cpm032987 Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 I frequently will fish in a large pond at the country club where I work. I like fishing here because not very many people fish here and I have had good luck catching good bass. I have recently noticed that I have been catching more and more pickerel on every trip. Its not fun thinking I have caught a bass and realize when I get him up to the top of the water its a pickerel that has swallowed my lure. I use a lot of Rat L Traps and getting them out of these fish while they are trying to attack my hand can be a bit of a pain. Are these fish always just extremely aggressive? What fish do you catch that you get frustrated with while fishing? Quote
RF813 Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Same thing. I'm always a bit disappointed when I pull one of these out, and yes, in my experience they are always extremely aggressive. They're the reason I bought my fish grip and long tongs to de-hook them. Quote
KritterGitter Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Honestly....None. If im fishing and catching fish, then its a good day.... This past Saturday thats all we were catching was pickerel, so in light of that my buddy and I turned it into, whoever catches the biggest pik of the day doesnt have to buy the brew that night. I know they can be annoying sometimes but they put up a great fight. Id rather be hammering them in all day than have a skunk in the boat. 1 Quote
KritterGitter Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Ive found that if ya grab em from behind the head up under the gills their mouths open wide up. Unless I got a treble thats locked their mouth shut I normally dont have an issue if I hold them that way. 1 Quote
cpm032987 Posted May 12, 2014 Author Posted May 12, 2014 Just seems like they will go after any bait I throw, just never fun sticking my hand into the mouth! Quote
Super User RoLo Posted May 12, 2014 Super User Posted May 12, 2014 Just seems like they will go after any bait I throw, just never fun sticking my hand into the mouth! It's not supposed to be fun. A couple shark fishing trips will sharpen your game 5 Quote
drodriguez Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Don't have any pucks here in OR, but we do have lakes that are so d**n overcrowded with perch and bluegill (all less than the size of ur hand). I've got to the point where whenever I catch perch I kill em. d**n things were planted by some morons thinking about the smallmouth population in lakes dominated by largemouth. The spines on the tiny suckers always nail me, too. Quote
KritterGitter Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Just seems like they will go after any bait I throw, just never fun sticking my hand into the mouth! On some days they will eat everything and anything you throw from the biggest crank down to the smallest inline spinner...Some days not so much. Get some good fishing pliers in the 8-10" range and ya should be good to go, my buddy from up north moved here last summer and decided he could "lip" one that was about 22" ...... Def get some pliers. Quote
Scorchx1245 Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 I don't about the killing of the perch. Sounds like with such a heavy perch and sunfish population the bass population should be pretty good, try upsizing the baits and using perch and bluegill pattern cranks and lipless cranks. I watched where dean Rojas fished a frog resembling the patterns of a bluegill and almost fished it like a dieng bluegill and had gear success. But the pickerel problem, try throwing plastics and fishing the bottom, jigs, senkos, Carolina rigs, etc. pike love moving baits and shiny vibrating sensory grabbing such as shiny lipless and spinners. Quote
ColdSVT Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 Oh man i know pickeral have saved many days in water for me over the years....i take a bend in the rod anyday over not catching any bass Oh and long nosed pliers are your friend! 2 Quote
cpm032987 Posted May 12, 2014 Author Posted May 12, 2014 Ya I would definitely rather catch a few pickerel than nothing. Ive noticed using lipless crank baits recently I have been catching catfish as well Quote
jhoffman Posted May 12, 2014 Posted May 12, 2014 You can control any fish much better if you turn so the belly faces the sky while taking the hook out. Its like it throws their brain out of whack for a minute. Usually they dont even flop. Quote
Super User Marty Posted May 12, 2014 Super User Posted May 12, 2014 Pickerel have less status than bass, so I always prefer to catch the bass. I must be a fishing snob because I've always felt that pickerel fight better than largemouth. They will hit any lure in existence and are often found in the same places as largemouth. A number of my pickerel and pike (more so with the pike) clamp their jaws down tight with the lure in their mouth. I carry one of those jaw spreaders which I've had to use on occasion. I've had negative experiences with thrashing pike which have given the hook right back to me past the barb. I've been to the ER three times with a hook in me and I'm not looking to make it four. Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted May 13, 2014 Super User Posted May 13, 2014 Pound for pound, I'd rather catch a pickerel than a bass. Got a 32" 6 1/2 lb one two days ago, biggest one I've caught in a while. curl your index finger (pinky for the little guys) like a hook, and stick it under the gill plate (not touching the gills). Forces his mouth open, and a pair of pliers or forceps is all you need. Reach from the underside, he'll shake and bake when he sees you reaching in. They have delicate mouths and slime, so this keeps them in good shape. Most of the time, I don't even take them out of the water. We have some large ones in NJ and MD (NY and DE too, but I don't get there a often). PICKERELRESOURCE.COM?... 2 Quote
AQUA VELVA Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 My lake is lousy with pike. The only thing they seem to be good at is biting off or otherwise trashing my bass lures. I carry all the necessary tools for dealing with them but they are still more trouble than they are worth. Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted May 13, 2014 Super User Posted May 13, 2014 Only toothy fish I don't like catching is spanish mackerel, I get too many cut off lures and the fight is no big deal. Other than those fish, if it's got size and fight teeth or not I want to catch it. Yeh you better be real careful with a shark, they have no bones and can turn 180 degrees and bite you. Quote
bmac31 Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 What Krittergritter said... I Don't mind em. They've saved some days for me, nice fighting fish. Quote
deadadrift89 Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 When i lived in Florida Lake Jackson had a bunch in one part of lake i knew we could always salvage a day. Just take the brightest spinnerbait i could find and look out. A lip gripper and long needle nose sure help. Musky fisherman have a tool that would work even better to keep mouth open Quote
Snakehead Whisperer Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 Pound for pound, I'd rather catch a pickerel than a bass. Got a 32" 6 1/2 lb one two days ago, biggest one I've caught in a while. curl your index finger (pinky for the little guys) like a hook, and stick it under the gill plate (not touching the gills). Forces his mouth open, and a pair of pliers or forceps is all you need. Reach from the underside, he'll shake and bake when he sees you reaching in. They have delicate mouths and slime, so this keeps them in good shape. Most of the time, I don't even take them out of the water. We have some large ones in NJ and MD (NY and DE too, but I don't get there a often). PICKERELRESOURCE.COM?... x2 My top 3 pickerel were all caught from ponds in Charles County. Serious pond fishing down there. Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted May 14, 2014 Super User Posted May 14, 2014 x2 My top 3 pickerel were all caught from ponds in Charles County. Serious pond fishing down there. Shhhhhhhhhh... . PB came from St Mary's lake. A guy was on another site showing off Charles County bass to DE tournament anglers, had to relocate them to a nearby pond, too many out of state plates... Quote
Snakehead Whisperer Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 Shhhhhhhhhh... . PB came from St Mary's lake. A guy was on another site showing off Charles County bass to DE tournament anglers, had to relocate them to a nearby pond, too many out of state plates... I hear ya man. Won't be spilling the beans on my spots. With all of the tournaments and heavy fishing pressure out of Smallwood, there are still a ton of mostly unknown structure on the Potomac and undiscovered spots in Southern MD. I'm definitely trying to keep it that way. I just hope the bowhunters leave some snakeheads for me. Quote
Super User Munkin Posted May 14, 2014 Super User Posted May 14, 2014 Pickerral are a PITA and will hit and destroy lures! Allen Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted May 14, 2014 Super User Posted May 14, 2014 I hear ya man. Won't be spilling the beans on my spots. With all of the tournaments and heavy fishing pressure out of Smallwood, there are still a ton of mostly unknown structure on the Potomac and undiscovered spots in Southern MD. I'm definitely trying to keep it that way. I just hope the bowhunters leave some snakeheads for me. I hear that, I like the snakeheads, $7-12 per lb creates lots of pressure... Quote
CDMeyer Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 On teh Lake I live on we have a huge population of Northern, and tehy are always bitting me off and costing me money too so I Quote
CDMeyer Posted May 23, 2014 Posted May 23, 2014 my mistake forgot to edit that last one..... On the lake where I live it has a huge population of Northern Pike, they are always biting me off costing em tons of money Quote
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