Fly Fishing

dublhaul1 · Location: Northern Vermont

I noticed on the 2010 Fish Wish-list that a lot of guys had 'musky' as a goal of theirs...it is a goal of mine as well, and I wanted to start a thread about it. I would be interested to know what flies people have had success with, when to fish, where, and of course...everyone's favorite...tackle. I currently fish with 8,9,and 10 wt rods, and relatively large (5-8 inch) Lefty's Deceivers (swapping fish fiber for hackle) in olive, black, red and white, and yellow and red (in that order) and have tied some foam headed divers that look a lot like Umpqua's Swimming Baitfish and have had some success with pike taper lines, but still love my Monocore. I have fished for northern pike for a while now and I have a hankerin' to take it to the next level... I would be fishing primarily Lake Champlain, probably Missisquoi Bay south through the islands. So there it is....what works, guys?

PikeFlyGuy · Location: South Florida

You're on the right track. I like a 10 wt, just to handle the big flies. Stay away from Puglisi fibers for the wings, though. They have great action but I've found they tangle in Toothy Critters' small teeth on the tongue and upper jaw, making it almost impossible to set a hook in bony jaws. Definitely use a pike line, and 1 or 2 heavier than rod rating is best, because the fly needs to be brought along side the boat and swirled there on every cast, The heavier lines helps get the next cast started quyickly.

Everything you need to know, including the absolutely best flies for both pike & musky, is available in my book, Toothy Critters Love Flies, available from Amazon or my web site: www(dot)pikeflyguy(dot)com.

If you want to travel for a great musky trip on flies, try Lake of the Woods, Ontario. I took 6 up to 42" in a week, and my buddy got one 45" on flies. We stayed at Crow Rock Lodge, out of Kenora.

Good Luck.