Ok this may be a stupid question but I'm keen on having a go at pike fly fishing later on in the year. I'm looking at a 9ft 8/9-wt rod for this but my question is could I also use this for rainbow trout in fisheries or are there negative considerations I should take into account?

Thanks

Chalky

I'd think the negatives are that catching small fish on a heavy rod doesn't give much of a fight. You risk straightening lighter hooks or breaking off finer tippets by giving it too much welly on the rod which has less give and it is easy to apply too much pressure on lighter end tackle. The heavier line also tends to land more heavily - some folk will say casting technique helps mitigate a heavy splash down.

For some reason, I started off with an 8 weight for stillwater trout. It's great for when it's really windy but I have straightened hooks accidentally and I now have a 5 weight in the car for when I want to do dry fly stuff or if I'm fishing for wee brownies.

I'm not a pike fisherman but I expect that if you're after seriously big pike then folks here might suggest that an 8/9 is not heavy enough - for playing heavy fish and hurling heavy flies. I don't actually know though - just what I recall picking up on other posts here.

That said, I'm a firm believer that all rods will work - just that some are better at some things than others.

It's better to double a pike rod and salmon rod in my view. I changed to double handers for my pike fishing a couple of years back and won't use a single hander now. It makes casting huge flies to any practical distance an absolute breeze.

If you are only going for small waters occasionally then no problem in using a heavy reservoir rod. The line weight is determined by the flies that you use. Casting the largest of pike flies in a wind with an 8 weight is an absolute pain.

I started out using a reservoir rod was fine for pike fishing with smaller flies but it is limiting. Before I switched to double handers I was using a 12 weight.

I have both a 10/11 13ft double hander salmon rod and a Saltwater 9.5ft single handler also 10/11 (for Kayak fishing for Pollok).

Both rods would do Pike duty and I use the same lines and reel.

__________________
Just My Tuppenceworth!!

i have a ten ft 8 weight and a 9ft 10 weight for my pike and saltwater fly sorties both single handers both will cover the salmon and seatrout too

Do you find the ten foot 8# ok for the bigger fish like pike/carp etc?

Endrick I find your post very interesting about using a double handed rod for pike fishing.
I have used a single handed rod and it is hard work even when double hauling smaller flies into a wind.
How do you cast a double handed rod is it like a roll cast, and what length and weight is used?
Also is it easier using a double handed rod, and can it be cast as far?

Paul

It is much easier to cast long distances with a double hander. Even with huge flies it's a simple matter, once you know how to cast, to cast at least 35 yards. I am a member of a casting club and most of the members who use double handers can cast well over 40 yards, some over 50 yards.

You have a choice of casting overhead or spey style - both are straightforward once you know how but spey casting is more relaxed.

A good choice for lines are the shooting head style lines like the Rio AFS and matched up with a 12.5 - 13 ft 9/10 rod would be perfect. A rod I particularly like is the Century 12ft 9in 9/10 which is specially built for shooting heads. There are a myriad of this type of rod around and they are almost light enough to cast single handed.

The other great benefit is just how much less tired you feel compared with wielding a 10+ weight single handed rod. Double handers are popular for pike fishing in the Baltic and I am at a loss to know why they are not more popular here. Tradition I suppose -and of course that there is a learning curve in getting used to double handers.

I should say that salmon lines don't conform to the AFTM scale - they are much heavier so don't think you can just pop your wf10 on a salmon rod - it won't work.

I don't find using a #10 all day, every day for a week a problem. I think it is down to casting technique. i see Pike guys working way too hard and trying to use too much power (a very common problem with fly casting generally)

The issue of line weight for pike is more to do with fish welfare than fishing ability. I can cast 6" flies with my #8 into a force 6 happily, and was this weekend in Brittany. I wouldn't use it for pike though, I use the same rod in #10 for them, simply because I can put more pressure on the fish with the stiffer rod - both are tropical saltwater rods of some repute and perfectly capable of dealing with a UK pike - but for the pike's sake, I use the heavier rod, not for my ability to cast or fish certain flies.

Pike are VERY delicate fish, regardless of what many people think. They will often power away when released after a hard fight, even after recovering, then they turn up their toes a day or so later. They really do need treating with respect and great care. More so in the warmer months when the oxygen levels of the water are at their lowest.

In short. Use a decent rod designed for a 9-10 and treat the pike with the same reverence you would a spring salmon. They are still creatures in our waters, so deserve the same respect as any other fish.

I am just looing into an ideal rod for pike for the pike fly fishing association. I have cast it and it is a superb tool and will come in under £100 if I can get the deal organsied.

I do a lot of Pike fishing and trout (sea) come to that ...
... a few years back I would have recommended an #8 weight 1handed rod, perhaps a tad on the heavy side for most of the sea trout fishing I do (in the sea) but ok for Pike. If you choose the material you use for your Pike Flies carefully (e.g flashabou) then you can cast flies of 15cm length with ease; regarding size of fish - well to be honest Pike don't fight all that well and I've caught many many Pike up to 10Kg and a few over with this set up.

But, that's my old set up - nowadays I use a #6 or #7 Switch loaded with a Skagit-Switch head for most of my Pike fishing. The switch rod gives me all the fun of casting "2handed" (snap c, perry poke, skagit double spey etc), but allows me to "activate" my fly and play a fish as if I was using a single hander, and (this is the clue) the short skagit heads have the mass to enable me to cast BIG flies even into a head wind. I started off by using Compact Skagits but now that Skagit-Switches heads are available I use them. ...
... I now tend to use Switch Rods for most of my sea-trouting as well, but thats another story.

__________________
Get Out There ..... www.balticflyfisher.com