Fly Spinning Northern Pike

Fishing for walleye, lake trout or northern pike in early June has provided some challenges at our remote fly-in fishing lodge in northern Manitoba, Canada.
At ice-out, in early June, the pike congregate in shallow bays where the water first begins to warm up.
You can see the Trophy Pike, but they won't hit anything you throw at them.
The most effective way to catch these neutral to negative fish is usually by fly fishing.
If you're not a fly fisherman, then what do you do? You can still cash in by using spinning tackle with a fly, such as a Dahlberg Diver or a Bunny Leach.
To get a little weight for throwing, I add a clear bubble float with water in it to get the fly where you need it.
You can sight cast into the shallows to pick out which northern pike will be your next target.
The spinning tackle allows for an accurate cast and a slow retrieve.
With the bubble float in place, your fly can be stopped and twitched to entice a strike.
When nothing else works, and fly fishing isn't an option, you can lure these lethargic predators into action and enjoy the results! With the increase in the popularity of fly fishing in recent years, we're getting more and more clients at the lodge that want to use their fly fishing tackle.
Watching an experienced fly fisherman entice these pike into attacking their lure is a thing of beauty.
I'm working on improving my fly fishing skills; but until I become more of an expert, using some basic flys with the spinning tackle I'm familiar with has given me a whole new way to fish for some early trophy pike!