Matt Pike came to fly fishing and tying relatively late in life, although that hasn’t diminished his passion for the sport, and in some instances has been a benefit in his tying. Matt quickly realized that trout fishing and tying midges and dries were not his forte after the first time he happened upon a carp flat fishing for bass. The carp fly world at that time was small, incredibly unique, and completely overwhelmed with bread flies. That led Matt to experiment (play) at the vise into the wee hours while he dreamt of those slimy golden monsters exploding and churning the nearly opaque and silent lake mud flats as they made the acquaintance of one of his creations at the end of the tippet. The newness and lack of a long and deeply rooted culture of carp fly fishing, has allowed flies to venture into the realms of art, as tyers fidget and piddle and take giant leaps of faith, or wild guesses, as to what will work on a given day. Matt believes that the perfect carp fly is a blend of pragmatism, hope, and art, although he leans heavily on the art and hope side of the scale.

Matt lives in Western North Carolina on a farm with his expectant wife, son, and extended family. He manages Big Fish Fly Shop, which is a blog about fly fishing and tying for carp, smallmouth bass, musky, and big wild trout, among other things.