Summer is one of our busy seasons, but this June I had the opportunity to sneak away from work with a good friend and visit Scott Lake Lodge in northern Saskatchewan. We went for a week of pike fishing on fly. Scott Lake offers great sight casting to big pike that feed in the warmer shallows. The chance to throw bird sized flies at big, gnarly fish was too exciting to pass up.
Pike fishing involves throwing big, ugly flies. This is right in my saltwater comfort zone. I planned on taking a TCX 7 weight, 2-8-weights one Sage Xi3 and Redington 8’3” Predator and 9-wt Sage Xi3. One of my favorite lines to deliver chicken sized flies is the RIO OutBound Short. These lines let anglers make quick casts with minimal false casts. They are a favorite for our summer and fall saltwater species. However, the water I normally fish is warm, almost hot, so we use the tropical version. Scott Lake and the surrounding Canadian lakes are cold. RIO makes the OutBound in Tropical and Cold water versions and the cold water version is what this trip needed. I decided to take both floaters and intermediates. RIO also makes a pike specific line as well that many anglers prefer. Do not leave for an adventure and try and make do with any fly line. The wrong line will ruin a trip, so do the research, spend the money and maximize the experience.
Pike have lots of gnarly teeth, so a wire shock is essential. RIO’s Powerflex wire is perfect for dealing with teeth. It is easy to tie and does not kink like single strand wire.