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Mark and I fished this morning. We launched from the beach at Jonas Green into more wind than we expected. We headed to our first destination and began fishing for pickerel. Mark threw several types of lures while I used live minnows. After a slow start, I hooked my first fish of the day at 21.25" I had another at 20" and a few smaller ones in the first spot we fished.
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After a while, we pedaled to another tributary. Mark worked shorelines in one direction, while I went in another direction. I lucked out and found a shallow area at the head end of one arm of the tributary. Once I found the fish, they were all over the place. Nearly all were 8" to 12" "hammer handle" pickerel. I caught 14 of them in short order and had at least 25 other casts where they either followed the minnow to the kayak or grabbed the minnow in their jaws without chomping down. After I wound them in for a few seconds, they opened their jaws and let the minnows (still unharmed) go. Although those pickerel were small, they were fun to catch on my ultralight rod.
My last fish of the day was caught just 50 yds from where the little guys were -- it was a personal best of 24". It is difficult to get a 24" fish in the frame when it is squirming on the measuring board. My arms were just barely long enough to get the whole fish in the view. Before taking the photo, I pinched the tail and measured about 24.25. But without a photo to prove that, I claim only 24".
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One of the larger pickerel took the hook in the rear of its mouth cavity. It was not gut hooked, but if I tried to shove my pliers in the fish's mouth and yank on the jighead, I probably would have killed the fish. Fortunately I had my jaw spreader tool with me. This simple device props open the pickerel's jaw so I can carefully remove the hook while doing a minimum of damage. I encourage anyone who fishes for pickerel to carry a jaw spreader tool with them. Thanks to Mark, here are 3 photos of the tool at work plus two older ones showing the tool in open and closed positions.
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Over the past few winters, I have caught more than 500 pickerel from the Severn. I never was able to hit the 24" mark before. It was a delight to finally catch a citation sized pickerel. Plus catching 20 pickerel in a single trip is a personal best too.
001.jpg
After a while, we pedaled to another tributary. Mark worked shorelines in one direction, while I went in another direction. I lucked out and found a shallow area at the head end of one arm of the tributary. Once I found the fish, they were all over the place. Nearly all were 8" to 12" "hammer handle" pickerel. I caught 14 of them in short order and had at least 25 other casts where they either followed the minnow to the kayak or grabbed the minnow in their jaws without chomping down. After I wound them in for a few seconds, they opened their jaws and let the minnows (still unharmed) go. Although those pickerel were small, they were fun to catch on my ultralight rod.
My last fish of the day was caught just 50 yds from where the little guys were -- it was a personal best of 24". It is difficult to get a 24" fish in the frame when it is squirming on the measuring board. My arms were just barely long enough to get the whole fish in the view. Before taking the photo, I pinched the tail and measured about 24.25. But without a photo to prove that, I claim only 24".
003.jpg 004.jpg
One of the larger pickerel took the hook in the rear of its mouth cavity. It was not gut hooked, but if I tried to shove my pliers in the fish's mouth and yank on the jighead, I probably would have killed the fish. Fortunately I had my jaw spreader tool with me. This simple device props open the pickerel's jaw so I can carefully remove the hook while doing a minimum of damage. I encourage anyone who fishes for pickerel to carry a jaw spreader tool with them. Thanks to Mark, here are 3 photos of the tool at work plus two older ones showing the tool in open and closed positions.
B.jpg C.jpg A.jpg 010.jpg 011.jpg
Over the past few winters, I have caught more than 500 pickerel from the Severn. I never was able to hit the 24" mark before. It was a delight to finally catch a citation sized pickerel. Plus catching 20 pickerel in a single trip is a personal best too.
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