Fly lines, leaders and thoughts for summer time Pike and Perch fishing

 

This huge Beast of a pike was caught by using summer time tactics

I've been doing more and more summer time predator fishing over the past few years here in Finland and get loads of questions about what gear I use. This type of fishing is getting really popular as the warmer temps are making trout and salmon fishing more difficult. So, here's a few words on the subject.

Warm water fly selection

When the waters warm up and you start to "multi-task" and focus your fishing on both pike and perch it's good to do some changes to your fly selection. Even though traditional pike flies will still work at times, the bulk of the fishing will be done by smaller and more weighted patterns like different Clouser variations, rubber tails and other aggressive patterns that have plenty of movement. Of course top water patterns come to play too. Fishing these types of patterns very aggressively can produce amazing fishing in the so called "off season" that's also called summer.

A trio of M and L size Ike's Jigs.

Small Lefty style clousers can be deadly when the sun is high and waters clear.

All you need for pike and perch top water fishing

This change in fly selection will change the way you should rig your fly lines. Leaders become longer and sometimes tapered and many times you don't need to or you can't use a bite wire anymore. You can also buy a line or two that has a slightly more subtle front taper, but I usually just go with my usual pike lines and change the leader set up according to the fly.

Depth, speed and what fly lines to use

Sinking lines are the norm for summer fishing. Not just for depth but more importantly to keep the fly deep enough when you strip it in super fast. At times you also need to fish deeper than you would need to when the waters cool down and a faster sinking line is a natural choice for that. I think that most people that are newbies to warm water Perch and Pike fishing move their fly too slow. Of course there are days when they like it slow in the summer time too, but 85% of the time a fast moving fly is the key to success. A straight steady and fast strip is usually the ticket in shallow spots, while a drop and fast fast strips is my go to presentation when fishing deeper. 

My all time favorite sinking line for summer fishing is the Vision Grand Daddy sink 2/4. It's actually my favorite sinking pike fly line period. It has a perfect progressive sink rate with its "sliding density". The head of the line sinks nice and fast while the running line portion is a slow sink. This gives you a very direct feel of what's going on at the end of your line. Traditional sinking lines that have the same sink rate throughout the fly line feel a bit sluggish many times and like they have slack line in the middle. Especially if they are really fast sinking lines like a sink5 or sink7.  All and all the Vision GD sink 2/4 is just a very fishy fly line - I guess that's what I'm ultimately trying to tell you guys:) . I use this line mostly for dropping flies close to the bottom and then stripping it in. You can of course use this line for your basic cast & retrieve applications too, but as said the front part of the line sinks pretty fast so make sure you have enough water under you when doing that.  As the front taper on this line is very short and very aggressive, be sure to make your leaders long enough to make it cast well with smaller flies.

Yet another nice Perch fooled on the 2/4

When fishing deeper weedbanks and structure these long and skinny give you a good fight and line burns to your hands as the takes are usually pretty ferocius. 

My other favorite sinking line for summer fishing is the Vision Big Mama sink 3. It casts like a dream, sinks slow enough for me to fish shallower water with it fast and works perfectly on my 9wt Vision Predator rod. I use this line mostly for spots where I can just cast and retrieve. So even though this line has the same sink rate throughout the fly line, it doesn't really bother me as I am not using it to drop flies to the bottom. If I need to drop my fly down I change into my 2/4 GD line. The Big Mama has a really aggressive front taper just like the GD, so be sure to make your leader long enough for it to cast nice smaller less wind resistant flies. 

That's one spectacular combo to fish and cast. 

Those are pretty much the only two sinking lines you need for your summer fishing, but if you feel the need to buy more lines an intermediate can come in handy especially later on in the summer when super shallow spots produce the best and the fish react better to a slower moving fly. There are also plenty of other sinking lines on the market than the ones I mentioned that are up to the job so no need to limit yourself to only Vision products if you don't want to.

Late summer beauty

Of course when we talk about depth and speed we can't dismiss the power of top water fishing. For pike especially it can be the best way to catch them on some days. Top water also works really well especially as a search pattern for big single perch and for big aggressive schools of perch. When the perch are on top water mood, you won't miss it as there's ten fish after your top water fly many times. 

At times you can get amazing numbers of pike on top water. Sure, most of them are usually small, but there's always a few big ones lurking around in the same spots.

Sometimes you get lucky and stick a bigger one on top water. I needed a pair of new underwear after that hit.

The best top water fishing usually starts when the vegetation is thick enough. Of course the water needs to be warm too. This usually happens in early July and many years the last two weeks of July and first two of  August are the best weeks of top water action of the year. Fishing your fly fast does the trick on most days, but sometimes especially in early mornings and late evenings a slower and more steadier strip works better. 

I usually use either a Vision Merisuola fly line or a Airflo Sniper fly line for my top water fishing. I use the Merisuola when it's really hot and the Sniper on more temperate days. Both have a great front taper for accurate top water presentations.

Leaders

Before I start talking about leaders I really want to point out that this is just my way of doing things. These leader rigs work really well for me and have been tried and tested with hundreds of fish. However, some of you might find a different approach to leaders better. 

I usually run a 6-9 foot leader on my sinking lines. Either a two piece version with a 0,66mm butt section and a 0,55mm front part or a straight 0,66mm or 0,70mm. The choice between those two set ups is usually made according to how big the pike "threat" is and if I am fishing a spot that has bigger specimens (pike) roaming around. I use a fastach type clip up front 90% of the time to make changing flies really fast and pleasant. I know some of you will think that using a leader that long on a sinker is a bit counter productive. Sure, on a shorter leader the fly would stay some inches deeper on the strip, but I'm mostly using weighted flies and fishing stillwater so the difference is really small in my experience. I also use fluorocarbon which sinks a lot faster than mono.

Fastach type clips make life easy.

I only use fluorocarbon on my sinking line leaders for summer pike and perch. When it comes to taking a hit from toothy critters, fluoro does amazingly well compared to mono. The 0,55mm fluoro is pretty pike proof, but I do lose the odd fish and fly every now and then with it. It is thin enough however to give me loads of fish on smaller flies when the fish get picky. Sure, going down to 0,35mm for example would work wonders at times, but I rarely play that game any more and try to find more aggressive fish instead. The 0,66mm and 0,70mm fluoro I use have been surprisingly pike proof. So far I haven't lost a single fly using those two diameter fluoros and I've caught some really big fish using them. Now that I said that out loud I'm probably going to start loosing them on the regular... Just be sure to check your leader after every pike and cut off any damaged parts. When the season progresses and we get to early fall I change back to usual thick pike wire (on my second set up. I leave the fluoro on the other one) even if I'm focusing mainly on perch. Usually by early to mid september the light gets low, rains start to stain up the water a bit and the perch start focusing more and more on bigger bait. This makes them more prone to hit big flies and on most days they don't really care about the leader.

Nice 90cm+ summer pike caught with a 0,55mm fluoro tippet. Even though fluoro is by no means 100% pike proof, it does a much much better job at it than mono does.

Early fall when the waters are still warm is still prime time for summer tactics. This 10kg+ fish was caught with a mid size pink&white Clouser. 

On my top water set ups I run a 5-6 foot leader. 0,60mm mono and some wire. In top water fishing the wire doesn't seem to bother the fish at all. Simple, effective and care free. 

Flies like these lipped up Crease flies are super duper easy to cast on that leader set up and can produce big fish.

Like said that's just my personal preference when it comes to summer time leaders for pike and perch. They work for me, but might not work for all of you. There are for example some really thin and limb wires on the market now a days that work well with smaller flies that you might want to check out if you don't like using fluoro. 

Rods

I usually use a 8 or 9wt for my summer time fishing. Not because of the size of the fish, but because I have plenty of those rods in the cupboard and they let me fish with/in every possible technique and condition. I know many people prefer to use a 7 or 6wt in the summer, but I have never felt the need to go out and buy a 7wt and a 6wt is rarely beefy enough to handle all the different techniques I use. Like said, the 8's and 9's have the backbone to throw weighted flies and wind resistant top water bugs better than lighter rods so in many ways the actual fishing ends up feeling lighter than with a 6 or 7 wt if that makes any sense...

I got a set of rods ready to go at all times.

My favorite 8wt is the Sage Payload . At 8'9" the rod has a very small swing weight and is super light to handle all day long. It has plenty of tip power to handle weighted flies and sinking lines with ease. It also has plenty of power to wrestle big fish if need be, but feels nice with your average bigger size perch too. Line it up with something with a AFTM weight between 17 to 20grams and it's absolutely perfect.

Monster monster fish on a 8wt.

My favorite 9wt is the Vision Merisuola Predator . At 9' and weighing only 111grams it is probably the best rod ever made?!! It's insanely light in hand and has that perfect mid bend action with a strong tip and super fast recovery. It's also stiff enough to shoots some real lazer loops if need be. AFTM weights between 20 to 24grams all work very well on that rod with the "G" spot being at around 21grams. Funny piece of information about this rod is that I have had it on me every time I've gone fishing since last September! To say I like it is an understatement. 

What a rod!

I have caught some beautiful perch with that rod

That's it. A few thoughts on the subject of summer fishing here in the tropical north. Hopefully some of you will find this little write up interesting. I'll be back later on with more specific tips on this subject so stay tuned. Photo credits to the one and only Sami Passoja.