Pickerel Magnet

[swirlchaser]

Yesterday morning was a cold, damp, windy, cloudy start to the day. Pretty much what I've come to expect on my day off. Spent the morning hiding from the wind and chuckin' and duckin' when I couldn't. I guess I didn't duck fast enough as you'll see below.
Couldn't buy a Bass but plenty of Pickerel to keep me busy.

Hungry Pickerel

Angry Pickerel

Pickerel's revenge, size 1 Clouser to the cheek. Still swollen 8 hours later...

 

[tanglefoot]

Yesterday morning was a cold, damp, windy, cloudy start to the day. Pretty much what I've come to expect on my day off. Spent the morning hiding from the wind and chuckin' and duckin' when I couldn't. I guess I didn't duck fast enough as you'll see below.
Couldn't buy a Bass but plenty of Pickerel to keep me busy.

Hungry Pickerel

Angry Pickerel

Pickerel's revenge, size 1 Clouser to the cheek. Still swollen 8 hours later...

Thats a pickerel?????
Here on the Canadian Prairies we would call that a pike, the coloring is a bit different but the shape, fins, and teeth looks like a Northern Pike.
What is called pickerel here is also known as Walleye!
Comments anyone??

 

[swirlchaser]

Thats a pickerel?????
Here on the Canadian Prairies we would call that a pike, the coloring is a bit different but the shape, fins, and teeth looks like a Northern Pike.
What is called pickerel here is also known as Walleye!
Comments anyone??

The two are very similar, here it's called a chain Pickerel. To be honest with you the only difference I see between a chain Pickerel and a Pike is size and the markings.

 

[tanglefoot]

Ok thats what I thought. I do have a nice northern pike (locally called jackfish) hanging on my wall. It is 40" long taken on light spinning gear, 6 lb. line and a very small flatfish in the Nelson River near Gillam in Northern MB. Longest fight I have ever had. All by myself, no net, no gaff, finally got him into a little shallow bay and smacked hiim between the eyes with a chunk of driftwood. The biggest freshwater fish I have ever caught..
Jim

 

[swirlchaser]

I enjoy catching them, most of the time they fight harder than Bass. Especially this early in the season, and they love to run...

 

[Rip Tide]

Here in CT you're suppose to know the difference between northern pike and chain pickerel. (pike have scales on their cheek and upper gill plate, pickerel have the "chain link" markings) as pike are regulated and pickerel are not. I've even been quizzed about it by a game warden once while out ice fishing.

Those "hammer handle" pickerel can save the day sometimes as they're very active this time of year. Not a favorite of mine though, too slimy. And with those sharp teeth, as close together as they are you loose flies. Once they get bigger and the teeth space out, not as many bite offs.

 

[swirlchaser]

Here in CT you're suppose to know the difference between northern pike and chain pickerel. (pike have scales on their cheek and upper gill plate) as pike are regulated and pickerel are not. I've even been quizzed about it by a game warden once while out ice fishing.

Those "hammer handle" pickerel can save the day sometimes as they're very active this time of year. Not a favorite of mine though, too slimy. And with those sharp teeth, as close together as they are you loose flies. Once they get bigger and the teeth space out, not as many bite offs.

In our waters they don't get much bigger than the ones pictured. The teeth do get in the way, I usually end up releasing them with a few yellow hairs stuck in between their teeth. I wonder if that drives them crazy???

 

[nyadirondacks]

here in ny they can get to a decent size. state record is a little bit over 7 pounds i believe but my best is only 3 and a half. the best way to tell pike and pickerel apart is pickerel have the black teardrop under their eye.

 

[thenextlevel]

They can get pretty big in VA to. Here's one my brother caught last month.

 

[swirlchaser]

That's a nice fat one...
No one has a pic of a fly hitting them in the face??? Am I that special?

 

[BigCliff]

Good stuff man!

Sounds more like you were a Clouser magnet though...

 

[Pocono]

Another fly that seems to work well for Pickerel here in NEPA, is the ubiquitous Woolly Bugger; in whatever color the bottom happens to be where you're fishing.

Use a weighted fly, let it sink completely to the bottom, then strip in short jerky motions. Pickerel keep an eye on the bottom and if it's moving in the weeds, then they're generally on it.

Be sure to pinch down your barb (or barbless) and have your hemos handy, because you're apt to find the fly down by the gills; bass-like. I'm not sure why that is with a fish that bites it's prey, but for Woolly Buggers, I'm usually finding them lodged well inside the mouth.

Pocono

 

[chuck s]

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_pickerel"]American pickerel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Esox_americanus_americanus.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Esox_americanus_americanus.jpg/250px-Esox_americanus_americanus.jpg"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/2/24/Esox_americanus_americanus.jpg/250px-Esox_americanus_americanus.jpg[/ame] along with the Chain. we have the Red Fin and the Grass. The Chain is the largest and the Grass is often called a Hammer Handle as that's about as big as they get. All will hit flies readily and all have teeth. The Northern and Musky are in the same family but much, much, bigger.

 

[swirlchaser]

Another fly that seems to work well for Pickerel here in NEPA, is the ubiquitous Woolly Bugger; in whatever color the bottom happens to be where you're fishing.

Use a weighted fly, let it sink completely to the bottom, then strip in short jerky motions. Pickerel keep an eye on the bottom and if it's moving in the weeds, then they're generally on it.

Be sure to pinch down your barb (or barbless) and have your hemos handy, because you're apt to find the fly down by the gills; bass-like. I'm not sure why that is with a fish that bites it's prey, but for Woolly Buggers, I'm usually finding them lodged well inside the mouth.

Pocono

That's why I use a fairly big clouser when they're around. The fly in his mouth is a 1 with a fairly long tail. That seems to be the only fly they don't swallow. Every time I land them on a Woolly, they end up deep in the mouth.

---------- Post added at 06:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:44 PM ----------

Good stuff man!

Sounds more like you were a Clouser magnet though...

Yeah I was. I knew it was coming too. I felt the wind over my left shoulder just as I hauled the line. I ducked, but not fast enough...

 

[chuck s]

Clouser cheek is one thing size 18 bead head ear is another! Buried so deep it looked like a stud ear ring! If I find the pick I'll post it but that was some time ago.

 

[Rip Tide]

..... I've lip-hooked myself on a back cast with a 2/0 deceiver

 

[swirlchaser]

There we go, I know I wasn't alone...:yikes: I watched my buddy take his own hat off his head with a cast on a windy day. I thought the wind took it untill I saw him stripping it back in!

 

[chuck s]

When i was a kid I stuck myself with a Bluegill Popper. Back then no one knew about using a loop of mono to extract it so it was a trip to the doc and cut it out! A decade or so later, barbless hit the fly fishing scene and since then I've removed a few quite nicely without much problem at all.

 

[swirlchaser]

When i was a kid I stuck myself with a Bluegill Popper. Back then no one knew about using a loop of mono to extract it so it was a trip to the doc and cut it out! A decade or so later, barbless hit the fly fishing scene and since then I've removed a few quite nicely without much problem at all.

Same with me. As a teenager I worked summers as a mate on a party boat in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn. I can't tell you how many 5/0 hooks I "pushed through" to cut barbs off . I wish someone had taught me to use mono back then

 

[wjc]

I've lip-hooked myself on a back cast with a 2/0 deceiver

LOL!! Rip, You're the only guy I've ever heard of that wasn't foul hooked!

Tripple points for that one!

Cheers,
Jim