North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine December 2016 | Page 30

RIGGING FOR PIKE
STORY BY: DILLON GIVEN

Stealthily cruising around big open weedy flats,
constantly thinking of what may be lurking below...
cast after cast, strip after strip. Watching the cloud
of a brightly colored erratic streamer dance its way
back to the boat, when suddenly it disappears.
You feel something trying to rip the line out of
your hands. You strip set the hook into the apex
predator’s “trap jaw” and wait for the unexpected!
There is no doubt about it, Northern Pike are the
wolves of freshwater. These primitive creatures
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have a special way of bringing back that “first fish
on a fly rod” feeling, for those who have spent
years delicately casting to sipping trout. Hooking
into these submarines is more complex than you
think. Having the right gear can make or break your
Northern Pike experience.