving pike would home in and follow for the entire retrieve without taking. I have since realised that jerking the fly then pausing then jerking etc. often gets them to hit it. (Had I realised this at the time, I am sure I would have caught one of those Rutland monsters).

The majority of my fly piking takes place on local canals and medium sized lakes. I would love to fish the fens/ broads as many of you do but they are a long way from Yorkshire to fish with any regularity (still any offers will be accepted!!!!).

Of the two types of water I fish the canals are possibly my favourite. Although the pike in the canals I fish are generally smaller I can usually pick up a few fish throughout the day, which is different to the lakes where I can cast all day for only a few aborted follows.

Canals are often easier to read as well. As I write this at the beginning of February fly-fishing for pike is generally slow. Locating pike on lakes can be very difficult. They can slope off to deeper areas that are harder or even impossible to reach from the bank, shallower areas that previously held nice fish only have small under pound pike in (a dead cert that there are no larger pike there that are in a feeding mood!!).

In winter, canals can really come into their own (assuming they are not frozen). Pike may not be in the exact same spot as they where in summer but I find that they are easier to locate than their lake dwelling cousins.

I always start my canal trips in winter in deeper areas of water. I find that these are the areas that the baitfish move to and the pike follow. Areas like locks, boat yards, boat-turning areas, inlets, outlets etc. are always the areas that receive most attention. Most of my local canals are very similar. These locks and boat yards are approximately 3’ deep in the edge and up to 6’ in the middle. With the exception of odd tyres, bike and prams the bottoms are pretty uniform. They are also very often crystal clear (except at present as the heavy rain has coloured them slightly). Allowing you to see following fish as well as the moment when they hit the fly. Perfect for winter fly-fishing.

Standard casts to features are usually the order of the day. And on canals there are usually plenty to go at. Along side of boats, boat platforms and mooring tyres are excellent places to start. These provide brilliant artificial cover for pike, especially in winter as the boats are often in the same place for long periods of time.

Top and bottom areas of locks are usually interesting places to fish. There is often a deep bowl just at the bottom that can hold a large number of fish. It is not uncommon to catch 5 or 6 fish from the same area as they are packed in around the roach and perch. These area are usually worth persevering with, changing flies a few times, retrieves and depths until you are certain there is nothing there in a curious mood.

The rest of the canal should not be ignored and any overhanging tree, dead reed bed or coarse fishing platform also get some fluff chucked at them, as not all of the pike cram into deeper areas.

The most important thing about canal fishing is to be prepared to be mobile. I often do 3 or 4 miles between locks and boat yards (another reason to travel light).

As I have said earlier, canals are probably not the places to go if you are after the fish of a lifetime and are not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are like me and just enjoy getting your string pulled by anything then they are well worth the trip.

Good fishing,

Simon