Fished it form a full floating line just under the surface and also using sinking lines to take the rodent deeper.
Don't forget to subscribe to the channel if you don't want to miss upcoming livestreams, also keep an eye on my Instagram (@norbertrenaud) where i always advertise upcoming streams.
This was a stream that had a lot of attention from viewers, and i hope the last stream helped some of you guys looking into making your own pike leaders.
Again, like i said in the video, i don't pretend that this is the leader for you, but it's the one that works for me and it has not let me down the last 5 years and after 100's of big fish caught and landed, none have broke me off so far. I use this leader here in Ireland, and used the same in Alaska.
I like to keep my leaders super simple, this is where less is definitely more!
From the fly line to the tippet i use Amnesia Memory free mono from Sunset fishing. This only cost 5/6€ per spool and it's fantastic for leader making. Just google Amnesia mono and you will find numerous online sellers without any problems.
I fish 90% of the time with the 13.6kgs.
To attach the Amnesia to the fly line i use the perfection loop:
The tippet:
I use the Bleeding wire from American fishing wire: https://www.afwfishing.com
For some it can be difficult to source due to Brexit and the added charges, i buy mine from the US in 300m spools.Even with the import tax and post, it's still super cheap per meter. (around 0.33 cent/ meter ). Your best bet if you want this wire is to look for it either on Ebay (where i get mine from) or try a local search on your browser.
The one i use is the 30lbs breaking test. (picture is only for show).
To attach the Amnesia to the wire i use the 6 turn Yucatan knot:
Note that due to the stiffness of the wire you will need less turns. I turn mine 4 times .
Now to attach to your fastach , solid ring or straight to the fly i use the non slip loop knot (also called the Rapala knot):
Again , due to the stiffness of the wire less turns are needed, i only do two turns for mine.
Here the livestream now with a bonus fly, the classic flashtail whistler:
Thank you for the ongoing support via the beers donated and for the ones who used the super chat in Youtube! You guys are awesome!
Many thanks to all who took the time to join me again last night for an other stream, and thank you for the generous donations as well!
Last night live stream:
So yes, as you saw in the stream i am a big fan of rabbit zonker for pike flies, and also for any other predatory fish out there. A simple rabbit strip on a hook will catch you so many species time and time again, no matter where you are in the world, in fresh or salt water.
To recap the stream, this is where i buy my rabbit pelts:
https://www.englishrabbitfur.com/
I did not purchased from that store since Brexit, not sure how this will impact the prices. If you guys know a similar supplier, please let us know, contact me directly, or leave a comment on any of my social media. I'm pretty sure something similar exist in the EU.
Here's a couple of my tying videos now of the flies we tied last night:
1:The Bunnyciever
2: The Pike Toad:
In bonus i will include the "Heavy Bunny" this is a fly tied for Aimara (Wolf fish) .I was supposed to go to French Guyana last Novembre, but the trip was cancelled due to Covid. This fly is not made to break distance record, its more to lob in between rocks in heavy flow to pull out these amazing predators. But its made with rabbit i'm in sure a similiar tie will work for pike:
This is the video on how i cut my zonkers, remember not to cut against a board as you will cut all those hairs trapped under. Raise the pelt a little before cutting it:
An other bonus using smaller flies is that you can always get that surprise, bonus fish especially on rivers here. Big brown trouts or large perch are often tempted by a bunny , even if this one was intended to catch pike.
To finish a few pics of pikes that fell to small bunny flies:
 |
| Big winter girl, caught on a bunny fished slowly and deep on a S6 line |
 |
| This one grabbed a tiny bunny intended for a rainbow trout( caught on a 4 weight) |
 |
| Mid June pike caught on a black bunny with body tubing head. |
 |
| My first big Alaskan tank...Caught on a Chewbacca. |
 |
| Bunnies lined up for the next day deep in the Alaskan bush. |
 | |
| The original Chewbacca! |
Ps: Someone asked if i use finn raccoon, and yes i do:
Many thanks for all who joined the live stream last night on Youtube and a very big thank you for the donations to support the stream! All this is very welcome as we are again in lockdown and it's been a year now that the fishing lodge is closed.
I really enjoyed the live interaction with you guys, and the stream had a great turn up with a full classroom attending .
This has got me exited to do more streams, and keep your suggestions coming!
One of the most recurring question last night was where do i buy my body tubing.Musky guys have been using body tubing a long time before it was commercialized for fly shops. Of course you can choose the easy option and buy them straight from your favorite fly shop or straight from Flymen Fishing co: Flymen Body tubing
This is a simple option if you only use this material on a few flies, or just want to discover and play a little with this material.But if you use a lot of it, it's a lot better to buy it by the meter! I use a lot of it, many of my pike streamer have BT , simply because you get massive volume without adding too much weight, it's very resilient and it will last a long time. Like i said above musky guys discovered this material a long time ago, and it comes from the electrical industry to sleeve and protect cables. There is different types of BT and you need to get the right one, its called FLEXO PET
And this is where i buy mine from, there is a few address in Europe.
Germany: https://www.techflex.org/en/multicolored-braided-sleeving-flexo-pet.html
France:http://cableorganizer.fr/gaine-tressee-expansible-pet-monobrin-techflex.html
UK: https://www.hypex.co.uk/Techflex-Sleeving-and-Heatshrink/General-Purpose-Sleeving/Flexo-PET/
And just in Case, here's a list of all the sellers: https://www.techflex.com/online_dealers
You will see it's very cheap, and you have a wider choice of colours and sizes!
If you guys want to support future streams and the work i do (blog/videos/tutorials) you can do it by "buying me a beer" . Of course this is not obligatory, i want to keep my content accessible to every one and for free.
But if you feel like it, donations will go a long way. Like i said i am not sponsored by fly shops, and everything you see in my videos, fly tying materials, computer software, cameras, webcams,lighting... All comes from my pocket...
Here's the link if you want to support the channel: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/norbertrenaud
Again, many thanks for the last donations! I wasn't expecting any on the first stream, you guys ROCK! What a great community we have!
Next stream will will look at synthetic fibers and flash that i use for my pike flies.Don't forget to tune in next Friday the 15th at 7.00pm GMT (Irish time). To make sure you don't forget or miss the live stream subscribe to the channel and click on the notification bell.
