Pike Fly fishing — Chew Valley Lake

Position the boat on the upwind side of known weed-bed edges and sunken plateau drop-offs — Herons Green Bay and the dam wall margins are reliable March hotspots. Cast a large articulated pike fly (18–22cm) on a 30ft type-6 sink-tip and allow a 10–15 second count-down to get the fly into the 2–5m zone where pike will be holding in mid-March. Retrieve with long, 30–40cm strips with a sharp pause of 1–2 seconds between each pull, imitating an injured roach or perch; vary cadence until you find what triggers follows into takes. When a follow is spotted, kill the retrieve completely for 2–3 seconds then strip fast — a classic figure-of-eight at the boat will convert many hesitant followers.

• —Mid-March at Chew Valley: water temp typically 7–10°C, pike are post-spawn or approaching spawn — fish are active but deliberate, favouring slow presentations over fast reaction lures
• —March light is still low-angle; pike push onto the shallower plateau edges and weed-bed drop-offs (2–5m) to intercept prey species that are beginning to move ahead of the spring warming
• —Chew Valley opens its pike fly season and this date falls within the prime pre-season window before lake management operations begin — boat access allows precise positioning over structure identified on a depth finder
• —Large articulated flies in white/chartreuse or perch-stripe patterns match the dominant prey (roach, perch) and deliver enough profile to trigger a strike in coloured early-spring water with limited fly pattern visibility
• —Conditions not stated — March norms at Chew suggest overcast skies with overnight frosts likely; overcast days reduce light penetration and push pike higher in the water column, favouring a sink-tip rather than full-sinking line