The brackish waters of the southern and eastern Sweden's coast provide an interesting fishery for pike - a species usually targeted in freshwater. Due to the shallowness of much of the Swedish archipelago and the fact that the pike are found very close to shore ,except for mid-summer ,make them an excellent target for fly fishermen. This salty fly fishery for pike is indeed gaining popularity amongst Swedes and Danes both as a change from the more classic coastal fishing for seatrout but also due to the numbers and size of the pike . Twenty pounders are landed on the fly every year.
When fishing the coastline (which varies between rocky, boulder-strewn and sandy) on foot, a decent sized fly that can be cast a long way without too much of an effort is a definite advantage. Often you need to cover water all around, searching around rocks, holes and where the sandy areas meet darker areas, so a fly that can be cast across the wind is an asset. Synthetic flies such as the Pike Streamer by Morten Valeur are preferred as they don’t absorb water and are thus quite easy to cast. Furthermore, synthetic flies tend to survive the pike teeth for longer than traditional natural materials.
I recently came across DNA Holofusion, a fairly new fly tying synthetic. It turns out that its properties are very well suited for tying large streamers with good aerodynamics yet are still voluminous and alive in the water. Also, it doesn't’t foul and tangle around the hook bend as easily as other flashy synthetics such a flashabou.
My version of the Pike Streamer is tied in the following manner: Your favorite pike hook in the 3/0 range is fitted with a conehead, this will provide a jigging action to the fly. A tail of Holofusion is tied in at the hook bend, app. 3-4 inches long. The first inch of material (closest to the hook) is reinforced with super glue which helps preventing fouling. Now a dubbing loop is made and Holofusion is spun in it while holding it horizontal. The loop is used to make a collar slightly shorter than the tail, just in front of where the tail was tied in. Similar collars are tied in, in the middle of the hook and at the cone head, respectively. These collars are gradually shorter the closer to the head you get. This is again to prevent fouling. The length of the front collar is app. that of the hook. Each collar is secured with either varnish or super glue for added durability.
Easy to tie, easy to cast, no fouling, any color you wish and very alive in the water.
What else do you want? Happy pike hunting.
Jan
