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Last winter there were loads of pickerel in the Severn tributaries. I thoroughly enjoyed fishing for them all through winter in the Severn. Many MKF members got a chance to enjoy catching their first exciting tidal pickerel. Last year was a particularly good year for pickerel -- not so on the previous 5 years. 2006 had been a good pickerel year, but during the winters of 2007-2011, pickerel were hard to find. My opinion is that they are near the edge of their environmental tolerance range here. When conditions are average or good, they can survive and reproduce. But even single incidents, like a low dissolved event in the summer caused by an overflowing stormwater runoff that enters a tributary, has the ability to wipe out an entire creek's population of pickerel.
Pickerel may be edible, but they are very bony fish that take a great deal of preparation before getting a meal. I was somewhat surprised to see another kayak angler return to the Weems Creek launch when I did yesterday. He had at least two pickerel that he planned to keep. One was a nice fish of about 20", but the other was considerably smaller and had little meat on its body. As far as I know, that angler did nothing illegal by keeping two fish in October. I am not accusing him of poaching. However, when pickerel are existing under some potential stress, every fish removed from the population has an impact.
Here are some suggestions for other anglers. I hope you share my respect for pickerel and my enthusiasm towards catching them and releasing them quickly and carefully back into the water.
1. I hope you don't keep any pickerel for the table. If you do take any, try to limit the number you take from any particular creek or cove.
2. Last winter there were at least two local pickerel tournaments. The SRRKC had a 3-month-long tournament, and the CCA had a shorter tournament. In both cases, the fish were supposed to be photographed on a measuring board then returned to the water. I saw at least several other anglers who were participating in the tournaments spend 2-3 minutes unhooking their pickerel, positioning them on the measuring board, digging their cameras out of their pockets or bags, repositioning the fish, then finally snapping the photos. Spending that much time out of the water cannot be good for a tired fish. If you do plan to enter one of these tournaments, try to have your camera nearby and ready to shoot and have your measuring board handy. Ideally the fish can be returned to the water in less than one minute.
3. A small percentage of the pickerel I caught last winter were deep hooked. Given a pickerel's large and toothy mouth, most of us don't want to reach our fingers in to unhook a lure or jighead. You can tug hard and possibly break off the lure in the fish's mouth -- that is likely to cause a slow death. There is a simple, inexpensive tool called a jaw spreader that can be used to prop open a pickerel's mouth so that lures can be retrieved with minimal damage to the fish. I encourage all anglers who target pickerel during the winter to carry a spreader with them. I used my spreader several times last winter to remove a deep-hooked jighead with minimal damage to the fish.
4. I have not encountered any other species that grunts or squeals as I grab their body and try to unhook them. Many of the pickerel I caught last year did exactly that. Hearing that sound makes me want to get them unhooked and released as gently and quickly as possible.
I wish all of you who target pickerel this winter good success and lots of fun. I hope you will follow my suggestions to promote good conservation of the species.
Pickerel may be edible, but they are very bony fish that take a great deal of preparation before getting a meal. I was somewhat surprised to see another kayak angler return to the Weems Creek launch when I did yesterday. He had at least two pickerel that he planned to keep. One was a nice fish of about 20", but the other was considerably smaller and had little meat on its body. As far as I know, that angler did nothing illegal by keeping two fish in October. I am not accusing him of poaching. However, when pickerel are existing under some potential stress, every fish removed from the population has an impact.
Here are some suggestions for other anglers. I hope you share my respect for pickerel and my enthusiasm towards catching them and releasing them quickly and carefully back into the water.
1. I hope you don't keep any pickerel for the table. If you do take any, try to limit the number you take from any particular creek or cove.
2. Last winter there were at least two local pickerel tournaments. The SRRKC had a 3-month-long tournament, and the CCA had a shorter tournament. In both cases, the fish were supposed to be photographed on a measuring board then returned to the water. I saw at least several other anglers who were participating in the tournaments spend 2-3 minutes unhooking their pickerel, positioning them on the measuring board, digging their cameras out of their pockets or bags, repositioning the fish, then finally snapping the photos. Spending that much time out of the water cannot be good for a tired fish. If you do plan to enter one of these tournaments, try to have your camera nearby and ready to shoot and have your measuring board handy. Ideally the fish can be returned to the water in less than one minute.
3. A small percentage of the pickerel I caught last winter were deep hooked. Given a pickerel's large and toothy mouth, most of us don't want to reach our fingers in to unhook a lure or jighead. You can tug hard and possibly break off the lure in the fish's mouth -- that is likely to cause a slow death. There is a simple, inexpensive tool called a jaw spreader that can be used to prop open a pickerel's mouth so that lures can be retrieved with minimal damage to the fish. I encourage all anglers who target pickerel during the winter to carry a spreader with them. I used my spreader several times last winter to remove a deep-hooked jighead with minimal damage to the fish.
4. I have not encountered any other species that grunts or squeals as I grab their body and try to unhook them. Many of the pickerel I caught last year did exactly that. Hearing that sound makes me want to get them unhooked and released as gently and quickly as possible.
I wish all of you who target pickerel this winter good success and lots of fun. I hope you will follow my suggestions to promote good conservation of the species.
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