My top 5 pike flies, starting with the mighty Gamechanger!

It's a subject that's been in the back of my head for quite some time now, and one that i'm often asked about. What are my top five pike flies?
First of all i do have a top five, but i cannot rank them against each other as they all reach top spot depending on the season, weather condition and of course, pike mood (s) .
So i will not do a countdown type of article, but i will reveal my top five in no particular ranking system.
We start with a firm favorite, the Gamechanger. Undoubtedly it's a fly that will scare most fly tyers. Some see it as too complicated and time consuming others think that it's simply not worth the effort.
Their loss...If well tied a gamechanger will catch a huge amount of fish before it's retirement. It's also very versatile, you can use different materials depending on the action and sink rate needed.
Here's how to tie one:


The easier way is to use synthetic brushes, and to "match the hatch" is even better if you make your own brushes , and it will save you ton of money as brushes cost a fair bit from fly shops.

I call a gamechanger a fly that's made of at least four articulated sections. The sky is the limit, but 4 to 8 sections is the perfect match. You can use only one hook at the front or if the fish are nipping the tail, it's always good to have one or two GC with a small single hook incorporated at the back.
For pike i use a large, strong front hook as it will act as a keel and make that fly track straight.
Most of my GC are  synthetics or bucktail for longevity. Bucktail if i fish shallow waters as they will sink slower . For that really slow sink try a full  trimmed bucktail head like the ones on musky flies , deadly when you need to let it sit to tease moody pikes.
Synthetics are great for deeper waters. And dumbell eye can be used if you really need to get it down faster/ deeper.
You can fish them with many types of retrieve , rolly polly will give you that swimbait action, try to alternate from fast to long stops.And some days they are total suckers for the regular slow speed without interruptions.

Strip them with short and long strips to send them in a crazy jerkbait action. This fly is many flies rolled into one, get out there and get some practice, you will be amazed how one fly can catch fish in many different situations. Definitely deserves a place in my top 5!

Here's a list with all the materials used and where to get them (cheap!):

For the brush:
Wire:Stainless steel 0.20mm
Kanekalon hair:Kanekalon Jumbo Hair
Angelina flash: Angelina fibre
Congo hair:Flytyers dungeon

Wire for the shanks:  check ebay , sellers vary a lot, look for "piano wire" or "spring wire" in 0.8mm or 1mm

Vice: Predator vice

How to make your shanks:

First raft trip of 2018

I am just in between two groups of anglers at the moment, so with a few days off i better make the most of it and enjoy a day's fishing for myself. After the cold weather we had and with an other spell coming at the weekend, i knew this was the time to hit a river.

We got a good few fish, mostly jacks on the fly. Intermediate line and large game changers was working well for me. Every time i go out and fish a game changer i realise how deadly this pattern can be! So good that every time i come back home from fishing i need to tie some more for my box.
An other thing that i had time to test properly was the Bad ass glass rod from Echo. My first impression of the 10 weight model was not great as the rod felt fairly heavy in my hand (compare to the one i'm mostly using, the Bandit from Epic). But after a couple of hours casting, i got my rhythm and the rod totally changed my early impressions. I find it very capable at casting large streamers with ease. As with all glass rods, you need to slow down your movements, and with practice it becomes very addictive. I have been fishing fibreglass all the time for the last two years now and it's going to take a lot for me to go back to graphite.

 The Echo is a great entry level rod for the one who likes to try glass for the first time. The Bandit, because of its price tag is better suited when you know that glass is for you and that you want to commit with these rods ( or you are well off money wise..)
I had the chance to try the Bad Ass in 8 weight and its a fantastic rod. It's a lot lighter than the 10 weight. You probably won't be able to cast big chunky chicken flies with it but for the smaller streamers, its an absolute pleasure to use. And don't be scared by using an 8 weight (fibreglass) for pike, these rods have huge reserve of power in the butt section. I had the 10 weight sent to me from Toby at Funky fly tying. I am not longer with funky fly tying due to personal reasons, but if you want to try the Bad ass for yourself, get in touch with funky and get your hands on some glass.Life is too short just to cast fast rods... Ad some fun to your fishing!
There will be a lot less fishing for me from now on as the new season will get very busy here at the lodge, but i will keep on tying flies as the Alaska summer trip is coming fast!

Pike brushes.

Les pike brushes! Si vous n'avez jamais utilisé des brushes pour monter vos streamers, il va falloir vous y mettre! Les brush facilitent  et harmonisent le montage des streamers. Mais elles sont souvent chères et difficile a trouver ce que l'on a besoin. Les combinations de couleurs sont souvent un choix bien personnel.Suivant les coins ou vous pêchez, ou l'humeur de vos brochets dans votre region. Puis il y a la taille des fibres utilisées, la longueur total de la brush  le choix de flash incorporé, et si vous voulez les faire en naturel (nayat hair, finn raccoon ect) ou en synthétique ( et là on a l'embarras du choix!)

Alors j'ai décidé  fabriquer mes brush moi même. Rien de compliqué, du bois, des vis, une perceuse.
Un fil inox de 0.2 mm est parfait pour bien twister le tout. Une bonne brosse pour bien démêler les fibres sans les endommager.

Ces brush vont être utilisées pour mes prochains montages de streamers articulés, les "game-changers" en  xxl.
Une base de funky hair, puis pour le corps (  proche du fil inox), de la funky fibre.Et une bonne mixture de flash, freckel flash, ripple flash, shimmer flash, dubbing flash....Tout est possible! A vous de jouer!
Je suis en attente pour certains matériaux pour completer ces streamers, des qu'ils arrivent au lodge je me remet a l'étau!

Updates.

L'été continue ici, les conditions climatiques Irlandaises, un jour de beau temps, une semaine de nuages, pluie et vent.
Le broc Irlandais n'apprécie pas trop les eaux "chaudes" ( 18º a 19º ) , il est très léthargique , cela fait depuis mi juin que je n'ai pas vu un brochet de plus de 80cm...Mais c'est normal pour cette période. Je préfère le laisser un peu tranquille , changement de techniques et de poissons.
 Les perches sont toujours omniprésentes dans la region, on en a même de trop. Pas de prélèvement, un seul prédateur ( le brochet) fait que la perche se multiplie(de trop) sans problèmes ici et a du mal a grossir. Très rares sont les specimens de plus d'un kilo. Quelques sessions en drop shot ces dernières semaines, mixées avec un peu de mouche au cas ou les brocs se mettent en activité.
Encore un peu de temps et l'automne arrive...Les hirondelles se regroupent depuis deux semaines deja...Une bonne chose quand l'automne et l'hiver approchent ici, c'est qu'on peux enfin se remettre sérieusement a courir après Esox.

Pour patienter, une bonne video d' Austin Green!




PURSUING ESOX from Austin Green Photography on Vimeo.

Et puis bien sur je continue a monter des streamers....

Funky hair baitfish.

Funky hair and freckles flash.

XL Game changer

Game changer approuvé...

F.W.A

Une paire de  "Game changer" pour ce soir.
Monté avec les tiges articulées de chez Flymen.co.
100% funky fibre (le baitfish mix).
Hamecon Tiemco 811sp 3/0.

F.W.A

Le Game changer, monté avec une tige 20mm et deux 35mm de chez Flymen fishing company.
Constitué de Funky Fibre et un peu de D.N.A Hollow Fusion couleur U.V.
Un hameçon de qualité en tête: Tiemco 600 SP 4/0.

Et une perche mix 80% funky fibre et 20% funky hair.L'arete dorsale est composée de plusieurs brins de carboflex en 30lbs...Pour cette sensation dans la bouche.

F.W.A

Quelques "Game changers", streamers articulés en trois parties, une tige de 20mm une de 35mm,le tout sur un 6/0 Gamagatsu SL12S.
J'ai monté et pêché des modèles plus grands, mais avec un seul hameçon,les "hook ups" sont  supérieurs  avec cette taille plus petite.

Monté avec du "emulator baitfish" et" funkyfiber" pour la tête

Monté avec du "pike brush"

Corps en Pike brush