Sara XL. A couple of years ago I was flyfishing for trout and grayling in the mountains together with some friends. The water was crystal clear and beneath a small waterfall I saw, thanks to my Polaroid sunglasses, two big pikes in the water. Yes, there are often pikes in some of the lower parts of the mountain rivers. Just for fun I tackled my fly rod with an orange streamer. From the spot were I was standing I had very good control over the situation. The pikes were totally uninterested in all my streamers, until I tested a white streamer called Sara. The first pike hit the fly immediately and got away with both the leader and the fly, not so unexpected. Same thing happened with the other pike and my last Sara. This episode encouraged me to believe that this pattern could be successful for pike and nowadays I'm convinced. I do not know who is the 'father' of the original Sara fly pattern but I have named this 'oversized' variant Sara XL.

HOOK: Mustad streamer size 4 or bigger.
THREAD: Black silk
THROAT HACKLE: Red Marabou tied in to the sides
BODY: Silver Tinsel (To be varnished)
WING: White Marabou (Veiniard) with some straw of flashabou tied in.
TAIL: Red Marabou

Comment: Can be weighted. Also, a piece of nylon can make the fly less inclined to get caught in the reed (see pictures).

My favourite rod for Pike is an 10 feet #7 Sage with an ABU FlyMax 389 reel. I also recommend the use of some kind of strong leader for pike hunting. Last summer, without the use of a 'pike-leader', cost me a lot of missed flies and pikes....

/Bo Lindfors