Large chain pickerel

Two times of the season, one an angler's last shot at a big fish before winter, the other the start of a new as the ice begins to thaw, the air is still cold and breath seen, is the time to slow down and land the notorious chain pickerel.

When I go pickerel fishing, I usually use fast moving lures: rat’l trap, spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, spoons, topwater plugs, and more. However there are two times in the year when I don’t. There is a time when the usual fast presentation, "pickerel will hit anything," approach fails, this is during the early spring and late fall.

Chain pickerel are one of the most underrated freshwater game fish. These ultra predators inhabit pretty much any body of water on the east coast and south. They are the kings of the weed world and are an exciting fish to pursue. They actually look like miniature northern pike, and will even take some of the same lures pike bite. The chain pickerel is sometimes referred to by the following names, and probably more,: chainsides, grass pike, picks, water snakes, water wolves, toothy critters, and southern pike.

Early spring and late fall are typically the beginning and end of a fishing season for most fishermen. But my brother and I have both caught our biggest pickerel during these times from our johnboat and from shore. The first step in catching the big pickerel is knowing where they are at this time of year. Now when I say big, I mean over 25". Here are my pickerel guidelines: 14 in. and under - small, 15-19 in. - average, 20-24 in. - pretty good, 25-30 in. - big, and 31+ in. are monsters.

While most of the summer pickerel hide in thick weedbeds, during the early spring and late fall the weeds of most lakes are dormant. At this point I concentrate on timber, such as fallen trees and logs, I also look for overhanging brush and trees. Another attractive place is in the lily pads, which are present year-round (though not as visible in the spring/fall). Lily pads will be dead in the late fall/early spring but still usable, they will be yellow and submerged beneath the water. The pickerel will also be on mid depth dormant weed beds in the 7'-10' depth range. Usually these weeds break the surface but have reclined to the bottom now.

Liljohnboat with a pickerel on his Johnboat

The next step is finding something they’ll bite. As I mentioned earlier, I have not had success on fast paced lures in the early spring and late fall. I think the cold weather and frequent rain slows them down, and the bait has to be right on their nose. Some of the slower, proven, baits during this time period are banjo minnows, plastic grubs, jigs, suspending crankbaits, and senkos. The senko and jig are pitched very close to shoreline timber; this means fallen trees with branches, and bushes that overhang the water. The rest of the lures however, are worked parallel to the submerged weedlines and lily pads. The banjo minnow is a soft plastic jerkbait that is cast out, and slowly twitched, then allowed to sink vertically for 4-8 seconds. The suspending crankbait (mine is a Rapala husky jerk) is cast out, and reeled in at a slow pace, with occasional two-second pauses. The same is done for the grubs, but they won’t suspend when stopped, they’ll fall because I rig them on jigheads.

Lure weights should be between 1/8-3/8 oz., but may go a little bigger or smaller depending on the size of the pickerel in your body of water. As for live bait, I have only caught pickerel on live shiners. These should be either live lined or placed beneath a bobber since pickerel lay on the bottom looking up.

I find that pickerel prefer brightly colored lures or flashy ones, though occasionally crawdad and shad patterns will also work. My favorite colors are neon green, yellow, white, and orange. There are, however, variations of each, such as dark green, gold, and silver that work very well. I believe crayfish become more important during the early spring and late fall, so the crayfish pattern is advisable. I didn’t mention it above because I have yet to do it, but one technique I’d like to try is Carolina rigging a soft plastic crayfish. This may be effective.

Liljohnboat shows a pickerel in his native New Jersey setting

As for tackle for pickerel, most of the time I use a medium/light action - medium action spinning rod or baitcaster, spooled with 8-12 lb. test line. I have never had a pickerel cut my line with it's teeth but some people are worried about this happening so they use a wire leader. Wire leaders spook fish, get caught in weeds, and weaken the action of most lures. So, if you're worried about pickerel cutting the line, get some 25 or even 50 lb. test line, take 6-8 inches, and tie a blood knot to make a leader. Pickerel tend to swallow baits deeply which is why line cutting can occur, but avoid this by setting the hook earlier. Set the hook hard to make the hook penetrate due to the bony mouth of the fish. Pickerel cannot be lipped without a glove, so net the fish into the boat, take the hook out with needle nose pliers, and put one hand just behind his head, the other, if needed, on the tail.

Pickerel exist throughout most water bodies in the east, and the south of the United States as well. These tips come from New Jersey, probably the best place to catch them in the whole world. More big pickerel are caught here than anywhere else; our state record is 9 lbs. 3 oz., a former world record. So if you’re not in a big pickerel region, NJ is the place to be! Early spring is in March, and late fall is November here.

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