is my #8 saltwater gear gonna be too light for pike ?

will be perfect,look at the size of salmon that are caught in alaska and the like on single hander 7 and 8 wieght rods we are probably overkill over here

all depends on the size of fly that you want to use, larger flies are a struggle with lighter rods. You dont need a #10 to land a pike but often to turn over big flies that have the aerodynamic's of a house brick you will!

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Tomo

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I use my Sage RPLXi #8; but with Cortland WF #9 lines.

It can be brutally powerful; and I think it can be as 'hard' on a big pike as some #10 rods.
Thus making a mockery of the #9 minimum rod weight that some clubs have introduced


For turning over big flies; eg. 8/0 epoxy headed 10" long mackerel imitations; there is nothing to beat a 12' 6" Scando Spey set up .


PiB

Just to second the other comments, it's all about fly size, not the landing of the fish. I switched to a 9# line (which will be fine on your 8# rod) and it really helped the turnover of larger flies. The other advantage of putting a 9# line on your 8# rod is that it will load much easier for shorter distances which I find is often the case with pike.

I overline my 8 weight by 2 line sizes and that provides excellent turnover and doesn't seem to strain the rod at all. I do use an 8 for most of my pike work but I've started fishing somewhere where there is apparently a 40 lber around. I don't really believe them but just in case I've switched back to the 10. This to be honest is not really much heavier and would provide me more chance of controlling a monster, and it does make a difference in the wind. I note that that the PFFA reccomend a 10 or a 9 minimum.

Also - make sure your leader isn't too short - with a big pike fly it will jerk your line and ruin your casts. A slightly longer leader, although not neccesary for the fishing, is better in the air - smooths those bumps. 5ft is fine. I use an 8 weight rod and wf8 floater that I use for saltwater, for pike and it's coped fine with fish to 8-9lb -haven't hooked a 'teen' sized fish on it, but I think it should cope.

top banana... ok what about wire tracers.. can i just pimp a spinning trace or foes it have to be something special ??

Don't worry about using an #8 weight for landing Pike, particularly a SW rod, even large (20lb+) Pike don't really put up much of a fight.

The type/size of fly is far more important - if you use traditional bunnies and BIG ones then you might be struggling, but hey there are enough alternative materials on the market which allow you to tie large pike flies without the disadvantages that bunnies have.

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

Wire? - how 'old-fashioned'.


I use heavy fluorocarbon; but most agree on 'hard' mono.


Pike leaders



PiB