Fishing
suggestions:
As
mentioned above, the Pike Bunny is not limited to
just Pike. It seems as though everything likes to
eat this fly. While I have found the white body with
the red head to be the very best color, lime/chartreuse
with a red head is also very effective. An all orange
version works well on the Pike some days and is a
favorite of Sharks and Cobia.
I
tie this fly in various sizes and fish them depending
on conditions and the species targeted. Some days
it seems as though the fish was something BIG. On
those days I'm often fishing a P.B. with a tail as
long as 8 inches tied on a 5/0 hook. On other days,
the fish seem to want a smaller morsel or are short
striking a lot. In that case I might scale back to
a P.B that only has a 3-inch tail and is tied on
a size 2/0 hook.
The
great thing about the P.B. is that it looks so good
in the water. It really looks like something swimming
around and the fish just can't resist it. Typically,
I'm fishing the fly with moderate paced short strips.
If that does not seem to draw the strikes I will
go to a very fast paced short strip and that often
will elicit a strike.
While
targeting Pike in shallow water bays, I found a super
slow approach was the ticket. The Pike were in a
negative feeding mood and lay motionless on the bottom.
I would cast the fly to the fish so that the fly
settled on the bottom around 18 inches in front of
the fish. Once it sat for a few seconds I would make
a couple very short strips, just enough to barely
move the fly a tiny bit. Many of these inactive Pike
would then rise up off the bottom a few inches and
angle themselves down toward the fly. Then, a couple
3-inch strips would often generate an impressive
strike. This method got me hooked into more than
a dozen Pike over 42 inches in one afternoon on my
last trip up north.
When
it comes to rigging the fly I stay away from wire
if at all possible. Pike have excellent eyesight
and I do not like to risk any refusals. I usually
use a short 5-inch piece of 50lb Seaguar fluorocarbon
as a bite guard. I very rarely ever get bitten off
with that setup. That being said, if you are in monster
Pike territory, I highly recommend that you use a
6" trace of Terminator wire. Pike over 40 inches
can bite through fluorocarbon up to 80lbs with ease.
So
round up some rabbit and some hooks and crank out
a few Pike Bunnies. Most fish seem to take a liking
to them and they are as effective as can be.
 About
Jeff Pierce:
Jeff
Pierce, AKA "Dr. Fish" is the Sales Manager
of Fly-Fishing Products for O. Mustad & Son
and Partridge of Redditch. When not in the office,
he can be found chasing fish wherever possible.
Whether it's Sailfish off Borneo, Payara in Brazil
or Brook Trout in the Adirondack Mountains, you
can bet that Jeff is no doubt casting flies as
something that will bend a rod. . .
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FLY
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