Northern Pike and Muskies are growing in popularity with fly-rodders, and our state is covered with lakes that hold good populations of these toothy predators.

9 and 10-weight rods are the best choice when it comes to throwing big streamers, divers, and surface chuggers for Pike and Muskies.

A quality disc-drag reel loaded with a bass or pike-type taper floating line works great for fishing on or just under the surface. A sink-tip line on an extra spool (or better yet, a whole extra rod) will help you fish deeper with streamers.

To rig a fly leader for Pike, try tying about 4 feet of 40 lb. mono to your fly line with an Albright knot, then Albright knot 2 feet of knottable wire to the 40 lb. mono 25 lb. - 35 lb. wire works great. Then tie your fly on with a Non-Slip Loop.

There are also many commercially available pre-tied Pike leaders.

Minnesota is known as the land of 10,000 lakes. We think that each of those lakes has at least 10,000 pike in it. With that estimate, there's got to be at least 100,000,000 Pike in the state. Therefore, it shouldn't be that difficult to stick one on a fly! Get yourself a nine or ten-weight rod, a sink tip line and some bunny flies with wire tippets, and you should try not to catch a Pike.

With its aggressive behavior and a large population in the state, Pike have become one of Minnesota's more popular fly rod species.

The following are some of the lakes in the Twin Cities area that have abundant Northern Pike populations:

Lake George, Anoka County
This lake has a big Pike population. Although they are mostly small, mostly under 20 inches, they are very willing biters. Catching 10 - 20 fish a day wouldn't be unusual at all. Watch for heavy boating traffic on weekends.

Lake Sarah, Hennepin County
This is the sleeper Sike lake in the Twin Cities. The best time to try fishing is in the fall when the big boys move into any of the remaining weed beds. Expect to catch fish in the 20 - 30 inches range, and with a real legitimate shot at catching those up to 40 inches.