Is a Specialist Pike Fly Rod Necessary?

[fishfinder]

I already own an 8 and a 9 weight rod (shimano Biocraft XTR Saltwater 8 weight and a Redington wayfarer 9 weight). can anyone really justify buying a dedicated / specialist Pike Fly rod, or are they not really any different from a "normal fly rod"?

[Tony U]

No both of those rods would do fine THe Ron Thompson Pike Fly and Sea Fly rods for example look to be exactly the same rod with different graphics.

Normally the only difference betweena Pike fly rod and a salt water one would be that the salt water one would have corrosion resistant fittings.

 

Tony

[Topnotchblanker]

Hi, it depends upon the pike fly fishing you intend to do. Its not so much whether it is a specialist pike fly rod, but the line weight, action and your own stature. There is a pretty good thread on this on the Flyfishing Formums.

 

Cheers

[fishfinder]

Hi, it depends upon the pike fly fishing you intend to do. Its not so much whether it is a specialist pike fly rod, but the line weight, action and your own stature. There is a pretty good thread on this on the Flyfishing Formums.

 

Cheers

 

I'm probably average in height and weight. I've got 8 and 9 weight lines, and I've got a goodrange of pike flies (biug and small). I intend to fish from the bank, not from a boat. Fish size - whatewver comes my way!

 

I was looking at the Scierra Pike Fly rod (based on their Bluewater 2 blanks). The trouble is, if you read all the tackle manufacturers info they all say a pike fly rod is absolutely essential, and that their rod is the best!

[stan4massey]

Fishfinder, not all say its essential. I`ve got over 50 fly rods in the lists and not one of them "specialist" (or claimed as the best). Any fly rod will do for pike as long as its capable of handling the size and weight of fly / lure you intend to use without undue stress on the rod and have the ability to cast that fly / lure and obviously handle the size of fish you make come against. No point in using a 6ft 3 weight fly rod to cast large pike lures it wont work (well it will but not very well).

 

A reasonable average would be 9-10ft in the 7# to 9/10# ranges. Action is up to the individual but not too sloppy.

 

As Tony U says on the saltwater side then they do become specialist, mainly because of the components having to be saltwater resistant and in the heavier ranges 15 / 16 / 18 # for heavy billfish etc then the blanks are designed for that purpose.

 

Stan

[neill]

any good 9/10 weight rod,but preferably with a good large arbour reel,we dont want the line jamming on a narrow spool when a 30lber takes a run with your fly

[Colin Brett]

As stated on several other forums this question has been asked on, your rods are fine!

They are 9 footers which I would say is the optimum length.

 

Reels don't need to be huge as pike generally don't run that far. If a big one is on the end it's just the sheer weight that's the problem.

You need to play them hard and fast to the net.

Colin

[rrstj]

Colin is right pike don't fight that hard that you need a pricey saltwater reel with a smooth drag but the rod needs to be able to cast a big wet fly.

I use bunny bugs that when wet can weigh 2oz, so I cast with a 10# fly rod

yours Richard

[emerger]

I basically agree with the previous respondents. I use an 8wt Vision 3 Zone but with a 9wt line as it works better that way for the majority of my pike fishing but then I'm mostly fishing the drains on the Somerset Levels and the pike aren't very big. If I do want to use bigger flies I use my 10wt Vision 3 Zone with a 10wt line.

 

Both rods are principally saltwater rods but before I bought them I was using a 6wt Hardy Ultralite. This worked but casting largish flies was a challenge and it was not man enough to get the fish in as quick as I would like. I had a 9lb fish on it which was a good fight but wouldn't have liked to catch anything much bigger.

 

John