Interesting Things About How To Catch Pickerel
Are you looking for a proper technique to catch Pickerel in your next fishing trip?
Well, it is usually often more exciting to fish in an unknown water body as you would not know what can strike the lure after hitting the water. Pickerel could be caught all year round, and you would actually have much fun in catching this fish.
Pickerel are known to be much aggressive and even could not be easily found like other game fish species. But, you could really enjoy catching them, specifically on lighter tackle.
To help you in experiencing the real fun, we have brought up a list of how to catch pickerel along with some vital information.
Hence, just hold your interest and keep on reading below.
What You Will Need
1. Fishing Rod
For catching pickerel, a lightweight rod could actually work best.
You can choose a 6 to 7 or 10-foot rod.
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2. Fishing Line
To catch these aggressive fighters, 6 or 8 pounds monofilament fishing line would be a good option for your lightweight spinning setup.
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3. Fishing Lures
Weedless spoons, crank baits, jigs with pork dressing would work perfectly for catching pickerels in deep waters.
Poppers prop lures and wobblers would be the lures of topwater.
However, minnows would be particularly great choices for catching 3 to 5 inches pickerels.
Moreover, soft plastic jerk baits could be an excellent option to fool these lone wolves.
4. Tippets & Teeth
A multi-strand leader wire of a narrow diameter which could be fastened to general fishing knots would help in adding a bite tippet easily for pickerels.
You would have to add some inches to the leader or line using triple surgeon knot.
However, you would have just to ensure that both the mainline and wire are of the same diameter.
Brief Understanding of Pickerel
Pickerel are known to be the smallest member of the family pike. The world record pickerel of 9.6 pounds weight is known to be caught in Georgia.
However, you would be able to catch four pounds of the fish or measuring more than 24 inches, and this would be the king size catch in any place.
- The appetite of Pickerel is probably voracious, and this fish species appears to be like a killing machine. This is due to their backward angled teeth that would make impossible for any caught victim to escape.
- Pickerels are known to feed on frogs, insects, small snakes, and mice. However, Minnows, panfish, and other pickerel could be considered as their favorite overwhelming foods.
- Pickerels could be found starting from Texas, Florida and then straight northwards in Canada. You would find them inhabiting places like lakes, ponds, black water rivers as well as big impoundments.
Pickerel are seen to favor usually tannin stained and acidic waters that include plenty of vegetation. Maximum pickerels would be loners and homebodies.
They would float in one place motionlessly, frequently behind weeds, timber or brush, and rush out to trap the doomed baitfish or other passing creatures.
Pickerels would twist their body for making an S shape while preparing itself to strike.
After this, the fish would project itself to the target in the fastest motion. It could even become difficult for your eyes to detect it.
Shallow spots such as dock pilings, weed beds, sunken logs, grassy banks and submerged brush would be the proper places for catching pickerel in their trap feeding mode.
However, if you want to bag huge amount of the fish, then deeper holes, drop-offs, points, backwater sloughs in rivers and slow pool would be the best places to look for it.
Step-by-Step Instructions: How to Catch Pickerel by Fly fishing
Step 1: Dropping The Line
At first, you would have to take your 7 to 8 weighted rod and then would be adding a tapered leader of 5 to 9 foot along with a tippet of 8 to 10 foot.
You could use topwater flies during the summer time. Now, you would have to drop them down in a gentler way next to the fallen logs, weed beds, points or brush piles.
After letting the ripples to dissipate, you would have to push them tenderly.
Step 2: Suspending The Fly And Catching The Fish
Winter, late fall and spring would be the suitable time to opt for fly fishing.
Now, you would have to allow them to sink to about 12 to 48 inches. After this, you could start with a stripping retrieve.
You would have to keep the tip of the rod lower to the water and start pulling the line up to 12 to 48 inches at a time. You would be pulling in sharp squirts with pausing in the middle of the jerks.
This will be suspending the fly and cast temptingly just like the way a real minnow would have done.
Once you catch one, you would then realize the fish’s specialty.
Pro Tips to Catch Pickerel
- Fishing Around Vegetation
Pickerels could be considered as lone wolves that are quite difficult to find. But they are known to spend much time in soft covers where they wait for their prey.
Hence, it would be better to start fishing from submerged logs, weeds, or stumps.
- Use Standard Baits Available On The Spot
Pickerels are known to possess a great eye sight, so they could quickly identify their prey. Therefore, it would be very important for you to use bait which is commonly found in the place. The logic goes same for the artificial baits too.
However, your bait size would have to be appropriate for the pickerel's size in that spot. It will be limiting your activity if the size is too small or too big.
- Prefer Daylight Hours
You would find many fish species to feed at night aggressively, but this is not so with pickerels.
A bright and clean sunny day would offer the best setup to pickerels for executing their feeding activity. Hence, it would be better to fish in such hours to get the best results.
- Setting The Hook Fast
Pickerels are probably fast strikers. They would rush rapidly to the food source as soon as they see it.
Hence, you would have to be very attentive and quickly snap the wrist as soon as you feel the hit.
Conclusion
Well, this was all that our list of how to catch pickerel contained. Catching pickerels could of very exciting and fun, but the main thing would be to find out the real place where they are present.
Like, we mentioned above that Pickerels are claimed to be as lone wolves, so it could become a little bit difficult to find them out. Once you spot them, then the entire fishing process would become accessible.
Pickerels could be fast strikers, but you would be able to catch them if you are attentive. Well, we hope that our guide above and tips would help you a lot in fishing lot of pickerels.
However, if you have any suggestion, please let us know in comment section.
