A Two Year Mission - Part 2

Hunting For Pike, Surface Fly Retrieval 

  Flash forward now to March of 2014.  At this time I was just starting to tie my own flies under strict supervision of my father in law George. As I advanced so did my desire to make all types of flies and streamers.

  While thinking about Pike fly patterns I had one of those "light bulb" moments. Why not use modern day resources to find out who is fishing for Pike on the fly. So I went hunting for videos on YouTube. What I came up with was a channel called flytying.eu, based out of Denmark. This site, combined with their YouTube channel, was my inspiration for the coming Pike season.

My First Four Pike Flies

  I did find one item a bit frustrating, the lack of materials available in my city to replicate the patterns I found on line. However, I did my best with what materials I could dig up and feel accomplished with the product I was able to produce in the end.

  With having felt like I succeeded in the "Pike Fly" game, thanks to the boys from Denmark. It was time to hunt down information on catching a Walleye on the fly. This proved to be a bit more of a challenge. It appears that everyone and their dog is fishing for Walleye with bait and tackle but not on the fly. There were some articles out there about using a minnow streamer pattern combined with a full sink line as a suggestion. But no real support that you'll have great success catching Walleye on the fly. Just some grey guidelines as to how to attempt it.

My First Zonker Pattern

 Saying that, I researched what streamer patterns people were using for large trout in an attempt in making my own version to hunt down Walleye with. So I started with making Zonkers and Double Bunnies. George took inspiration in these patterns and came up with his own Walleye fly. An articulated, lead wrapped shank, bunny fur fly with and without buggy legs for additional action. Within the two month span, before opening day 2014, the two of us managed to tie up enough flies to fill a new tackle box.

  During the 2013 season I noticed the fly patterns I was using to toll with would, at times, get tangled in it's own leader. I noticed that the drag of the fly would cause the fly to do a death roll. Which I am confident lead to less fish attraction to take the fly presented. So I came up with my own leader design.

Double Bunny

  I fixed the spinning issue by adding a small swivel to my home made leader. I don't have a picture of this setup but it is a simple rig to make on your own. Start with a seven foot length of ten pound mono line. At one end form a loop knot and at the other attach a small swivel with a double clinch knot. The remaining open end of the swivel attach a two foot length of an abrasion resistant line, bite wire or braided line. This way if a toothy Pike or Walleye strike your fly the less chance of a bite off. I prefer a bite wire however it can be a pain trimming off the tag end with clippers after tying it to your swivel and fly.

  However when casting a subsurface fly, I will use RIO's "Toothy Critter" tapered leaders in a nine foot length. This leader comes equipped with a two foot end section of RIO's own brand of bite wire. This makes for an easy setup, do your loop to loop knot with your leader and fly
line, attach fly of choice and your rolling.

Articulated Bunny Fur Fly

Addition Of Rubber Legs For More Action

Trolling Rods & Flies After An Evening On Buck Lake

  The only item left to tweak was the trolling rod setup. In addition to having my 8wt rod for casting heavy flies. I spooled up a reel with a fast sinking wet fly line and paired that with my 6wt fly rod. With a box full of goodies and several fly rods at the ready, it was time to hit the water. May long weekend 2014 couldn't come soon enough.

  May long weekend 2014, opening day on Alberta lakes, it's now time to put some flies to the test. Being the sceptic that I am, from the 2013 results, I still brought my spinning rod with me the first time out on the lake. I setup my rod with a small weighted green and white Zonker and cast it behind the boat. My brother Jordan was with me and he doesn't have a fly rod setup for the lake, so he used a traditional orange and black jig on this spinning rod. Within minutes of wetting our lines Jordan had his first Walleye. I thought about making the change to a spinning set up after he landed his seventh fish, to my zero, and it was at this time I felt a tug on the line!

  Could it be a Walleye? I thought, but didn't say anything aloud to jinx myself. I could feel a head shake so I was pretty certain it was another Pike on the line. However this fish wasn't putting up much of a fight like a Pike so I remained hopeful. Maybe a five minute fight later and a splash of colour came up from the deep. There it was, a flash of white on the tip of it's tail. A visual confirmation I had my first Walleye on the line. The trick now was not to mess it up and lose it. I yelled at my brother, "Get The F-N Net!" He laughed at me and quickly scooped up the Walleye as I lifted it back up to the surface. After a couple quick photo's the fish was released to live and bite my line another day.

  I have no words for the feeling of accomplishment other than one giant grin that still comes to my face every time I think of that day this past spring. Just goes to show that when you put your mind to it and exert a bit of effort, you can accomplish any goal set forth. She might not have been the biggest Walleye but it was a good start to the 2014 season.

  With the mission complete it was now time to catch and repeat. My brother may have out scored me that day 27 to 11, but I manufactured my success so I am claiming victory that day...ha ha!

Tight lines to all!

First Walleye On The Fly 14-1/2" In Length, Smiles All A Round