Text: Jari Koski
Photos: Jari Koski
I open my garage door, and on the left side is my rod rack. It's ugly and homemade, just like its owner, but it works very well. My pike rods are up front, and my perch rods are right behind them. The saltwater rods are packed away in the corner in their tubes. I love this setup of having my rods ready to go all the time. I've always had far too many pike rods, and I've always loved talking about them, so let's get down to business!
First, I have to say that having more than one pike rod/set in your arsenal is essential. I know what you guys are thinking: this blog is published on a fly rod manufacturer's website, so of course he's going to say stuff like this... But it really is important to carry more than one set with you. I'm not saying that your productivity will double when carrying two rods instead of one, but having two different lines ready to go is a big deal. If you are a boat angler, you can even have three different sets ready. You will already be bankrupt and spending all your money on the boat, so you can easily divert a bit of that budget to buying a third pike rod/set.
The second thing I would like to think about is, what makes a good pike rod? In general, all the good pike rods have enough tip strength to carry heavy lines and big flies and enough flex in the mid part of the rod to make casting easy, intuitive, and repeatable. There are hundreds of variations on how to achieve this and how the overall stiffness, materials, and other things factor into the overall feel and performance of the rod. All in all, that seems to be the winning recipe. Of course there are people who prefer different types of rods, but for most of us this is the way.
10 weights:
10 weights are the ultimate boat rods. They offer the possibility of using heavier lines and bigger, bulkier flies with fewer restrictions on how far you can cast them. If you primarily fish from a boat, and especially if you use wiggle/dragon tail flies a lot, I would first and foremost invest in a ten-weight.
10-weights are, in my opinion, especially good for beginners that struggle with the 9-weight and then for the really advanced anglers. Beginners get benefits and a bit of leeway from the higher line weights that carry the big flies easier. The pro anglers that have excellent casting technique will save a lot of energy, as they can move big flies into great distances with less effort on the big guns. On the downside, I have to say that, even though modern ten-weights are super light and weigh absolutely nothing compared to the older-gen rods, the relative stiffness and line weight can tax your arm a bit more if you don't have good casting technique or you have to cast a full day from a belly boat where you can't use your body to aid your casting.
9 weights:
9-weights are the do-it-all weight class in pike fishing. Pike fly fishing, just like people in general, is not a monolith. If you look at things globally and not just through the lens of the most popular pike fly fishing mediums around, you will see just how versatile this sport is. There are people wading small rivers, launching tiny dinghies into backcountry lakes, or fishing a great big plateau of water with barely any land in sight, all searching for the same thing: a pike on the fly. I truly believe the modern 9-weight can do them all.
I think they are at their best in heavy-duty belly boat fishing, as they can just about handle all you can throw from a belly boat. So if you are building your belly boat arsenal for pike fishing, I would definitely stick with 9-weights. Also, if you are doing multiple styles of pike fly fishing or just starting off in the sport, a 9-weight is a great place to start.
8 weights:
Even though you very seldom hear about 8-weights in pike fly fishing in the broad fly fishing media, they are used in the sport. I have a few friends that exclusively fish from a belly boat and only use an 8-weight. They are also very popular in the UK river fishing scene, where they fish small rivers for pike. An 8-weight can also be found in pike use in areas where they use smaller flies year-round.
For me, the 8-weight is a summertime/mixed bag fishery rod. They are slightly lighter in hand than 9-weights and offer much more versatility if you need a bit more finesse to fool your prey. The 8 can still deliver summer pike flies, which are usually smaller and more dynamic but offer the possibility of using long leaders and small flies if you change to perch, asp, or zander during the day.
P.S. You'll find me on Instagram @tjabster and if you were hungry to see my bucktail-based fly-tying videos, please check out https://www.youtube.com/@Tajapi
