Low wind was forecast so I headed to the big dyked in duck marsh at Point Mouillee State Game Area. The wind was pretty strong so I headed for shelter down wind of the long dyke. Staring in close to the kayak launch where I usually get nothing, about the 8th cast got the best pike of the day. Good sized but not one of the really big ones.
Easy fishing, casting, counting down a few seconds depending on how close to shore it fell, then hard short strips in a calm rhythm. The 3rd Pike was as long as the first but very skinny and didn't fight well at all. Three bass had also come to the big White and Chartreuse Bead Head Jiggy made to be more durable when chewed on by pike.
The fish were hitting in a range of 4 to 10 feet from shore. I kept the kayak positioned and my cast directed to cover that near shore strip of water as I move along the shoreline. I made a cast that require a rapid cadence of hard rips to keep the fly above the bolder strewn bottom and that took a good bass. I creased increased my retrieve speed and that kept working.
A quarter mile ahead, three young guys were repeatedly casting straight out from the bank, often standing close to each other, before packing up and moving another 30 yards further down the bank.
The wind change to blowing more parallel to the shore but against the direction I had been moving. I paddled out a bit and headed up wind to start at a respectful distance from those guys and let the wind move me back away from them and push me down that quarter mile of shoreline I hadn't covered yet. That happened to be at a spot I had done very well in the past and I quickly got into a couple of small bass and one good one. I also hooked a huge fish that only stayed for about 30 feet of a very powerful run, probably one of the really big pike that are pretty common here. I finished with 4 pike and 16 bass. The Pike Jiggy pattern and instructions are at the bottom.
I originally tie this adaptation of Bob Popovic's Jiggy bucktail with large mylar tubing for the body. That worked well for Lake Trout but Pike would quickly shred the body. The Pike Jiggy keeps all the flash in the wing and tail, but uses druable flashy pearl Cactus Chenielle for the body. The bucktail and flash tail and wing are tied long. The bead head turning it to fall after each strip and each strip making it turn and quickly dart upward. All the movement shows off the generous flash in the wing and tail.
- Pike Jiggy
- Hook: 60 Jig, here a 1/0 KoreaSun OS7362BN bent to 60 degrees
- Bead: Silver 4.6 to 5.0mm Tungsten, or Brass for shallower water
- Body Thread: UV Yellow Flat Waxed Nylon to show through tinsel body
- Tail: Long White Bucktail tied a bit around the bend
- Flash: 3 strands each Magnum Opal & Regular Silver Flashabou folded to each side of tail and wing, 24 strands total
- Body: Pearl Cactus Chenille, Medium here over UV Yellow thread base
- Head Thread: Fire Orange 210, or 140 Denier here
- Wing: Long White Bucktail Tied over the gap Clouser style, same folded Flash combination.
- Topping: Chartreuse Yellow Angel Hair type fiber, Here my Flash Wing