Hey everyone, Matt Martin here from Smooth River Guiding! Today, I’m at Drift breaking down three of my go-to fly lines for spring pike fishing—lines I trust wherever I fish. These are the lines I bring with me everywhere.
Let’s dive into it, starting from shallow to deep water.
1. Floating Line – Shallow Water (0–3 Feet)
For early-season pike cruising the shallows, I like a 10-weight Scientific Anglers Titan Taper in a floating line.
- Why it works: The Titan taper is excellent for turning over large, heavy flies—which is critical when you're fishing in water less than 3 feet deep.
- These lines are two line sizes heavy, which means they’re outside standard grain windows—but that added weight makes it much easier to punch bulky flies through wind or tight cover.
- Durability is another major win—I often get a full season or more out of these lines.
- If you’re targeting shallow fish or sight-fishing early in the season, this is the one to rig up.
2. Intermediate Sink – Mid-Range Depth (5–10 Feet)
As the season progresses and pike slide off the flats to the first weed edges, I switch things up. This is where intermediate or sink-tip lines come into play.
I’ll often run an 8–10 weight rod with a sink 5 tip, part of a triple-density Sonar Titan line from Scientific Anglers.
These lines are built with graduated sink rates—typically a floating or intermediate running line, with sink 3 or sink 5 heads.
The big advantage here is straight-line contact—there’s no slack or belly in the line as it sinks, which means:
- Better hooksets
- More secure strip sets
- Improved feel on the eat
This setup is key when you’re trying to keep your fly down and tight to the strike zone while maintaining maximum control.
3. Full Sink – Deep Structure (10–20+ Feet)
Later in the season, as pike push out to deeper water, I move to full-sinking lines like the Sonar Titan Sink 5 or Sink 7.
These lines help me probe depths in the 15- to 20-foot range, especially when targeting drop-offs or deeper structure.
I’ll run either the intermediate / sink 3 / sink 5 or sink 3 / sink 5 / sink 7 combos depending on the situation.
Just like the others, these lines are great at turning over large and waterlogged flies and maintain that tight contact all the way down.
And again, durability is key—these are lines I trust to hold up through an entire season of heavy use.
Final Thoughts
Whether you're sight fishing in skinny water or working deep breaks for big post-spawn pike, the right line makes all the difference. These three setups—floating, sink-tip, and full-sink—cover just about every situation spring pike fishing throws at you.
If you’re gearing up for your season and need advice on lines, setups, or flies, feel free to reach out. Tight lines!
