Had a friend invite me out to float the DPR (Des Plaines River) for some northern pike action. I was excited! I usually fish from the banks of the river with my bait caster, because, wading is prohibited in Cook County, and it would be near impossible to cast a decent sized fly with it being so wooded.
Got my chance to fly fish the DPR! For the past few weeks I have been tying some big flies for musky. The night before my float I thought about the lures I fish with success on the DPR....a fire tiger Rapala husky jerk. So, naturally I had to tie something that resembled that color scheme and lure. Here's what I came up with. I only tied one, and that proved to be enough.
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| 4/0 TMC 600S hook, buck tail, flash, flashabou, grizzly hackle, clear cure goo eyes, and head. Very proud of this one. Came out exactly how I pictured it in my head. |
Long float story short. The pike loved the fly! The first one was a little hammer handle. It was just a little bit bigger than the fly, and I hooked up with it on an errant cast while I was untangling line from my rod. The second pike I caught was 24/25 inches, and healthy! Missed the fly 2 times, and hooked up with him on the 3rd. I was pumped! Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of that one, because, it flopped out of my grip and back into the water. Ended the day with 3 pike, sore knees, and back. lol I need my own kayak. One with some leg room!
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| Wet |
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| I could get used to this....but with a much roomier 'yak. |
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| FishDank and his brother in-law |
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| The first pike. |
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| The 3rd pike. |
Hopefully, I'll be posting about a successful trip for musky next week!
Great looking fly brother! Pike are always fun to target. Can't wait to hear about the Muskie next week.
ReplyDeleteDude that is awesome! Especially to catch them on a fly you tied. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteNice fly! Having fly fished from both a sit in and a sit on, I highly recommend a sit on. The extra deck space is nice for all that loose line
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