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Last Saturday, E. Guy and myself went to a local lake in the catskills fishin for pickerel. He flyfished and I used spinning gear to see which would be more effective. He used a lot of large streamer flies, zonkers and stuff and I tried EVERYTHING!! Jig w/curlytail, rapalas floating and diving, spoons, spinners, spinner baits, all to no avail. Actually, I caught 1 small perch on a jig and E. Guy caught 2 bluegills. We know there were a few pickerel there at least 'cause we saw pickerel follow my lures a couple times but no takes. All I can say is the fished seemed lazy or something.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Northcountryman
08-25-2010, 06:00 PM
sipper
Re: Pickerel
Hey North Country Man, You gotta get urself a Zara Sppok and learn how to "walk the dog." Bass and pikeral love em. The action is unreal. Work it all around the lillies and weed beds. also heave it long into the middle because big bass often charge up from the depths to crussh it. When that happens they can sometimes jetison three or four feet out of the water as they crash right thru it. cabelas online sells em and they take a couple days to arrive.
I just got a ten weight for stripers and pike. You ever pike fish? I never have but a dude I met last week raves about pike on a lake near me in ct. so I am gonna go for it. Any pike advice would be much appreciated. With a name like North Country u gotta have some pike scoop.
The zara Spook comes in two sizes. Get the big one you will be impressed w how far you can heave it. work it slow/fast mix it up. Pinch the barbs down and bring pliers so you can release the fish safely w/o getting scratched by those pikeral teeth. I know a guy that got cut real bad and his whole arm swelled up like a watermellon. Pikeral,pike, and bluefish teeth are def to be respected.
08-25-2010, 06:32 PM
northcountryman
Re: Pickerel
Thanks for the reply dude. As you guessed, yes, I have fished for pike ALOT back home in the northcountry but as they range doesn't extend this far south into the catskills, I have no choice but try for pickerel in warm water situations (besides bass but Hey! everyone does that!). Pike love big spoons, spinners, etc. sdame stuff as i imagine pickerel will hit but keep your retrieve kinda fast as they like to chase stuff. But man, it didn't work last Sat! I'm thinking it was 1 of those days where they were lazy and would only really go after live bait, say, a minnow on a slip float/bobber rig. Would like to fly fish for them as well.
Thanks again,
Northcountyrman
08-25-2010, 10:12 PM
VTflyfishing
Re: Pickerel
If you are having a lot of fish follow your lure and not striking try pausing for a brief second and continue your retrieve. If you are using a Rapala and they are following with out striking give you Rapala a hard twitch so your Rapala turns side ways. When its side ways the fish can see the eyes and sometimes that triggers a strike.
08-26-2010, 07:58 AM
northcountryman
Re: Pickerel
VT,
Thanks for the input. It may have helped but I'm still bothered by the fact that E. Guy, using the big streamers, didn't even get a follow. From what I've read, you can catch pickerel on the fly. I never have, but I'm sure under the right conditions, i.e., when they're in an aggressive enough mood, they'll hit a big fly. I've even been told they'll respond to surface poppers bass bugs and stuff as well. There was nothing wrong w/ his presentation that day; E. Guys a good caster, and I was watching his retrieve. I still think the fish were a bit sluggish that day and not too responsive, for whatever reason. Thanks again,
northcountryman
08-26-2010, 08:14 AM
Esopus Guy
Re: Pickerel
I tried it all!! Fast,slow strip and stop ect. Black yellow white it did'nt matter. They would follow and a couple actually pecked it and darted off. I think it was the weather,very stagnant that day. Got a few bumps but they usually just inhale it. We'll have to give it another go one day soon NC.
Spawners should be getting into the E right now,Just so you know.
08-26-2010, 09:00 AM
northcountryman
Re: Pickerel
Wasn't us man, it was the fish!! After we went, did a little reading online and its said that, like many gamefish species, pickerel (probably pike too)aren't as aggressive in late summer, i.e., a bit harder to catch. Should pick up now but who cares? Time to go after the Salmonids again!
08-27-2010, 01:26 AM
northcountry
Re: Pickerel
NCM - On my lake in NH we dont have pike, but I have been catching pickerel my entire life using spinning gear and on the fly. From my experience, Ive had the most success using 2 lures: white buzzbaits and spinnerbaits with silver blades (lots of flash) on fast retrieves through lilypads and weeds, and softbaits on jig, like a grub or crawfish with slow, bouncing retrieve.
I have taken a few on a fly, some variation of chartreuse/white/silver, both with a quick stripping and slow twitching retrieve. Not sure whether it had anything to do with my presentation or retrieve, these pickerel in my lake are super aggressive and crush whatever they are interested in.
I dont get to fish there much anymore, but when I do I specifically target pickerel now. Mainly in shallow water, I love to see the wake of a pickerel coming out of the cover to crash my lure.
If you guys go out again, let us know what worked and what didnt.
08-27-2010, 08:20 AM
northcountryman
Re: Pickerel
Sure will northcountry(where have I heard that before?). Thanks for the info; btw, would you be so kind as to describe the white buzzbait you mentioned? I know the others, not sure about that 1. Thanks so much,
northcountryman
08-27-2010, 05:58 PM
northcountryman
Re: Pickerel
Went back to Waneta Lake today to mess around w/ some more pickerel fishing. Didn't fly fish due to the casting issues(too much brush!) so I used my spinning gear.
Caught 2 pickerel, 1 real small, the 2nd, around 13" or so. Caught the 1st on a live mnnow/ bobber setup and the 2nd on a topwater, same as before(hedon torpedo).
I think the pickerel in that lake , and maybe elsewhere, are very responsive to surface presentations and a fly fisherman in a raft/boat etc. could cast to the weedline w/ bassbugs, poppers and do quite well. also, i'm sure you could use big buggy streamers. I noticed something though having fished for pickerel now 3x in my life:they're not quite as their cousin the pike that I'm more familiar w/ back home. Pike will slam almost anything on a fast retrieve and they will usually take the lure fairly deep the initial strike. I remember losing pike only when I had breakoffs, very rarely from missed strikes and/or hesitant follows happened. Pickerel seem to me to be more inclined to hit a lure but not deeply so they let go at the last second when you think you got 'em. Also, you can get those follows but no strikes from them. 1 more thing: if a got a hit from a pickerel that let go,, I couldn't get it to chase that lure again!! Kinda like out beloved trout often behave!!
I tried switching lures and resting the spot for a bit but still couldn't get 'em to chase it again. Maybe I didn't wait long enough?
IDK, just though i'd share my experiences and thoughts as usual!
Northcountryman
08-27-2010, 07:59 PM
northcountry
Re: Pickerel
NCM
Good looks on those pickerel. They put up a hell of a fight dont they, even the small ones. Get any nice jumps? Often enough they get airborne and spit the lure back at me...
If you Google "buzzbait", you will see images of different versions of this type of lure from different manufacturers. Ive usually gone with Strike Kings, but thats just because they were always stocked - Im positive any other maker will work just as good. They come in different sizes, skirt and head colors, and spinner shapes. Experiment.
