Pikeonthefly.com is pleased to announce that fly angler Ray Snyder, along with trusty longtime guide and POTF staffer Andrew Marr, have set a new benchmark for the IGFA All-Tackle Length Fly World Record for Northern Pike!
Ray Snyder is an avid fly fisherman and longtime guest of Wollaston Lake Lodge, located in north-east Saskatchewan. Ray has travelled the world for many decades in pursuit of IGFA records. His trips have included catching rainbow trout in Kamchatka Russia, Golden Dorado in Bolivia, and of course Northern Pike in Canada, just to name a few of the many destinations he has travelled to.
At 80 years old Ray no longer travels to some of the more remote and hard to get to destinations. He has now settled on 2 trips a year to the highly acclaimed Wollaston Lake Lodge, previous winner of the prestigious, globally recognized, Orvis Endorsed Lodge of the year. Ray travels twice a season to pursue the giant pike that call Wollaston lake home with the intention of adding one of them to the IGFA record books.
In 2019, Ray came within centimeter’s of claiming the All Tackle World Record Pike, which at the time stood at 120cm to the fork of the tail. Ray caught a 121cm pike, total length, while trolling an 8″ Savage Gear line-through trout in a Rainbow trout pattern in high winds, which made fly fishing unfeasible at the time. The fish was truly a giant but unfortunately wasn’t enough to get him into the record books. That fish ignited his passion and drive to get his record the next time though!
It took 2 years until Ray was again able to venture from his US home to the wilds of northern Saskatchewan, to again pursue his shot at a record pike. On August 3rd of 2022 that dream finally became a reality for Ray after an epic final day on the water of his 4 day trip! Over the course of his trip Ray and his guide Andrew Marr went through the process of catching and recording several pike under IGFA rules in an attempt to set the record in the new IGFA categories of fly caught, line class records for length. The duo were able to register fish in the mid-90cm range over the first 3 days prior to the biggest of the trip being caught.
On the final day, Ray and Andrew were met with clear, sunny and calm conditions that they knew would push pike onto shallow sand flats. Pike often use calm sunny days to speed up their digestion by moving into areas where the water is warmest and by basking in the sun. On the first cast of the day in one such area, Ray was greeted with a 40″ plus pike that ate his fly just a few feet away from the boat! If ever there was a prelude to how a day was going to turn out, catching a trophy class pike on the first cast of the day is a pretty good indicator! Over the course of that special day they big pike never slowed down eating Ray’s flies. The total number of pike was not high, but the average size of the pike more than made up for low total number. By lunch, Ray had already caught 3 pike pushing past the 40″, or roughly 100cm mark, sight fishing most of them. After lunch the pace didn’t slow when the guide and angler moved to a new area of the lake. In quick succession, Ray caught 3 more 40″+ pike from a small sandy area, sight fishing each fish individually with a 6″ black bunny leech pattern, tied by his guide.
Ray was in the midst of one of his single best of days fishing in his life, which is significant considering the places he’s traveled and species he had pursued over his long fly-fishing career. His day was still not over yet though! With 6 pike over 40″ already under Ray’s belt on the day, his guide Andrew decided to try fishing an area with which he had no previous experience with.
The new and previously unfished area included a long stretch of shallow sand with some scattered vegetation. Andrew had never fished this specific spot, but remembered seeing the big sand flat while travelling through the area on previous guide trips. Knowing the pike they had been catching over the course of the day had all come from similar structure, Andrew thought the time might be right to finally check out that particular sandy shoreline. Putting the big Lund Pro-V in reverse, Andrew instructed Ray to stand in the bow, holding his Bunny Leech at the ready, and only cast once Andrew spotted a pike. The duo reversed along the sandy bank for several hundred yards but there were no pike to be seen anywhere, but they kept going and going and going. After what seemed like an eternity, and almost a kilometer of slowly spying the shallows, Andrew finally spotted the first and seemingly only pike holding along the entire shoreline, and it was BIG!
Holding tight to a tiny patch of weeds, in barely a foot of water, lay the soon to be world record pike basking in the afternoon sun. As soon as Andrew saw the pike, the pike saw Andrew and Ray, and began to very slowly swim away. Ray has been patiently waiting for just this opportunity though, and was ready as soon as the fish was spotted. In a split second Ray had his fly in the air sailing towards the weary fish and made the perfect cast, landing the diminutive Black Bunny leech a foot in front of the massive pikes line of travel. Without the slightest bit of hesitation the pike kept track and inhaled the leech and Ray hammered the hook home! In an instant, the pike screamed off the sand flat and headed straight for deeper water and an incredibly long first run. Ray managed to keep a firm bend in the rod the whole time to keep the barbless hook pinned, never giving the pike a chance to throw the fly. The pike made one long run after another, trying to go further and deeper every time, but Ray held firm. After a long, grueling battle that exhausted the angler, guide and pike, Andrew was finally able to slide the net under the fish. The untested long sandy stretch of shoreline, although never previously fished, simply matched the pattern for the day and had just prayed off!
After days of recording and measuring fish on the IGFA bump board, there was no question this pike was the biggest of the bunch. With 6-40″+ already to their credit on the day alone, it proved that lucky number 7 was indeed to be the record breaker! Measuring in at 106cm to the fork of the tail, there was no question that Ray had finally caught the pike of his dreams, one that would earn him an IGFA World Record!
After photographing and measuring the fish in order to meet all the IGFA requirements, it was released, swimming away strongly to be caught by the next lucky angler. To cap off what was an already incredible day, Ray and Andrew again decided to try fishing another previously unfished piece of shoreline on the journey way home to the lodge. Just as the day had started with a 40″+ pike on the first cast of the day, so it would end. On the last cast of the day, a 42″ pike came out of nowhere and inhaled Ray’s fly right at his feet. The line was kept tight, the rod bent, and the little black bunny held firm. Andrew was able to scoop up Ray’s 8th and final 40″ plus fish of the day.
Some days on the water it can feels like you can do no wrong, this particular day was certainly one of those. Day’s like this aren’t common, which makes it them memorable. For a solo fly angler to have the best single day of pike fishing of his life is a special moment, for any angler. A solo, 80 year old angler catching 8 pike over 40″ and better in a day is a feat few could dream of, a 40″ for each decade! For “lucky number 7” to set a new IGFA record is the icing on the cake!
August 3rd also just so happened to be Ray’s 10 year anniversary as a guest at Wollaston Lake Lodge. That night, on the final evening of his trip, he was personally presented with a commemorative blanket by lodge owners Mike and Judy Lembke to celebrate his 10 year milestone. The tag line of Wollaston Lake Lodge is to “catch a memory”. There is no question that Ray did indeed catch a memory that day!
Congratulations to Ray Snyder and guide Andrew Marr on setting the benchmark in the new IGFA category for All-Tackle Length Fly World Record for Northern Pike! Pikeonthefly.com is proud to have created and designed the fly to catch it!
Anyone interested in the current IGFA records for Northern pike just click the link:
– International Game Fish Association (igfa.org)
