Large trout reservoirs have become synonymous with big pike in the last decade, with some true giants now residing in these venues after capitalising on an endless supply of food. While many of these lakes have a dedicated pike season, sometimes these fish are tempted by anglers fishing for trout, and unbelievably, will take even the tiniest of flies that you would think such a huge fish would ignore.
That’s exactly what happened this weekend at Trawsfynydd Lake in Wales as experienced fly angler Nigel Worvell was fishing a practice session for the Welsh Senior Loch-Style trials ahead of the 2026 team selection. Casting with a fluoro booby fly - barely an inch long, tied on a tiny size 12 hook - Nigel was targeting the lake’s trout population when something altogether different slammed into his line.
After an epic battle, he netted an enormous 38lb pike, an incredible fish to fall to such a delicate fly pattern.
"I was fishing the Cae Adda area of the lake as it has been a good area for trout in the days running up to the trials," Nigel told us.
"Tackle was my usual reservoir setup, a 7wt fly rod and 9lb tippit attached to a fast glass fly line, perfect for trout, but not what you would expect to land giant pike on," he added.
Nigel had a few trout to the boat during the day and all was looking good with his tactics paying off. As he was retrieving his fly, he received another thump on the rod, before the fish powered off down into the deeper water. He initially assumed it was one of the big brown trout that live in the venue, but as he tried to stop it, he realised it might be attached to something quite a bit larger.
"After around 10 minutes of playing the fish, I guessed it must have been a pike as even the biggest trout are usually tamed by then," he explained.
"Another few minutes passed before I saw the fish and it took another 10 minutes before we managed to get the fish aboard. It was enormous, I couldn't believe what I was looking at!"
"The pike was in beautiful condition and 38lbs in weight, on releasing the fish it swam off powerfully! It was truly a catch of a lifetime making for a session I will never forget," he said.
To top the session off, Nigel managed to finish in 12th place in the Welsh Fly Fishing Louchstyle Trials, securing his position in the national team for the sixth year in a row.
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