A beginners guide to Pike fishing

I have never actually been fishing on purpose for Pike, to be perfectly honest the teeth put me off a bit. A conversation with professional guide Ben Bangham at the BFFI this year did plant a seed though. What if there were lots of other guys like me that fancied giving Pike a go on the fly but just didn't know where to start.
Timecodes
0:00 - Introduction
1:18 - Tackle
3:22 - Meet Ben Bangham
6:12 - Detailed look at terminal tackle
13:54 - First fish of the day
15:17 - Big Pike and how to handle them
20:00 - My first ever Pike on the fly
23:00 - Summary of the day
In this video Ben lays out the how, why and where to get you started, so even if you have no experience this should give you a starting point!
The day itself was exceptional as you will see in the video and it has left me with a thirst to learn more and maybe venture to my local canal to try for some more on my own. If you fancy a day with Ben Bangham he can be contacted on the mediums below.
Benbanghamflyfishing is on Instagram
/ benbanghamflyfishing on Facebook
Email: [e-mail]
Royalty Free Music www.bensound.com/

[@peterroberts2326]

Great work Lindsay, one of my favourites so far - extremely informative.

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Great to hear, I am very pleased with how this one came together. It's always great trying something new.

[@kerrypitt9789]

I stopped fishing for Pike a long time ago, but there is still one method I use for 4 to 6 weeks a year if I can. Fishing Pike on a fly rod on surface flies like a deer hair mouse or a Frog, can be heart stopping! I took the pastor from a local church out years ago and he was fishing with the standard Red and white Spoon. He looked at my frog fly very dubiously, but he was polite and said nothing. I only had to cast into the rushes about 20 to 30 feet, the frog was weedless. The first fish blew that frog up out of the water and I missed it because I struck too soon, but the next fish hit it right from under the boat and got us wet! I brought it in, not big, maybe 5lbs. But heart stopping! The Pastor asked if he could fish a frog if I had a spare. We Mickey moused it on his spinning Rod with a small split shot and he hooked the next one! It was crazy! Those fish nearly caused several heart attacks! Here the waters are quite warm and Pike do not fight hard unless you catch them in a cold water lake, so on the surface from ice out to the end of June, is my favorite time. Are your waterways cooler?

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Yes, in the winter the temperatures drop and the Pike fishing can be really good.

[@harrihiltunen546]

another good pike fly fishing video,

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Thanks, it was a hell of a good day.

[@duderoony]

Another great day out Lyndsay. I’ve been a course fisherman for many years and my best on a mackerel dead-bait was 13lb and I agree..... they are scary! lol. Thank you for another one dude.

[@lindsayiflyfish]

That is awesome, you should give it a go on the fly.

[@kerrypitt9789]

A friend of mine was out on the tail end of the Spring Spawn. He got one 42 inches while in his float tube. He had it over the platform and it latched onto his flyrod! He had a hell of a time getting the fish to let go. It pretty much made it too dangerous to use his rod again, great deep scratches in it! 🤣🤣

[@russellthompson2947]

Looked great crack was thinking of giving it a go lyndsey so it just made my mind up cheers

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Glad it's given you the wee push pal, I think everyone should try it once.

[@noblestsavage1742]

I do a lot of pike fly fishing on the Edinburgh union canal with my 7 weight and smaller streamers up to about 5 inches. Great fun! I imagine with your accent you know where I’m talking about. 🤘

[@lindsayiflyfish]

I know it roughly spent some time in Edinburgh back in the 80s when Rose street was a challenge to a young man....lol.

[@noblestsavage1742]

@@lindsayiflyfish ha I lived on rose street for a while.

[@willgee8683]

Absolutely amazing video. Really informative and really well thought out. Epic session and certainly one you’ll remember 👍🏻👌🏻

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@it_only_counts_on_fly3473]

I'm dying to get 1 on the fly, absolutely loved that video and well done on the 12lb pike!

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Thanks Daniel, the take on the fly is something else.

[@wildbill4680]

What a result!! Nice work, great video!! 👍👍

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Thanks 👍

[@gordysimpson2401]

Well done guys, another great video 👍

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@terryphillips3989]

Great work Lindsay. Ben’s pike flies are top notch.

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Thanks Terry, Ben's pike flies opened my eyes a bit thats for sure!

[@MrBlode1]

Nice one, going out this winter for pike as well. I'm keen to see what you bring to the vice and where and what materials you use.

[@lindsayiflyfish]

That's the plan, just getting some bits and bobs together.

[@kimpeterlarsen]

Nice video, more like that please.

[@lindsayiflyfish]

I will try pal, I am looking to do lots of different fishing on the fly. Perch and Catfish next year perhaps.

[@kennypartridge1853]

Fantastic session 💪🏻🎣🔥

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Thanks 👍 My first time so pretty special.

[@kennypartridge1853]

@lindsayiflyfish was a while back now. Hopefully you'll have had a few more by now. I'll be getting a PDR set up to go with my Agitator Pike gear soon Hopefully.

[@lindsayiflyfish]

@@kennypartridge1853 Had some good ones on the large Stillwaters not really tried for them on the river.

[@rogerhurren5602]

Very good video with lots of detail. Can you do a follow up showing how the flys are constructed and how the tails are added? It’s a a whole new universe!

[@lindsayiflyfish]

Hi Rodger, maybe down the line when I am happy that I know what I am doing.

[@ibelieve1468]

Great video really enjoyed that but not as much as u both lol. The baby bass fly i mentioned would be a killer for you on these Pike. Maybe you could copy it in a tutorial giving your own unique version? Tight lines

[@lindsayiflyfish]

I am waiting on some more tying kit arriving ;-)