My friend Tim had been sending me pictures of beautiful pike he’d caught pike fishing at Llyn Trawsfynydd in North Wales. This just irritated an itch I needed to scratch…
“fly fishing for pike”
This post charts my pike fly fishing journey, starting from knowing very little about it. So, how did my adventure pan out…
How did I prepare for the pike fishing trip?
I wasn’t sure that pike fly fishing was for me. So, I didn’t want to invest in any specialist fly fishing rods or reels but made do with my existing fly fishing tackle.
What fly rods, fly reels & fly lines did I use for pike fishing?
I selected two rods to cover different conditions:
- Snowbee Deep Blue XS 9ft #8 salt water rod for casting heavy flies
- Reddington 10ft 7wt rod for smaller flies
To cover fishing various fishing depths, I selected the following reels loaded different fly lines:
- Vision KOMA 7/8 loaded with floating line, for fishing shallow water
- Airflo Airtec 5/6 loaded with sink-tip line, for fishing shallow water
- Okuma Integrity 7/8 loaded with a DI3 sinking line, for fishing deeper
Pike’s sharp teeth can easily cut fishing line, so wire a trace was required. Fortunately, I had a couple of Airflo Titanium Predator Leaders left over from a recent Cuban game fishing trip that arre ideal for pike fly fishing.
What Pike flies? – the business end of the fishing tackle.
This involved research to find examples of the typical flies used pike fishing. These can be bought but I prefer to tie my own because it’s rewarding catching fish on flies I’ve tied.
First pike fishing trip to Llyn Trawsfynydd..
After a cold start to May, the weather warmed up and made way for my first pike fishing expedition. Tim had fished Llyn Trawsfynydd several times and knew of some pike hotspots on this large reservoir. Therefore, he played the guide for the day.
There were reports that the pike had moved into the shallower areas of the reservoir and a few 20lbs+ pike had been caught. Therefore, excited and optimistic we took the boat out on the lake. A stiff southerly wind was making the exposed parts of the reservoir very choppy. So, we headed for the shelter of the headland near the dam wall.
I started fishing the perch fly on a DI3 line, while Tim fished with a plastic lure. We made four drifts parallel to the headland towards the dam wall. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a tug on the fly or lure.
During the day we moved round the reservoir fishing all the hot-spots and changing fishing depth, flies, and lures. However, to cut a long story short we drew a complete blank – the reservoir seemed devote of pike.
Back at the boat jetty we met a trout angler who’d had a good day, bagging 5 rainbows and a jack-pike. So, it was possible to catch fish.
Driving home we speculated as to why we didn’t catch anything. It was concluded, another pike fishing trip was needed to test or theories…
How did the second pike fishing trip to Llyn Trawsfynydd turn out?
In the interim I tied some bigger pike flies, to cover the possibility that size matters.
On the second visit to Trawsfynydd reservoir our optimism was fuel by the weather condition: a mild (15°C), cloudy day with a light breeze. It was felt, these conditions should tease feeding pike into shallower water and hence, easier to fly fish for.
At the start of the day I set up a couple of rods:
- Redington 10ft 7# rod with a sink-tip line and perch fly, for fishing shallow water
- Snowbee Deep Blue XS 9ft #8 with a DI8 line and the perch fly, for fishing deep water.
A northwest wind was blowing, so we headed out to fish from Cae Adda to the shallows by the concrete wall. I started fishing with the with the sink-tip line tipped with the perch fly.
As we approahed the shallows by the concrete wall, Tim hooked the first pike on a lure. Unfortunately, it threw the hook near the boat. However, a few casts later he hooked another pike that was netted.
For me, the perch fly hadn’t stimulated any interest, so I switched to a smaller fly.
After a couple of casts, “BANG” the line was ripped out of my hand – fish on! Once under control, I carefully played my first fly caught pike to the net. Not a massive pike but it was in beautiful condition and gave a good fight. On its return, I hoped it would grow on into double figures.
For another hour, we continued fishing the shallows by the concrete wall but didn’t get any more offers.
Next, we fished Ty’n Twll and Gill Island while varying our approach but didn’t get anything on either fly or lure.
At Islyn Bay we saw a couple of trout rising in the shallows. Therefore, I decided to switch to fishing for rainbow for the last hour. Using a floating line, tipped with a 10lb tapered copolymer leader and a tan fritz (size 10).
After positioning the boat to drift into the area of the rising fish, I started casting toward the them and retrieving the fly with a slow figure of eight. I’d only made a couple of casts when the line suddenly tightened and a rainbow trout went airborne, before darting for deep water. Once under control it was expertly netted by Tim.
On the next drift towards the shallow water, I had a solid take and the fish headed for open water. Initially, I thought it was another rainbow but a pike surfaced. After a short struggle, Tim slid the net under my second fly caught pike fly of the day.
On our last drift into the shallows, I caught my third and final pike of the day.
Overall, the second pike fly fishing trip to Llyn Trawsfynydd was a great success. I’d managed to catch three beautiful pike on the fly and a bonus rainbow.
Tim managed the first pike of the day on a plastic lure but then struggled with the lure for the rest of the day. However, he was very pleased to help me catch my first pike on the fly.
If you are interested in trout fly fishing on Trawsfynydd check out this post…
Tight line until next time, Andrew
PS. This is just the start of my pike fly fishing journey. Hopefully, I will have more to report in the near future. My sights are now firmly set on trying to catch a double-figure pike on the fly! Therefore, it would I would be grateful for any help on that front…
What fly did you catch your second pike on, I am assuming that as you were fishing a trout pattern
Tim,
Yes it was a trout pattern a size 10 tan Fritz.
Andrew
That’s something I’d like to try but don’t want to buy a whole new set of tackle. Don’t think the wife would be happy if I did. So, I’ll adopt your approach and use what I have with a wire trace or two that I know I have. Another interesting read. Thanks. Paul
Hi Paul,
Great to hear that you found this post interesting. I will be trying a few more fly patters during my next visit. If you plan to use a 7wt rod you will need to use light flies otherwise they are going to be a pain to cast. Cheers, Andrew