FIN-ITE 34
Well-known member
Saturday morning I fished a PA limestone for a few wild browns, most small with one decent 17" fish. The water was cold but extremely skinny, making for a hands and knees crawl to not spook the fish. I finished up early and headed back home to get in a few hours of work on Labor Day weekend.
At about 4:30 I decided to take the kayak down to the Passaic for a few hours before dark to have a go at the pike with a new articulated deceiver I tied. I have been tying my articulated pike steamers with an articulated shank instead of a rear hook to facilitate hook removal from the fish because they just inhale the fly down their throat and two hooks was a pain in the ass to deal with in removal from the fish.
I have to say that I think that with all the metal that is being chucked at the pike by the spin and baitcaster guys, the articulated streamer seems to be irresistible to the pike. I raised four fish and landed two, the smaller being a 26 incher and the larger being a +40" brute, the largest I have seen or caught so far. I have found that the eddies in front of the ditches entering the river seem to be holding large fish. Last night I fished in front of one such ditch and I observed a pike cruising back and forth at the mouth in no more than 18" of water. I cast in front of it and made 2 or three strips and the fish couldn't resist the undulations imparted by the articulated streamer, bum rushed it and inhaled it. Then it was the tow around by the fish for the next five minutes, getting the fish to the kayak only to have it make another run around behind me and having to contort my upper torso to keep the rod pointed at the fish. It towed me under the nearby bridge and afer a little more back and forth, I managed to wedge the kayak between some mud and construction debris to where I could get the fish alongside the kayak and the Fish Grip on its jaw. After much thrashing and a good soaking I finally got the fly out of its throat and a quick pic of the head of the fish before turning it loose.
At about 4:30 I decided to take the kayak down to the Passaic for a few hours before dark to have a go at the pike with a new articulated deceiver I tied. I have been tying my articulated pike steamers with an articulated shank instead of a rear hook to facilitate hook removal from the fish because they just inhale the fly down their throat and two hooks was a pain in the ass to deal with in removal from the fish.
I have to say that I think that with all the metal that is being chucked at the pike by the spin and baitcaster guys, the articulated streamer seems to be irresistible to the pike. I raised four fish and landed two, the smaller being a 26 incher and the larger being a +40" brute, the largest I have seen or caught so far. I have found that the eddies in front of the ditches entering the river seem to be holding large fish. Last night I fished in front of one such ditch and I observed a pike cruising back and forth at the mouth in no more than 18" of water. I cast in front of it and made 2 or three strips and the fish couldn't resist the undulations imparted by the articulated streamer, bum rushed it and inhaled it. Then it was the tow around by the fish for the next five minutes, getting the fish to the kayak only to have it make another run around behind me and having to contort my upper torso to keep the rod pointed at the fish. It towed me under the nearby bridge and afer a little more back and forth, I managed to wedge the kayak between some mud and construction debris to where I could get the fish alongside the kayak and the Fish Grip on its jaw. After much thrashing and a good soaking I finally got the fly out of its throat and a quick pic of the head of the fish before turning it loose.
