Mention Colorado fishing and most people don't immediately think: "Pike!" That's especially true when talk turns to fly fishing, which it inevitably does when Colorado is concerned, where trout are the traditional fly-caught targets.

But at least one pike fishing expert places the Rocky Mountain State among the top 10 pike fishing states in the nation--especially when it comes to catching them on a fly.

"A dozen years ago, pike were considered trash fish in the western states," exclaims fly fishing fan Barry Reynolds. "Anglers thought they were eating up all the trout, and they'd throw pike up on the bank to rot."

"That's all changed in the past decade, more people than ever are fishing specifically for pike--especially with the fly rod."

That's true everywhere pike are found, and was a major reason Reynolds decided to write a book on the subject: "Pike on the Fly."

"People simply didn't know how to go about it properly," says Reynolds, who has pursued pike with the long rod for 14 years. "They'd go the same spots and adapt the same tactics for catching pike that they'd been using for years with conventional tackle--and it just doesn't work that way when using fly tackle and tactics."

Like several others in the west, Reynold's home state imported pike in the 1950s to control undesirable species such as carp and suckers and other "trash" fish. They adapted so well that stocking efforts were discontinued and the pike has thrived in Colorado, where they have reproduced naturally ever since. The pike were so plentiful that they earned "trash" status themselves until their value as sport fish caught on in the early 1980s, according to Reynolds. Since then, pike up to 30 pounds (the current state record is 30 pounds, 1 ounce) have been taken by anglers across the state.

But it wasn't until recently that the pike's popularity with fly anglers has caught on, and Reynolds was prompted to share his knowledge of the sport through his book.

According to the angling expert and author, there are two important things to consider when attempting to use fly tackle for pike anywhere: the size of the fish you're likely to catch and the size of the fly to use to catch them. Both need to be properly matched with the size tackle you intend to use.

To match his gear to the size fish he is pursuing, Reynolds has used everything from 6-weight to 11-weight tackle to catch pike, of which has taken several over the 30-pound mark. For big fish, he prefers 9-weight tackle, specifically a 9-foot saltwater model matched with a disc-drag reel.

"If you're likely to tangle with a 25-pound pike, you're gonna' need a decent drag on a decent reel," he advises. "For smaller fish, any good single action reel will do."

Reynolds, who fishes all over the nation and concentrates much of his summer effort on trophy water in Manitoba, prefers a subsurface fly, especially in the spring, when the fly fishing is best. Later in the season, he'll switch to a sink-tip line and wet flies, but his passion is for pike near the surface. For that fishing, he's got a favorite fly that he prefers over any other.

"I call it a Bunny Bug; it's really a stripped-rabbit fly that can be tied anywhere from about four-and-a-half to six-inches long, on a weedless hook, usually a 3/0. Coated with layers of lacquer and tied with Flash 'bou, it's tough, and the darn thing looks alive when it's in the water."

He prefers weed guards of heavy monofilament rather than wire guards, which he says get bent out of shape too easily. The fly itself is tied with rabbit fur that's still attached to the hide, which allows it, too, to stand up to the vicious strikes of toothy pike.

Reynolds uses a flat, level leader of 26-pound-test Mason, an abrasion-resistant monofilament, between his Bunny Bug and fly line. When questioned about steel leaders, he says that using the less-visible mono gets him more takers. For example, he said that last summer, while catching over 800 pike on an extended trip to Manitoba, where he conducts pike-fishing seminars, he and his partner experienced only eight bite-offs while using monofilament.

"We mostly fish for big pike, and I think that it's the smaller ones that are likely to bite through the line," he explained. "Their teeth are closer together, whereas with large fish, the leader drops down between the teeth, where they can't get at it."

Any good floating fly line that's matched to the rod will suffice for pike fishing, but Reynolds has worked with Cortland to develop a special shooting head taper line that's custom-made to turn the larger flies used by serious pikers, which he recommends for fly fishermen who target pike as their primary species.

As for specific fly fishing tactics, Reynolds says that they are generally the same anywhere pike are found.

"Wherever we go, we fish the edges of weeds, preferably from a sandy area adjacent to the weedbed. That can be the beach coming out from shore, a sandbar, or a flat," he explains.

"What most people fail to do is fish the shallows, the backs of bays right up next to shore," Reynolds says. "You'll often find us fishing ankle-deep water, presenting flies to 20-pound fish, when other anglers are out over deeper water, wondering where the fish are, and what the heck we're doing up in the shallows."

Reynolds starts fishing for pike as soon as the ice clears enough for presenting his flies in open water. Some of the lakes he fishes in Manitoba don't thaw completely until July, and the fish there may never vacate the shallows, where fly fishing is at its best.

"Early season, just after ice-out, is prime pike time, when the fish are in a spawning mode and they're in water less than five feet deep."

He continued by saying that the darker mud-, and weed-bottom areas of a lake absorb more sunlight than the surrounding sandy areas, which reflect it, and hold the heat better.

"In the early season, the pike will be highly concentrated in these warmer areas," he adds. "And hungry for a properly presented fly."

And in the end, it is that take that attracts anglers to approaching pike with a fly. "There's nothing in freshwater quite like the strike of a pike hitting a fly," says Reynolds. "It's just so darn explosive!"