The tournament: rules

Although the main purpose was to fish and have a lot of fun, meeting other pike-anglers and sharing knowledge or maybe discuss interesting matters, of course there was indeed a competitive element and that just added up big time to the fun of going to Finland.

The first evening we had a meeting in the conference room of the Eumer Fishing Center. The organizer, Simon Graham, welcomed us all and explained the different aspects of the tournament. As there should be so many fish around, the basic would be to have a maximum of 5 entries per team member per day. Fish should be measured and released after measuring. A picture of the fish was needed to verify and there should be no blood (to ensure the fish is unharmed) on the picture. All streamers should be barbless.


Mike Green from England letting one go during the pre-tournament meeting, in an attempt to eliminate one of the members of The Dutch Four (Erik, in this case).

Fishing would be from a boat, local men would be our guides and we would be going on their boats. As there was huge difference in boats it would be ideal to swap boats each day and as the guides are monolingual Finnish we got a map of the area to point out where we’d like to go. Making an X with your arms would mean stop the boat. The old arms and feet communication, that just made an extra addition to the competition ;-)


Simon gives a rough description of the battlefields for tomorrow.

Then the team discussions came up. As the Finnish were just with 2 guys and the Canadians too, we came up with a way to make the competition better and above all more fair. I would not like to send them back home crying with the lame excuse that the Dutch were four and the English also had four members, just like the Russians (who were still on their way and maybe stuck at the border with a bottle of vodka?). Also most people agreed that neither Finnada ot Canaland sounds like a true team, so combining those teams was not an option. The true spirit of fly-fishing came alive and we decided unanimously that it would ad more fun to the Tournament to go with teams of two instead of four. That meant the Dutch would now have a team 1 and team 2, and so would the English.

Winners: There would be three different competitions.
1. The Biggest Pike. The competitor with the biggest pike caught during tournament days would win the grand prize of a holiday in Kvarken. All supplied by Simon Graham’s Baltic Pike Tours.
2. Most length. The team with the most centimeters recorded (remember, 5 pike over 70cm per person per day) would win First prize.
3. Smallest pike. The tiniest pike would win a small prize as well.

So after the practice day we already reported about, it was time for the first tournament day. Stay tuned to find out out how we went along at the first of three fierce competition days.

Did we come all the way up here for a skunk?

Like I tried to write in the first (and last update) during the days we were in Finland the fishing started out quite tough. The very first day of practice we were glad I got at least a smell of fish and falsely hooked a bream. But that was not why we came out with a shitload of awesome gear.

But hey, when is something a skunk? I mean, from the very first moment we arrived the trip was great already. Meeting the Canadians in Helsinki, when boarding the last plane of the journey. The drive from the airport in Vaasa to Merikarvia, with the English in the back of the bus. We definitely shared some knowledge and thoughts, some English said it all depended on misses pike, whether she was in the mood…


A chat with the English team in the back of the minibus.


That first day we had a little tour through the company of Jaakko and Olli Ojamo, called Eumer and mostly known for their tube-flies. All the teams felt like Charlie in the Chocolate factory, walking in a shack full of tying materials, like a kid in a toyshop or an American in the Red-light district of Amsterdam.


Am I actually here right now, or am I drunk? Oh well, probably both...



Finnish fur comes from....



Charlie in the chocolate factory



Jaakko and Olli, the proud and very friendly owners of the company

Discussing tactics and streamers

The evening before our practice day we had a small sit together. We went to the dining room of the lodge and put all our streamers on the table. Sander had ziplocs full of his favourites, while HJ, Erik and Hajee had the nice wooden boxes with them that were made for the Dutch Four by Jan Boonstra.



What a bunch of streamers, at least 200 tied with the nice materials mostly provided by Tom and Kaj. And of course there’s Dyckers for all the EP we used, and I have to admit I am becoming a bigger fan of EP by the day (the other three members of the D4 already were convinced).



So we all looked into each other’s collection and took out what we thought we would be needing. As we were sitting there, every now and then a member of the other teams would pass by and have a look, and it was interesting to discuss the streamer choice with them. It seems that us Dutchmen tie much bigger and more breathing streamers than most other competitors do. Everybody was still very confident of his own materials and we had a good laugh with the other teams about each other’s streamers. The upcoming event would show who was right and who was wrong….

The boys are back in town

As stated yesterday we're back to the Netherlands. After a long week of hardcore pike fly-fishing the mind is totally set on pike at this moment. We had an incredible week. The organizer, Simon Graham, turned out to be a relaxed South African dude who really did all he could to make our stay and tournament as pleasurable as possible. We met 4 Englishman who had the sense of humor the British are known for, team Canada were the kind fishbums you would love to have around at your campfire, the Finnish were good guys and a mean pikebusting machine with a nice “vision” on things. Hell, even François (the cook, not your waitress) was a good man to sit down and share some thoughts and many a beer with.

We were lodged at Eumer, a nice place with decks that make you sit comfortable next to the Merikarvia river, sharing some thoughts with teammates and the other competitors. When our food was ready we would all be called to sit down and enjoy. When we wanted to tie up some more streamers, we could go to Eumer's fly shop next to the lodge to get free tying materials and have a ball in the conference room stocked with vices, bobbin holders, etcetera. We could even grab a rod and fish the river wich was stocked with decent sized rainbows. Or maybe a sauna, and after that a skinny dip in the river? It was all possible over there.

We ended up doing quite well on the tournament, especially considering the circumstances and the fact that we didn’t know the area and its fishery at all.
As the tournament moved to another location just 2 weeks before it would start, Simon had to rearrange a lot of things, especially since the Merikarvia river mouth is not so specialized in pike fly-fishing yet. The biggest problem were the guides. Up in Kvarken there are guides, here they just hired some guys with boats. This made the challenge even bigger, now everyone had to discover the area themselves. The guides (most of them) would not speak more than just Finnish and that made it even more difficult to explain the things you wanted. Basically it was just hands and feet.

At a certain moment I said to Hajee, my partner for this week, that it was quite stupid and funny that we kept on trying to explain the guide where to go and how to approach the area we wanted to fish in English, because we may as well have spoken Dutch or Swahili.

There was a huge difference in boats and the idea was to swap boats every day, so at least everyone had some days on good or better boats. And during the week we learned so much. The first days were tough as hell. As most pike still had their brains on procreating instead of feeding, it was hard to get on to those little area’s and groups of fish that already finished spawning and did fancy a nice after-orgy snack. During the week things improved dramatically and on the last two fishing days the pike all were really on a roll. How amazing it was to witness all that happen. It was pure pike-heaven!

Also, because of a steady high that was sitting in this area, temperatures reached up to 25 Celsius. We fished the last sessions in our t-shirts, under a cloudless sky and we still managed to have a ball! Lots and lots of pictures were taken and yeah, we are the pitiful bastards who need to figure out which ones we want to use for all the different destinations/sponsors.

The upcoming weeks we will try to share our sweet memories with you all. Hopefully one or two pictures a day, accompanied with some text explaining a bit about the picture or telling some anecdote. So see you back then!


The first fish of the week was caught by Sander. Well done mate!

And here's one for Ralph, our reel-guy:

Back from Finland

This evening we set foot on Dutch ground again after our mission in Finland. And man, what a week this has been! Regrettably we couldn't update the blog during our week in Finland, so you've been stuck with a report (even without pictures) of just our practice day until now.

But that's going to change. There are so many things to show and write about this awesome week, that we don't even know where to start. For now, let's just say it has been a week with different faces. There was the tournament itself at the beginning of the week, and after that the free fishing on friday, saturday and (even) this morning.

And although I really need to go to bed right now, we might as well give you the results of the tournament straight away, especially since Simon will undoubtedly be posting them on his blog very soon anyway.

After the 3 tournament days, Finland came in first with around 1.400 cm., England 1 second with around 1.100 cm., Dutch 1 third with around 1000 cm., Dutch 2 fourth with around 900 cm. and Canada and England 2 fifth and sixth at a respectable distance. But of course, that doesn't tell the whole story at all. There's so much to say and show about the tournament itself and the rest of the week that, until we have had a decent sleep to recover from all this, we would just recommend you to stay tuned at this blog for quite a while.

We're off to Finland!

Well, actually, tomorrow morning. The flies are all tied, ready to be ripped apart by the numerous Baltic pike we intend to fool with them.  Here are the boxes of Erik and Harmen-Jan for instance:





And there's a major change too: the tournament is moved 150 km. south because of the current ice situation in Vaasa. The ice there is still not gone, and even if it was, the fishing would have been bad because the pike would still be spawning. So Simon took the tournament to the Merikarvia river mouth and we'll be staying at the Eumer Fishing Center.

To be honest, we have no idea how the piking over there will compare to the Kvarken area, because we've never been to either of those places. But then again, we just feel very lucky Simon managed to move the tournament at all and didn't have to cancel the whole thing. From what we heard, all this would probably not have been possible without the very kind coöperation of the famous Finnish tube fly brand Eumer, who offered their lodge for accomodation and also took care of other logistic problems. Thanks for that Eumer!

We'll probably arrive at the lodge sunday evening, and monday will be a day for practicing and exploring the fishing grounds. Then there's 3 days of tournament, and after that 3 more days of free fishing. Of course we'll do everything we can to put some raw stuff on our blog from Finland on a daily or two-daily basis.

So stay tuned and fingers crossed!

The Dutch Four

BTW, how nice would it be to catch a pike on a rod like this, with a reel like this and a streamer like this:







All these colors just scream "Holland" and "Gold".....

Seeya!

Perch

Preparing for the tournament means tying a lot of streamers. Not just 2 or 3.....hell no, at least 6, but preferably 10 from each type you have in mind.

For me there are new things to try, but also some proven patterns from the past. Pike just seem to know who’s competing with them for the baitfish. Probably that’s why they take their rivals out first, and what’s a better way then just feeding on your rivals?

When we were at Tom’s place for tying materials I already knew the Perch would be one of the streamers I would tie. And when I saw all the nice and good quality materials Tom and Kaj sponsored us with, I already got the perchy itches. Nice perches, I think they will do well on the pike down (or better: up) there in Finland. And if not, they still make a great decoration in a tropical setting.



Will this be the streamer that does it all? We will see, just 3 days from now!

Sander

El Negrito

El Negrito is Spanish and it means Little Afro-American. I think it is a nice name for a totally black streamer with just some bling on it to attract all those big ass mama’s! And that will be the purpose of my negrito. Going out there in the ice cold water and busting up some of the biggest lady pikes that are out there. ‘Cause we will need all the charms a streamer can have if it is about winning the tournament next week.

As you can see the tying went well down here in Aruba. I bought myself a bottle of rum and poured some out for the fish I caught. But I poured out a lot at the improvised tying bench too. Just because when you’re sitting in the shade and sipping rum, life seems the easiest thing there is to deal with and tying streamers becomes great fun. Oh, and by the way, if you try to judge the size and efficiency of my little black homeboys by the bottle standing next to them: how much do you think a Caribbean pirate would drink on a regular training camp?

Sander

Bunny bugs for picky pike

Although so far we didn't feature many patterns with them at this blog, it's no secret zonker strips are one of our favourite tying materials for pike streamers. They're very durable, cheap, incredibly non-air-resistant and - last but not at all least - they have an almost unparalleled action while waterborne. What I especially like about zonkers is that it takes only the smallest twitch to give the streamer a very attractive, totally 'alive' impression.

We all know how often a pike will just follow the moving streamer but not charge it; both an exciting and frustrating experience. The first reaction to that is usually stripping even harder. While this sometimes may be succesful, it's my experience that more often than not this only means doing the same thing just a tad faster. Also, the faster you strip, the earlier you'll have the pike at your feet and spook it.

Therefore, when a pike is only following, I prefer just letting the streamer stay put for a while in front of the pike, with an occasional small twitch that will show the pike this thing is both alive and not planning to move out of the pike's territory. This proven tactic will often annoy the hell out of the pike and provoke the longed-for strike after all. A positive side-effect is that this is a good training in self-control and a one of the most exciting ways to catch a pike.

Like I said, for this purpose, zonker strips are the bomb. And while we were at Kaj's place to stock up on zonker strips, we noticed he had some great coloured rabbit skins too. So we went for those instead, and after some practicing and cut-off hairs, Harmen-Jan and Erik got things down and produced a long-lasting stock of strips in a range of different colours. It's cheaper, you can cut your own preferred sizes and, above all, it's fun!

Losing your virginity in (training) camp

It sounds like a regular phrase in the Boy Scout handbook and I never would have dreamt that something like that could happen to me. But it did. And not somewhere in the late eighties, beginning nineties when I was a teen. No, as a matter of fact, it just happened a few days ago.

And it was a big turn on, since the partner in crime was someone I had my mind set on for quite some time already. For years we had been flirting. Well flirting....maybe just a small blink, some flashing to each other and some serious denials on my advances were the biggest achievements up until yesterday.

I took the Echo 2 SW 9 weight out for a hike on the flats. It was not as early as I wanted and the sun was high enough to seriously emphasize local warming. Steam coming out of the armpits as it burned right on top of my head. And as I wandered on my flat I was thinking about the moon phases. Full moon at the moment… It means tides are almost dead. It had been low tide since I was out on the flat (and probably hours before) and still no sign of tide going to rise. And that’s just what every saltwater junky searches on the flats. A rising tide.



So I did not see Bonefish yet and was wondering if I should stay (or should I go now). And all of a sudden she was there, like a mirage, for a very short moment I could see a stiletto shaped black tip. Just peeking out of the water at maybe 45 meters distance from where I stood. I looked better and harder, did not see much more and the water was just rippled by the wind. So I continued to walk. Once more I thought I saw something, just so elegantly waving towards me. It had moved from when I first saw it and I knew right now that this was one of those confrontations with that hard to get bitch that you just would love to nail, to make all your wildest dreams and fantasies come true.

But well, I won’t make a long novel out of it. I chased her for more then one hour, noticed at a certain time that she was not alone. They were about 10 smaller sized fish and 2 bigger ones in the back of the school.

At first you try to go for the biggest ones, but that sort of spooked the little ones two times, so I decided I wouldn’t mind letting one of the smaller sisters taking the premiere. And at a certain point I felt a yank on the line, I set the hook and a strong rush, something silvery flashing away from me. Oh my… it is on!

Luckily I had 16lbs test tippet on the rod and the Vosseler S3 set tight enough. The flat is way too rocky to give the fish any space and why would I do so if not necessary? With the right gear, there's no need to let the fish run whereever he wants; it only increases the chance of a break-off.

Still it took me over 3 minutes to get the fish to hand. And I felt amazed when I landed her. Weeeeeeehaaaaaaa! I rushed to a rock nearby for some shots with the timer and took some of the fish next to the rod. It might not be the biggest most beautiful one, but here is my first ever Permit!!





And just like the real virginity deal, I felt like a huge king afterwards, I got that monkey off my back...period!

Sander

Pike eat pike

It's a well-known fact that pike occasionally eat themselves too. Well, I mean other pike. Maybe just because they're hungry, but it could also be that their territorial instinct tells them to do so. Either way, it's not a bad idea to have a more or less pikish pattern in your fly box, I mean flure box.

Now pike fishermen with 'conventional' tackle just take a piece of painted wood that actually looks like a pike, but in our elite fellowship of the fly, a vice and tying thread somehow really have to be part of the construction process.

So here's a rather impressionistic approach using only the traditional pike-streamer materials bucktail, zonker strips, feathers and some flash (you all know the eyes are just for the pictures....).






And here's the model:



O.k., o.k., I can almost hear you saying this pattern better be fished with some speed.....

Style follows function

When we were at Hot Spot Fishing a couple of weeks ago to shop for our sponsored goodies, Tom showed us a streamer with a remarkable functional approach. It was designed to be a weedless streamer, but instead of the usual nylon weedguards, he just used a zonker strip! Here's how it works:


This design requires a huge worm hook that most fly fishermen usually would shy away from. It is essential to tie the zonker strip (take a magnum) just below the eye of the hook as shown in the picture above. This way, the strip will be perfectly in line with the flattened hook point.

After you've tied all the additional stuff required for your particular design, it's time to pierce the hook through the zonker strip as shown in the pictures below:




In the end, the whole thing may or may not look like this monstrous design :



The advantage of this pattern is not only the zonker being a weed guard, but of course also the fact that the hook point will face upwards while travelling through the water. In my pattern (as in most patterns) I also kept the hook as clear as possible to facilitate hook setting. If you dress the whole hook with stuff, the hook may not be able to slide anymore once the pike has its mouth shut, and you cannot set the hook properly.



You might also notice the way the bucktail is tied in. This keeps the silhouet of the streamer wider when looked from down below (like a pike normally would see it). Don't be too generous with the amount of bucktail though, or you'll end up with a sheer uncastable projectile.

And there you have it: style follows function. A threat to the eye, but a treat for pike!