Has anyone "wired" flies?

I visited a lodge in Zambia (Baines River Camp) on the Zambezi River a couple of years ago as they offered fly fishing for Tiger fish.  I tied some patterns, but to be truly ready, I bought a fly pack from a shop in South Africa.  They offered to "wire" my flies.  Basically, they put about 8 to 10 inches of piano wire through the hook eye with a swivel on the other end.  It was much better than using a wired leader, I thought.

Anyway, fast forward, I'm going to Canada this summer and have been tying pike/muskie flies.  I'd like to "wire" these flies like the ones from Africa.  But, I cannot find piano wire like the SA shop described.  Has anyone done this?  What kind of wire have you used?  Where have you gotten appropriate wire for a resonable price?  Thanks in advance...

yes

i used to use these for fishing for bluefish in the atlantic. should work for pike and muskie

Saltwater to the rescue... I use #3 Malin's stainless coffee colored trolling wire.... Here's a pic... Most tackle shops that cater to saltwater anglers stock Malins... 

this wire leader material comes in various sizes - this is the one of the lighter ones.  You'll have to learn the haywire twist to use it properly.  I've recently begun to use "tippet rings" instead of a swivel or Albright knot to secure my leader to the wire bite tippet.  The usual advice is to keep any wire leader short (only three or four inches worth) so that your leader has the least bad effects on the streamer fly you're using.  That does not apply when sharks are your targets (and I'd never use very light wire, like size #3 for shark setups at all...).

I used a lot of the Malin stainless wire, and still do for some applications, but i highly recommend using titanium leader wire. The biggest advantage is that it does not kink. It is tied on using a standard clinch knot either directly to a fly, split ring, or swivel. It can feel a bit strange when you tie it as it does have some stretch. 

Amazon.com : AFW Titanium Tooth Proof, Single Strand Leader Wire : Sports & Outdoors

I too have used the Orvis Bite Guards in both freshwater (northern pike) and saltwater (barracuda, bluefish), and found them to work quite well.  I don't have any experience with the Malin product, but it seems quite reasonable and comes with some seasoned recommendations. 

p.s.:  The damn bluefish like to bite your fly line too . . . for some reason.  I've lost several good fly lines to those critters!   

Regards,

Thanks all.  One more prep item checked off!

On 4/30/2024 at 6:06 AM, Capt Bob LeMay said:

Saltwater to the rescue... I use #3 Malin's stainless coffee colored trolling wire.... Here's a pic... Most tackle shops that cater to saltwater anglers stock Malins... 

this wire leader material comes in various sizes - this is the one of the lighter ones.  You'll have to learn the haywire twist to use it properly.  I've recently begun to use "tippet rings" instead of a swivel or Albright knot to secure my leader to the wire bite tippet.  The usual advice is to keep any wire leader short (only three or four inches worth) so that your leader has the least bad effects on the streamer fly you're using.  That does not apply when sharks are your targets (and I'd never use very light wire, like size #3 for shark setups at all...).

Did you post a YouTube video about the haywire twist?  Do you use the haywire on the tippet rings, I assume?

I've been going up to a lodge in NE Ontario for close to 40 years.     When I started bringing my fly rods with me I made leaders using the knotable wire.  I didn't like the way the flies turned over with the wire, so I switched over to using a straight 5 to 7 foot piece of 25# fluorocarbon, though I do carry spools of 30# and 40# fluorocarbon and started tying my pike flies/streamers on long shank hooks.  Now the lake I go to is noted for it walleye and smallmouth, not so much the pike.  The pike we catch average between 20 and 28 inches.  There are bigger pike in there, but I just haven't run into them.  I've had bite offs because the pike totally inhaled the fly or the leader got wrapped and was sliced by the gill plate.