40 lb pike

Maybe this, together with the new record zander, also taken on a fly,will bring a new appraisel of fly fishing by more British anglers.

I have generally found that most anglers in this country are quite loath to take up fly fishing, when it is one of the cheapest and most effective methods of the lot. Leaving trout out of the equation, fly fishing is very effective for big pike, zander, chub, perch, rudd, roach, carpand even bream.

For many years, well known writers of the past have tried to popularise the ancient and noble art of fly fishing for species other than trout, from **** Walker to Bernard Venables and from Bob Church to Des Taylor. Why even pike lure master Derek Gibson, with a bit of help from yours truly, is at the moment equipping himself to catch not only trout on the fly, but pike too.

So guys, get out there with your fly rods and learn the art.You never know what you might catch.

True Ron, I'm all kitted out with gear for the pike as you know. Rods, reels,lines, and with the kind help of my mate Greg over in Eire, pike flies. I'm brimming with confidence as regards the pike. If I have one reservation it would be the time factor involved in playing a big pike out, even allowing for the beefed up fly gear. Perhaps my fears are unfounded, time will tell! As regards the Spotties, I haven't done any for thirty odd years, then it was all shooting heads. You've got your work cut out mate, bringing me up to speed, but I'm looking forward to it. But here's a thought can you imagine the reactionof our old mate Bones,''Fluff chucking and parcel string flapping, what's the world coming to''.

I can assure you mate that with the right rod and reel, you will have the pike out in no time.

Might I be so bold as to take you back some years to when Jim Gibbinson proved that all else being equal, more pressure could be exerted on a big fish with a 9 foot reservoir style fly rod than a 12 foot carp rod.

Modern fly reels using adjustable disc drags and 9 weight outfits are used to land large hard fighting salt water species, that with all due respects, fight much harder than pike of any weight.

I've done enough of it myself to speak from personal experience.