Anybody Else Pounding Pickerel This Year?

[Master Bait'r]

I have been absolutely killing it in the pickerel department this year.  The bass have been good but for some reason this has been a banger year for the picks in particular.  The weed cover is just thick with them and they are a blast to catch.  I've seen the biggest pickerel of my life this summer hands down.

 

 

Figured I'd share some of these pics I've taken recently since I just really got into this subforum and want to spread the love

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That last one I laid on my leg to give it scale.  It was an impressive fish both in fight and in presence to say the least and looked more like a pike than the pickerels I'm used to seeing from years past.  So how are everyone else's pickerel looking-  Bigger than usual or am I just lucky?  

[wademaster1]

They're cool fish for sure....what have they been hitting?

[Master Bait'r]

They're cool fish for sure....what have they been hitting?

 

 

Lots of t-rigged plastics mostly.  Sluggos, Roboworms, Bento minnows etc.  They've even nailed a few different frogs now that the pads are thinned out a bit.  

[AK-Jax86]

Here in north FL I don't catch pickerel just bass. Back when I lived in NJ pickerel use to tear up my lures lol idk if I miss that aspect but I use to catch some giants that would mimic pike.

[5dollarsplash]

In my neck of the woods we have pike, and they can be a blast.  They seem to have had an up year here as well, probably caught 3-4x as many pike as I did the prior year. 

 

Like AK said though, they can tear up gear and in my little boat they can be a pain to handle. 

 

While musky/pike fishing I'll typically take 2-3 setups, of course then I don't catch any and wish I had more bass gear.

When bass fishing, its the opposite, 6-7 setups and nowhere to go with 36" pike and the net lol.

[KritterGitter]

Without a doubt my second favorite fish to catch, I mean its kinda impossible not to while bass fishing but for their size the fight is so much fun. Caught my PB on the pocomoke last weekend, no weight or length but for sure the biggest Ive caught, such a stellar fight. It was also the first fish Ive caught on a spinnebait also....but not the last!!! Ive been hammering all summer with the t-rigg.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

I actually haven't been catching them much lately.  Caught a lot last fall and this past spring but they seem to have slowed down a bit over the summer.  We'll see how they do once it gets a little cooler out.  I'm expecting the pickerel bite to pick back up as the weather cools.

[fishguy613]

you do know the photos you posted are of northern pike and not pikerel right

[Tuckahoe Joe]

you do know the photos you posted are of northern pike and not pikerel right

 

Nah.  They're chain pickerel.  Pike have spots like the fish in this thread.  http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/125828-my-son-got-a-nice-pike/

 

Chain pickerel have the chain like markings up and down they're sides.  They also don't get nearly as big as pike.

[wademaster1]

Pickerel have that black marking at the eye, pike do not

[Master Bait'r]

They seem to have had an up year here as well, probably caught 3-4x as many pike as I did the prior year. 

 

Like AK said though, they can tear up gear and in my little boat they can be a pain to handle. 

 

 

 

 

That's cool, I wonder why.  Weather/baitfish cycles or something?  Who knows.  I just know I've never EVER seen pickerel this often and in this size so I wanted to ask.    

 

I fish from a kayak primarily, so I can totally identify with the troubles of handling a big toothy fish from that.  Thank God for nets!  I WISH there were northern pike in that lake though I must say  

[fishguy613]

thats crazy!

[bigbill]

The last one I just caught inhaled my citrus bomber crankbait. It had the minnows on there tails out of the water the whole time before I tossed the crank near them. Right behind my crank the minnows were jumping while the pickerel was following my crank.

In your pic you see why they call them chain pickerel.

This pickerel mouth was snapping the whole time. I was warned by my brother as a kid they will bite us.

I've caught some bigger pickerel between 29" to 32" here. What a fight. They like the spook action and the #4 & #5 mepps in lines. Any size pickerel is fun to catch inbetween the bass. Someday I'll go after the great northern pike we have here.

[Snakehead Whisperer]

you do know the photos you posted are of northern pike and not pikerel right

Are you referring to walleye when you say pickerel? Us east coast/southern folk don't call them that.

 

As for pickerel fishing, I've actually been making lures to target them specifically as of late. Here are some pics from the last week.

 

 

Here is a sequence of the lure from start to finish.

 

[Master Bait'r]

Are you referring to walleye when you say pickerel? Us east coast/southern folk don't call them that.

 

As for pickerel fishing, I've actually been making lures to target them specifically as of late. Here are some pics from the last week.

 

 

Here is a sequence of the lure from start to finish.

 

 

 

Man, that is really cool!  

[Snakehead Whisperer]

Man, that is really cool!  

Thanks, but all credit goes to the pickerel

[Master Bait'r]

Thanks, but all credit goes to the pickerel

 

 

 

For not having thumbs or even hands, they are darn good on a lathe I must say!  

[rippin-lips]

I can't tell the difference between chain pickerel and pike. They look the same to me. Either way here in Western Md specifically Deep Creek Lake that's all you catch. It gets annoying when bass fishing. Cranks,spinnerbaits,traps they just can't resist them. Makes for a great day of fishing unless you are trying to find some spots for tournament day.

[Master Bait'r]

They're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack...  And really big already!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do love catching picks...  It's a shame they beat up gear so much.