Sunday, April 24, 2016

Incidental Pike

I dropped the boat in for a solo run.  The baitfish were schooled and getting blindsided by pike and musky and probably bass.  I was hoping to find some crappies mixed in but instead I lost two flies in a row to teeth.  Instead of moving on, or tying on wire (a sure sign that I was targeting toothy critters out of season) I simply slowed down my retrieve...  It worked but not in the way I intended.  I went 6 for 6 on hammer handle pike.  The slow strip meant that the hard charge and deep hook didn't happen...I lipped hooked all of them. 

I guess there were no crappies around.

White Pelicans


Lip hooked Jr. Pike


X marks the spot

1 comment:

Chasing Trout in the Walleye State said...

My best luck with crappies on the fly is to set up on a drop and be ready for the hour before sunset. Seems to fish come up chasing bait and have a feeding binge. Usually get 30-45 minutes of chaos followed by nothing.