Fly fishing for pike. Despite many years of fly fishing it is only very recently that I had the pleasure of fishing for pike. I sampled the atmosphere, thrills and beauty of Loch Achray in the Trossachs and here are some of the pictures. This pike weighed about 7 pounds and took a large fly similar to the one pictured below. The fly was made by Barry Duffy and it is a brilliant imitation of a small fish.
Materials used are synthetic hairs of the same types that are used for salt water flies.
The body is coated with epoxy resin between wing layers to ensure that it withstands the razor sharp teeth of the pike. Mylar strands produce a glistening scale-like appearance in the water and the whole fly is given character by the addition of stick on eyes. The weed guards are made from Mason Hard nylon and these allow the fly to be retrieved through snaggy weedbeds with little chance of getting caught up or fouling. Pike can be caught on flies of any colour as long as they resemble something large enough to be considered prey by this fearsome predator. I took this shot or Barry's flybox to illustrate its amazing colours and styles of flies.