Cold morning for meet and greet

[Mark]

I'm certainly far from a pickerel expert as my results today showed. Actually I'm not good enough at catching them to be considered an "average" pickerel fisherman. I'm still well embedded in the novice category.

But I did throw a crank bait, a Rapala Count Down minnow imitation in black over gold, for most of my casts and I was skunked today.

One thing I've noticed about Severn pickerel is that their bite is very localized. A cove or creek area may be alive with action and another area even a short distance away in the same cove or creek that is similar in terms of structure or compass direction may yield no fish.

I'm not discounting lure type or presentation because I'm sure they matter. But pickerel appear to be the most fickle of the fish we target in the Severn. In other words no self respecting striper or white perch can ignore a lure the way a pickerel can! Stripers and white perch will often make an extraordinary effort to bite a lure before you pull it from the water. But Pickerel will follow your offering to your kayak and then abruptly turn away. They're maddening.

I think that makes Dave's outing today all the more impressive.

[Turtle135]

I have not fished for Pickerel that much. I run into them once in a blue moon while bass fishing. I have fished for Musky who appear to behave similarly. This is the second time I have specifically targeted Pickerel.

I have spent a lot of time trying to get largemouth and smallmouth bass to take suspending jerkbaits in cold water. If you can see in the picture I have added some green floral wire to the hooks on this LC Pointer 100.



What I am going for is "neutral buoyancy". These lures are supposed to suspend right out of the package but frequently what I find is that I have slow floaters. The wire adds just enough weight to turn them into suspenders (or extremely slow sinkers). So when stop your retrieve the lure will just hang there in the water column. I will fill up my kitchen sink and add ice cubes to get to the predicted water temperature and test out the jerkbaits in my box.

I think that may have helped with yesterday's finicky bite. Making the followers actually commit to attacking the lure. I did get most of my hits when the lure was motionless. Cast, sweep the lure down to depth, then a few pops and jerks, then dead stick it.

[bunnielab]

Echoing the thanks to John for organizing this. I was using minnows on an 1/8" jighead and had a few fish follow it to the boat. One even stuck around long enough for me to switch to a smaller, more lively minnow and drop it right in front of him. He swam by it a few times and then wandered off. After an hour or so I moved to the small cove by the rt50 bridge and managed to hook a pretty decent one.

IMG_3185.jpg

I really need to invest in a hawg trough and find a better camera solution as trying take pictures on a phone through a drybag with numb fingers clearly isn't working out super well.

I also saw an enormous fox walking long the bank at the bottom of the cliffs between the bridges. It was large enough that at first I was worried that someone's dog had slid down the cliffs and was stuck. Sadly he wandered off before I could get my phone out.

[Cowpokey]

Echoing the thanks to John for organizing this. I was using minnows on an 1/8" jighead and had a few fish follow it to the boat. One even stuck around long enough for me to switch to a smaller, more lively minnow and drop it right in front of him. He swam by it a few times and then wandered off. After an hour or so I moved to the small cove by the rt50 bridge and managed to hook a pretty decent one.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14410[/ATTACH]

I really need to invest in a hawg trough and find a better camera solution as trying take pictures on a phone through a drybag with numb fingers clearly isn't working out super well.

I also saw an enormous fox walking long the bank at the bottom of the cliffs between the bridges. It was large enough that at first I was worried that someone's dog had slid down the cliffs and was stuck. Sadly he wandered off before I could get my phone out.

That's a nice one!

When you get a Hawg Trough, don't forget to add floatation and reinforcement right away.

What kind of phone do you have? I have a Lifeproof Nuud case on my iPhone, it makes it waterproof and keeps the screen and button function as if it didn't have a case.

[Turtle135]

I also saw an enormous fox walking long the bank at the bottom of the cliffs between the bridges. It was large enough that at first I was worried that someone's dog had slid down the cliffs and was stuck. Sadly he wandered off before I could get my phone out.

I saw that red fox! That one was huge! When I saw it it was playing with another equally large red fox. At first I thought they were trying to kill each other but they were just messing around play stalking and play fighting. They finally trotted off together.

That is a nice Pickerel!

[J.A. Veil]

I saw that red fox! That one was huge! When I saw it it was playing with another equally large red fox. At first I thought they were trying to kill each other but they were just messing around play stalking and play fighting. They finally trotted off together.

That is a nice Pickerel!

For me the wildlife is one of the added side benefits of kayak fishing. We don't look particularly threatening to most wildlife and can get fairly close before they take off. Also kayaks are quiet and while sitting, we don't have visual profiles of typical predators. I often see foxes and deer in some Severn tributaries, plus a wide range of bird life.

[Mark]

Here's a Blue Heron that I photographed Saturday at the M&G.

H.jpg

Aside from enjoying the fact that the bird allowed me to get fairly close I like this photo because it shows how low the water was when we started. You can see structure at the heron's feet that pickerel may inhabit during periods of high water.

[Turtle135]

that is a great photo Mark!

[bunnielab]

That's a nice one!

When you get a Hawg Trough, don't forget to add floatation and reinforcement right away.

What kind of phone do you have? I have a Lifeproof Nuud case on my iPhone, it makes it waterproof and keeps the screen and button function as if it didn't have a case.

I have an iPhone but I am pretty leery about using it much on the water. I do freelance work and even being with out my phone for an afternoon could cost me work. I think I have (somewere) one of those water resistant Sony phones that I was given. If I can find it it would make a good fishing camera.

What is holding me back from getting a HT is space. My current yak has a pretty small cockpit and my pool tests showed me that it is very easy to tip when trying to turn and reach. I am still noodling over where I could mount one without being in the way but still accessible without turning.

[DanMarino]

I usually keep my hog trough in front of me, between my feet. I have a long leash attached to it so I don't kick it over board. If I am in my Jackson Coosa, I slide it under my seat and still have it leashed.

[Cowpokey]

I have an iPhone but I am pretty leery about using it much on the water. I do freelance work and even being with out my phone for an afternoon could cost me work. I think I have (somewere) one of those water resistant Sony phones that I was given. If I can find it it would make a good fishing camera.

What is holding me back from getting a HT is space. My current yak has a pretty small cockpit and my pool tests showed me that it is very easy to tip when trying to turn and reach. I am still noodling over where I could mount one without being in the way but still accessible without turning.

I have tested the case, it was in my PFD pocket when I fell off my kayak at Thomas Point Lighthouse. I was mostly concerned with dropping it over the side, so I've also gotten the Orange foam life jacket, which comes with a neck lanyard too.

I understand your concern. I wish I had a good waterproof camera for the kayak, but that would impede my on the water live reports.