The traditional Pike safari

At last we reached our destination. We had traveled, almost at the speed of light, with
my friends new trim chip equipped Saab Turbo. Only a short stop at the last village,
to get some supplies and a 'last supper', before starting this crocodile-weekend in the
wilderness. After a short break, unpacking our gear, we put on waders and tackled up
our rods, eager to start fly fishing.
 
A couple of times each summer, in July and August, me and my friend Peter usually
visit my old grandfathers homestead for some serious fly-fishing for pike and perch.
This has been like a yearly tradition for us and feels more important every year that
passes by. I don't know why, but we both share the same feeling. 

 The homestead lies by a bay in a big lake with clear shallow water surrounded by sand ridges.
In the forest around the cabin there are some other smaller lakes that we also use to fish.
As always you will be aware of how quiet it is, no sounds can be heard from traffic or other
sources of noise. The only thing you can hear is the sound from wind, water and birds.


The pike of unknown weight that we caught last summer, our 12 lb spring based fish
scale was far too small. Our best guess then was a weight around 15 lbs and its size
and weight seems to be increasing every time we talk about it.


We have learnt the lesson about the importance of strong leaders and that's why we
nowadays always bring some Kevlar or other type of strong leaders. So, now we don't
loose as many flies and pikes but instead our flies get badly chewed up. Our favorite flies
are sinking big white Marabou flies and floating deer hair flies that you drag on the surface.
Sometimes when the pike strikes hard its sharp teeth cuts the Kevlar leader in two.

 
As usual we returned more then 20 pikes each day in different sizes. My estimation is
that the average pike size is between 2-6 pounds with some smaller and a few bigger 'crocs'.

Perch, before release.	Perch, saved for dinner..

All pike's are hand tailed and always released. We use a hemostat to remove the fly
hook carefully trying to make as little damage as possible. Often we also catch some
perch (1-2 lbs) that we save for evening dinner cooked over open fire close to the water.

The fly equipment I am using is a Sage RPL III 7100 with an ABU 357 reel and a
WF#7 floating line prepared with 10 inch Kevlar leader to prevent line breakage.
There is no need for loads of backing due to the fact that the pikes do not often make
any longer rushes, but a lot of tumbling around in the weeds.
 

Up here, in the northern part of Sweden, we have some daylight almost the entire night,
so often it can be very late in the evening (or early in the morning) before we hit the sack.
Anyway, the sunsets and the morning light can often be really impressive.
 
 
If you haven't tried to fly fish for pike yet, I really recommend that you give it a try.
But remember to use a strong leader and be aware of those sharp teeth.
 
Copyright 2003 - Bo Lindfors, Photos: Bo Lindfors and Peter Lindstrom