Lost: One firetiger pike diver

[Quentin]

Last seen clenched between the jaws of a 30" pike heading north in the Housatonic River.

I went to my favorite pike section of the Housy and found a few willing participants, including a thick 33"er that probably weighed 8 lbs or so (caught by non-ff means). I wanted to get one on the fly rod but they didn't seem interested in my frog diver. I kept going back to the spinning rod (just to search for fish ) and caught a couple more nice pike and a multitude of perch and bluegills. I finally decided to try my firetiger pike diver (the prototype of the pattern I tied for the pike swap) and vowed keep using it until I at least got a hit. Well, I got a hit and then some! I casted to a patch of shade next to the bank, and on the first "sploosh" a nice pike hammered the fly from below, came completely out of the water and did a somersault before spitting the fly at my head and splashing back into the river . I casted a few more times with no success and drifted downstream a bit. A few minutes later the wind pushed me back to the same area so I tried another cast. This time the pike slashed at the fly twice but missed both times. On the next cast the pike absolutely crushed the fly and stayed on the hook long enough for me to pull it up and get a look at it. I could see the head of the fly protruding from the side of its jaws so I thought I might actually land it, but on the next surge we parted company. I stuck around for a while hoping the fly might pop free and float to the surface but no such luck. Next time I'll use a heavier leader .

Q

[BLACK FRANCIS]

check out the american fishing wire for bite guards. 20lb that ties like mono. great stuff if a little pricey. it is a bummer losing deer hair to a pike. last summer i was just wondering if that was a small pike looking at my pencil popper and a second later it was gone. no wire to speak of as i was fishing for small bass.

[Dble Haul]

Don't you just love it when you get solid confirmation from the fish on a new fly pattern?

[flyjkol]

i often try to convince my self that the best part about catching pike on fly is seeing them absolutly crush a fly. Thats easy to do when they slice you right as they hit, but losing one after a good tussle is always a little disapointing....

good to hear someone is out chasing the big and toothies....

[dewey]

I also like the confirmation that you can catch good fish on the fly the same as or better than on the gear.

[Quentin]

I really need to use wire with these things.

Went to the river again tonight and left the spinning rod at home. I tried the frog for a while -- no luck. I tried the baby muskrat for a while -- no luck (but I will definitely give it some more time in the water). Tied on the white/red pike diver and soon found some hungry fish. The first pike (~26") blasted the fly three times in five casts and then cut my 30# leader like it was nothing. A few seconds later my fly bobbed to the surface so I tied it back on and resumed casting . About 20' up the river I had a baby pike doing somersaults after the fly but didn't hook up. It started getting late so I headed back towards the launch site and soon had another devastating topwater attack, this time from a fat little largemouth (~2#) that I actually landed and released. When I got back to the area where I lost the pike on Sunday I started casting and had another pike explode on the fly. I got it close enough for photos before it cut the knot and swam off with my fly. This time the fly didn't float back up . Photos are on my 35mm so I'll post them when I get the film developed. I think that pike was the same one I caught on the spinning rod on Sunday right before I hooked the one that stole my firetiger diver. It was right next to the same pile of sticks, was the same size (~28") and had a freshly torn lip in the same place as the one I hooked Sunday.

I think I have a new favorite fly . Gotta throw one together for tomorrow!

Q

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by Quentin

. . . had another pike explode on the fly. I got it close enough for photos before it cut the knot and swam off with my fly. This time the fly didn't float back up . Photos are on my 35mm so I'll post them when I get the film developed. . . . Q

Photos came out pretty bad but you can get the general idea. Here's the better of the two shots. The fly is about 6" long.

Q

[teflon_jones]

Nice fish Quentin! Any idea of the weight?