Gene and Kyle excelled at giving every probable ambush a sound thrashing. Gene found the "Skunk Off" treatment right off, which is always nice. Next Kyle hooked into a fish at the back of the boat and shouted, "There is another one, right behind it!" At the same time my eyes slid over to Gene's fly, lying in the water off the starboard side not 10 ft, Boom! A flash from the depths, and Gene lifted his rod. It doesn't get much better than two simultaneous bent rods on the boat! We netted Kyle's and dropped it in the live well, while securing Gene's fish for the "Double Shot!"
Kyle and Gene continued catching as the wind slid us silently along the cover.
We had intermittent sun throughout the day. With each brief window of sun our eyes were scouring the cover. I'd spotted a fish in ambush behind a tangle of cover and pointed it out to Kyle, telling him to place his fly just to the right of the tangle. Expertly, he sent the pike a barbed package wrapped in feather and mischief. Splat! The pike was not moved! Kyle began swimming the package. "He's on it!" Faster than fast, quicker than quick the pike erupted after the fly. The pike abandoned her mission in the last moment. Hearts were pounding and the pike decided not to disappear, but held just off the bow. Kyle put his fly on the pike again, no love. But after Kyle's second presentation the pike was now swimming down the port side, right into Gene's presentation. Gene was persuasive. His fly and the pike had a brief but explosive exchange! What a FISH!
"Skunk OFF"
Thanks Gene, this one is always the most important!
The Brute
Doubled!
Young of Year
Dropfin, landing gear deployed.
Smiles!
Waiting out some significantly, gusty moments!
By:Targhee Boss
Utah Pike Guide
Nice pike! We have them in North Idaho, none yet here, but I bet they'll end up in our Snake River sooner than later somehow. Unsure what to think of them but yours look like a blast.
ReplyDeleteGregg
Thanks Gregg. Pike are one of the best fresh water pursuits. Big, fast, mean and explosively eat flies! They are not for every body of water, but enjoy them where they are!
DeleteThat sounds really fun. Is there a youtube video or something that shows you how to swim the fly? I hear that term used often but don't really understand what that means? I've heard you do a figure eight with the rod tip near the boat.
ReplyDeleteKevin, there is nothing specific I can tell you about swimming the fly. The fish dictate how you do it. If I am getting strikes I continue the swim that elicits the strikes. If I am not I switch it up until I find something the fish likes. If you have followers that run you out of real estate all the way to the boat, your only option, to continue to fish for that fish, is the figure eight. I'm certain youtube has a plethora of esox fishing for research.
Delete