What I have learned about Pickerel

[EMSer]

It has been an interesting 6 months since my kayak was delivered and I got addicted to this amazing sport. Since then, I have caught numerous species of fish and enjoyed each one. With the striper bite requiring more time commitment than I can muster during the recent holiday season, I have focused on Pickerel.

Having never fished for them before, my learning curve has been, by necessity, very steep. While I still long for the heavy head shake of a keeper Rock, I have enjoyed my new toothy targets quite a bit. They are, in fact, becoming popular (based on the number of posts) and on everyone's radar. It is great that the current El Nino has extended the season so that so many folks can hit the water. I know I have taken advantage of the opportunities numerous times.

All that being said, I can't help but be concerned for the resource. They are getting hit hard in creeks near the popular launches. Unlike Stripers, they do not migrate or really move far from where they spawn. Their habitat requirements keep them close to home. It doesn't take too many of us to put a hurting on the population - even with C&R. I know I have caught more than a few fish with battle scars from prior scraps with sharp metal objects - quite likely from my own hooks.

In responce to this realization, I have started to make a conscious effort to spread my fishing outings around. I believe that fisherman are, by nature, conservationists to one degree or another. We all want the fish to be there when we come-a-knockin. As is often the case, we take things for granted until they are diminished or absent. It would be sad if that were to happen here. I hope others feel the same way.

With a little forethought, we can each do our part to assure that the limited populations near the popular launches are available for all. If we keep in mind the fragility of the resource, it would be easy.

Some simple steps could be:
- Rotating launch sites, including not rushing to places where others have had recent success. I am guilty of this and have seen the impact on the bite of too many fisherman in too short a time
- Practicing compassionate catch and release - Pickerel don't taste very good anyway..
- Taking pictures (I take lots), but getting the fish back in the water as soon as possible. A picture will suffice to document a citation catch
- Being gentle removing hooks that might be taken deep. Jaw spreaders make a big difference here.
- Minimize the use of treble hooks
- When sharing info here on SL, don't be overly specific in your catch location descriptions. I completely get the desire to crow a little when you have a good day. I certainly do it!! One down side to this, however, is that many non-kayakers troll our site looking for intel. There are already enough of us hitting these fish hard. We needn't add to the crowd.
- If someone asks for details and you want to share the info, do so through a PM. That way, you can share your success without everyone knowing every aspect of your game. For me, half the fun of fishing is in figuring out the fish and fooling them into biting.
- On the flip side, if you want to learn details of another's successful day, ask via a PM. Folks are generally willing to share data with those keenly interested, but are leery of doing so in the open forum..

I am not advocating anyone stop fishing for Pickerel. I would be a hypocrite if I were to infer that. The last thing I want to be is preachy. I am just hoping that a little awareness can minimize our impact on these fish so that we can all enjoy them throughout the "winter."

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Tight lines everyone and Happy New Year!

[harlanbud]

IMG_2667.jpgHi Bruce, we gave them a break today and hit the ponds what a blast–Love those Rattle traps!!

[harlanbud]

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[EMSer]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17956[/ATTACH]Hi Bruce, we gave them a break today and hit the ponds what a blast–Love those Rattle traps!!

Now that's what I'm talking about!! Money can't buy that smile!

Congrats Harlan.

[Yak Fish]

Good stuff Bruce. I agree with you. In fact, I was wondering how those who fish regularly for pickerel feel this year. For whatever reason, it's like the word suddenly got out that certain rivers hold these fish.
I like rotating launches. In the fall, I launched 8 different places to fish multiple areas and to learn the waters even better. If you just fish the same locations, you stagnate. Work the same pattern elsewhere and you'll realize you can do it there too. Also, each one of these places may have specific attributes that may make them better or worse under different conditions and allow you to fish even if the water is too low/high, windy, dirty, etc.

The other thing I struggle with is the public nature of posting online. It leads to a lot of pressure. The struggle I have is that as a kayaking community we've always been more open than the boating community which are notoriously closed off and snarky about it. I've been told by several non kayakers that they come here to read the posts because they give more detail. I don't know what the right answer is to maintain our identity, but I always try to give enough info in my reports such that you can work those patterns wherever you fish. Fish are in the whole bay, not just one spot. We fish differently than boaters as they fish "spots" whereas we fish "regions." We're more likely to troll than to chase birds or to look for one spot to cast. Our tool makes us inherently different. Also, I think we're more open because the sport is generally in it's infancy where a lot of people new to kayak fishing are very open and eager to learn. Whereas boaters have been around forever trying to protect all they know over the years.

No one owns the bay, but I try to be respectful of those that fish certain areas a lot and have shown me things. If someone shows me a good pickerel or striper spot, I keep that in confidence. I don't want to ruin anything for them. Not everyone feels the same. But in general, I know the effort it takes to find new productive locations and I wouldn't want those ruined for me either by over pressure.

What do others think?

[tech11165]

Yea... I was pretty specific in my pickerel post on location; my bad. I like this forum and I will be more careful. I remember the Old Tidal Fish forum and it got real bad with that kind of stuff. Sending a PM is the way to go. I have met a few guys here and we share info outside of this forum.

[Mark]

Excellent post, Bruce.

Thank you.

[On the fly]

Good post Bruce.

[CB kayak 02]

I've been fishing pickerel almost exclusively during the winter months for the last 3-4 years. The pickerel population is not hurting one bit, but as John Veil has documented we certainly do see some years that are better than others.

I know that the rivers on the western shore at least as far south as the west river hold pickerel (never fished further south for them) and I know the eastern shore rivers hold them as well. The difficulty with fishing different locations and spreading around launch points is that there really aren't that many public options for launching in Anne Arundel County. I started out fishing from Jonas Green, Tucker St, Truxton Park just to name a few (pretty much the only reasonable launches on the severn)... and now I pretty much avoid those areas due to the high volume of lures in the water, which is fine by me... I enjoy everyone else catching the pickerel buzz as they are very exciting fish. Also, I understand and have been apart of this growing epidemic of kayak fishing in our region since 2009 when I was the 20th member of this forum. It has really taken off and its great for all our local fishing businesses and the chesapeake bay to have this many people that care about fishing.

Obviously, less pressured areas will provide better results more often than not, but when the accessible areas are limited to the average kayaker (most kayakers will not travel 1 or more miles just to fish a different creek) there is not much you can really do. To me it's more exciting to put the time in to try to fish somewhere others don't and find fish in a new spot that hasn't been found yet. Some trials may suck and not provide much in return, but others have been very rewarding. You really just have to be willing to put in the extra time and go the extra mile (literally). And honestly it doesn't matter to me if someone posts where they caught there fish, unless it's one of my spots, and either way I'll just take it as it's time to find a newer/better spot.

Essentially, the moral of my story is.... don't be afraid to branch out and try new areas, it will make you a better fishermen regardless if you catch fish or not.

[eyedaddy]

Great to see youngsters out there fishing!

eyedaddy

[BassMoore]

trebble hooks are honestly a waste of time fishing for pickerel.

Swim baits and spinner baits are all that you need to catch them . 1 single hook. a moving bait thats larger allows the hook to be near the front of the mouth.

saves the fish.