Good Pickerel specific baits

[dman]

I know we all catch Pickerel on Bass baits but do you guys know any good baits that would do very well for Pickerel?  I dont fish for them but gonna be in Pickerel tourny in April for fun...

Swiss Swings?  Red Devil?  Red Eye?   i've no idea.....

thanks

[farmpond1]

Sorry.  Can't help you there.  Illinois has no chain pickerel that I know of.  Sounds like a fun tournament though.  Good luck.

[Tokyo Tony]

Well if you're gonna be targeting pickerel, I highly recommend that you throw....absolutely anything with a hook  

Seriously, they'll hit anything.  Your best bet for colder water fishing is probably either a hard or a soft jerkbait.

[dman]

yeah tony,  i was definately figuring jerkbait...I remember catching a lot of pickerel when the first Slug-o' came out.......I always thought in-line spinners were good too.   thanks for the input

[Micro]

Mepps spinners.  Without a doubt the best pickerel bait ever.  I've caught more pickerel on a #3 Aglia or white dressed Black Fury than all my other baits combined.   And the best part is, pickerel never wear them out.  I've caught the vast majority of my pickerel on moderate speed STEADY retrieves.  

Rapala's X-Rap has caught me a load of pickerel, too.   I tend to catch them on a moderate speed steady retrieve as well.  

[Marty]

As has already been said, pickerel will readily hit anything. Topwater, bottom crawling, and everything in between. In my 35+ years of catching pickerel, I'd give a very slight nod to spinnerbaits, but really, if they're around and willing to hit, you'll catch them on anything.

[maxke01]

Dman only pickerel tourney i know of in April is the one sponsored by Mike at Wal Mart...Is this the tourney you are speaking of? If so try asking him he is more than willing to share his knowledge...if not sorry for the post

[Guest muddy]

MARTY YOU HAVE THAT RIGHT, I just hate throwing spinnerbaits, but the guys i knw that target big pickerel all use those Tungsten spinner baits.

 I have caught them on Jigs, ***, Brush Babies,plastic worms, spoons, Mepps and MOST OF ALL ON MY FREAKING FLOATING RAPALAS AND SHAD RAPS, these fish cost me more money replacing balsa baits, then outright loosing them.

 I bought a few Plastic BPS minnows for when i am fishing for them on purpose, in a few stripping pits and the Chunk.

 I have caught most of my biggest pickerel, by accident on #11 Floating Rapalas.

[dman]

max,   not the same tourny.  The one im speaking of is sponsored by the bass club i'm in.  Its just for fun and to raise a few extra funds for the club.

[maxke01]

What bass club are you in bud? Sorry for my post. If your ever at the Dickson City Wal Mart and in sporting goods ask for a guy names Mike. He is one hell of a guy and his fishing is like no others ice seen. Holds a pickerel tourney at Lake Henry once a year and helps people learn new techniques as well.

[T-rig]

Suspending jerkbaits work well in spring.

[Guest muddy]

Hey T Rig, I don't know if you are showing this picture to show us the lure or the fish. If it's the fish this is what the fellas are talking about :

There are a few more different kinds, chain pickerel also being common This is GRASS PICKEREL

[T-rig]

Muddy, the pic is of zander, the european version of a walleye.

They have the same feeding habits.

[T-rig]

They are almost identical except the coloration.

Walleye:

Zander:

Chain pickerel are part of the pike family, which includes the musky.

[Guest muddy]

Muddy, the pic is of zander, the european version of a walleye.

They have the same feeding habits.

Thanks T rig; I have seen Zander rods on Cabelas site for years; I thought it was a brand name >DOH!!!!!!

[secretlakes]

depending on the rules of the tourny your in, you should try throwing out a dark green senko rigged wacky style  on a bobber about four feet from the float. Its a little hard to cast that much line and bobber, but if u leave it floating while u work other spots with lures, u may catch something nice. It's a little bit of a passive way to fish but i catch a lot of pickerel this way.

[Chris at Tech]

Any moving, non-plastic bait is my recommendation.

Jerkbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, etc.

[Peter E.]

I always like fishing for them with cheap spinner bait, they seem to love the flash. Weedless spoons have always been good to me for these toothy critters and they survive the teeth.

I like fishing for these fish in back bays in lakes with a cold water inlet. They seem to like shadowy areas with plenty of vegitation. Of course I ussually don't target these fish, but they seem to like this sort of thing. Oh and they love frogs and flukes.

Good luck,

Peter

[RoLo]

When living in New Jersey, my wife & I spent a lot of time specifically in search of chain pickerel.

We were motivated by the fact that Jersey had set two consecutive world records (since been broken in Georgia).

During cold water periods (fall and through the ice), a minnow was far & away our favorite bait.

If could be fished dead or alive, on a carolina rig or on a jig.

During the spring and summer though, artificials easily outfished natural bait.

Our favorite lure was the weedless "Johnson Spoon" dressed with a curly grub.

Our second favorite was an "In-line spinner" like the Mepps, but during the last hour of light when the water surface went flat,

the Original Floating Rapala was murder on pickerel, (but the plastic cordell redfin holds up longer).

Roger

[T-rig]

In Canada the Walleye is also called Pickerel.

[Gatorbassman]

Blue and yellow spinnerbaits.

[Guest muddy]

I guess the real question should be: WHAT KIND OF BAITS  DON'T ATTRACT PICKEREL?

When they are on the feed they eat everything!

[.dsaavedra.]

ive only caught two pickerel, and i caught em both walking the dog with a senko underwater on braided line. the first one barely put a knick in the line and the second one did nothing to the line. should i use a thin wire leader just to be safe? i have no problem using a leader with spoons and spinners, but will a thin leader affect the action of a jerkbait?

[tritz18]

try using a good old daredevil they work like a charm

[ABC123]

I used to chase Northern Pike years ago. Top producers were...

#4 Bucktail inline spinner. It seems like "Bucktail" has become some generic name now day's. A true bucktail is brown. Kind of like pulling the hair off a buck's tail. :  It might have a red string in it, a little bit of white, and/or a little black in it.

#4 Yellow inline spinner.

Bobber fish with minnow. Really good for river fishing.

Red and white Dare devil.

Basically, they will bite on most anything though. I've had them attack red/white styrofoam bobbers, Fake mice, Rubber duck lure, and a Beer can lure. A small replica can, not a real beer can, you see them in stores once in awhile. The three lures were gag lures we brought with us on a trip to Canada. One did take the beer can lure, much to our surprise. The duck one actually caught a few of them.

Set up of choice was a medium heavy rod with 30lb black braid and a 12" ball bearing steel leader.