Any guest who has fly fished from the bow of my guide boat has heard me say the phrase, “if you can’t see what is behind your fly, don’t take it out of the water!”
It a far too is common practice for fly anglers using pike streamers to make a nice cast, strip the fly back to about about double the length of the fly rod, then pick the line up off the water, and launch their next cast. Picking the line up off the water when the fly is 10-20′ from the boat offers a little extra help by water loading the rod, generating extra energy for the the next cast, but it also cost’s anglers a lot of missed opportunities for boat side strikes. Anglers miss out on lots of strikes simply by overlooking what I have dubbed “the kill zone”, the area closest to the boat. Imagine a ring around the boat, about double the length of the rod, as a crucial area that should never be overlooked! This immediate area, weather wading, on shore, or in a boat, the final portion of the cast, is where many strikes happen, but you have to keep the fly in the water to enjoy the benefits.
Musky anglers have long known the effectiveness of performing a figure 8 at the end of each cast. It is not uncommon at time’s to catch 50% and higher using this boat side maneuver. I’m not suggesting that figure 8’s have an everyday place in fly fishing for pike. Pike are typically more boat shy than musky, less prone to chase and strike in a figure 8 than their cousins. There is still a lesson to be learned for musky caster though that the areas close to the boat should never be over looked. Pike fly anglers need to focus a little extra on the end of the cast, slow down a bit, add a twitch, maybe a pause or turn in direction, make an L motion with the rod, and be doubly sure there isn’t an incoming missile before taking the fly out of the water. How many times has it happened, you make a cast, look down, and there goes a tail swimming away from you after the fish followed in to the boat late? How many fish do the same thing, but you never see them?
At the end of every cast, sweep the rod across your body, turn the fly broad side to the boat or shore, changing its direction and give the fly some added twitches and hang time before proceeding into the next cast. Many unseen pike will reveal themselves and strike during this process.
I see it too many times each season, the fly gets 15′ away from the caster, and before I can say anything, the fly is out of the water and sailing towards its next destination. While the angler focuses on where their next cast has landed I am left looking at a 40″+ pike that rushed in late, right beside the boat, confused and wondering where their meal went. By the time the fly makes it back to the boat, the opportunity is often missed. It’s almost comical if it weren’t so sad, all the pike knows is whatever they were about to eat went that a way, and almost run into the boat looking for it, but the fly is already long gone. Some anglers can make a quick adjustment and still get a fly to the pike in time but all to often they take off at the sight of the boat, opportunity missed.
I’m guilty of causing it at least a few times each season myself, a guest will be mid retrieve, I spot a fish somewhere off to the side, have the angler pick up and recast at the new target, only to see a big pike scream in near the boat look from nowhere. It’s not just anglers, us guides are guilty of having anglers bypass the kill zone at times. It’s a fine way to get flustered fast, one pike beside you that wants to eat, and a pike your mid cast to, that your trying to get to eat. It’s one of those things, pick the streamer up off the water early without a proper look behind it and eventually you miss one. Over the course of a day or season, picking up the fly early before fishing it all the way back and visually confirming no pike is following, can get costly for missed opportunities.
Sure we get lucky and are able to get an immediate cast back at times and still catch some of these pike, but it is far better to not miss the chance in the first place. Thinking of this immediate boat side or shore side area as “the kill zone”, act’s as a reminder to exercise a little extra patience as the fly finds it’s way home. Sure it’s a bit dramatic, “the kill zone”, but people remember it, it sticks out, reminds people of this key area. My clients and I sometimes get to chuckling about it and have some fun. Arnold Schwarzenfly has entered, dun, dun, dun, “the kill zone”, cue dramatic music. The days can be long on the water, ok, don’t judge. In all seriousness though, whenever I can get guests to focus a little extra on the end of their cast’s, by whatever means necessary, corny jokes included, their catch rate inevitably improves. When anglers are consentient, they always end up catching a few they never saw or knew were there. I’ve had more than couple guests, while hovering and twitching the fly boatside, scream out in surprise from a pike smashing the fly at their feet they never saw coming!
If you can’t see what is behind your fly, do not take it out of the water!
–Andrew Marr, pike fly fishing guide, to every guest ever…
Pike are well camouflaged predators, when they follow deep and stay back a bit they can be difficult to see. Glare from the sun, low light conditions or wave action are all factors that can further help conceal following pike. When you make a change of direction, right in front of you, if there is a pike behind the fly, chances are they will turn too. This turn or change in direction can be a real trigger for fish while also making them more visible to an angler paying attention. Pike are more visible as they go broadside to the angler, so make them turn to keep following the fly. If your diligent, every cast, and simply add in a pause or twitch and sweep the rod across your body, and turn the fly boat side, it will eventually pay off, big time.
Clear water conditions, under sunny skies, fishing sandy bottoms, if using the right sunglasses, you will spot a pike from a hundred yards away. When I ask my clients “could you see what was behind the fly before you took it out of the water?” these aren’t the typical conditions when the question gets asked. This idea relates to dark water, cloudy skies, waves breaking up your view, glare from the sun and even when fishing near deeper break lines and weed edges. Any time your presented with limitations on your vision it is time to be extra attentive near the boat.
It is one of the most thrilling experiences in freshwater fishing, when out of nowhere, a huge white mouth opens up, and inhales your fly right at your feet! Your heart rate will remain elevated for some time after hits like these! Remember that in order to capitalize you need to fish your fly all the way back and not cheat yourself by taking the fly out before entering the kill zone near the boat. Most importantly of all, “if you can’t see what is behind your fly, don’t take it out of the water!”
