Tweet
Hello all. I had a good chat with Mr. John Veil at the Pasadena fishing show and mentioned to him that he is the pickerel fishing master according to others on this forum. He gave me some great tips for pickerel and asked me if I were a member of this site (I was not at the time but I throughly enjoyed scrounging through the forum to gather fishing intel) which prompted me to join. So a little about me, I am 21 years old, and am located in the Pasadena/Rivera Beach area. I fish out of a $200 Pelican Boost Angler 100 that I had found on Craigslist and it is my workhorse that proves that you do not need fancy equipment to catch fish. My favorite fish to target are perch and pickerel. I look forward to getting to know many of the members on this site.
Rock Creek Fishing Report 2/22-2/24, a tale of 2:
I entered the CCA Pickerel Tournament and so far have only logged 1 fish measured at 25.5 inches. I have caught only a handful of pickerel this winter but almost every single one has been less than 20 inches (except the 25.5 incher). The weather was gorgeous for all three days with temperatures in the low 50's and a light but variable wind. I fished the incoming tide in the evening from 3:30pm or 4pm to about 6pm on each outing. On Saturday, it took some time before I hooked into my first pickerel of the day, on a 1/8 oz shad dart tipped with a minnow. The second pickerel came just a few yards away from my first catch and that was all the action for Saturday. On Sunday evening, I launched at 4:00 pm and paddled less than 5 minutes away to a nearby cove. My first cast was to a spot in between two boat lifts on separate piers that were very close to each other. I felt a slight weight to my line as I watched my rod tip dip and set the hook. It was a small pickerel that was maybe 14 inches or so. That was my last minnow so I switched to a 3 inch yellow perch pattern jerk bait and made a cast to the same exact spot. With one jerk and a pause, I felt a bite and reeled in an even smaller pickerel that was maybe around 12 inches. After throughly working the cove with no luck, it was time to head home. Those were again, my only 2 fish for the evening. Before departing for today's trip, I made a quick stop at Fishbone's Tackle Shop down Mountain Road to get some more minnows. Will Sarvinas gave me some good intel, mentioning that he's been catching pickerel in deeper water, 4 to 7 feet. I went to the same spot where I had caught the 25 inch fish, hoping that his bigger siblings would be around. Again on my first cast, next to a boat lift piling, I hooked into what felt like a 20+ inch fish that was giving a good fight. As I brought him boat side, he looked to be about 18-19 inches. I release him and made a second cast to the same area and hooked up again. This fish also gave me an even better fight, leading me to believe that I had found another 25 incher. I got him close to the boat and what do you know? Another fish that couldn't pass for 20 inches. 2 days in a row, my first 2 casts result in 2 fish, but not the size I'm looking for. I moved on, fishing various shorelines and boat lift pilings but nothing else to show for it. There was another boat fishing with 2 boys, not sure if they caught anything.
Rock Creek Fishing Report 2/22-2/24, a tale of 2:
I entered the CCA Pickerel Tournament and so far have only logged 1 fish measured at 25.5 inches. I have caught only a handful of pickerel this winter but almost every single one has been less than 20 inches (except the 25.5 incher). The weather was gorgeous for all three days with temperatures in the low 50's and a light but variable wind. I fished the incoming tide in the evening from 3:30pm or 4pm to about 6pm on each outing. On Saturday, it took some time before I hooked into my first pickerel of the day, on a 1/8 oz shad dart tipped with a minnow. The second pickerel came just a few yards away from my first catch and that was all the action for Saturday. On Sunday evening, I launched at 4:00 pm and paddled less than 5 minutes away to a nearby cove. My first cast was to a spot in between two boat lifts on separate piers that were very close to each other. I felt a slight weight to my line as I watched my rod tip dip and set the hook. It was a small pickerel that was maybe 14 inches or so. That was my last minnow so I switched to a 3 inch yellow perch pattern jerk bait and made a cast to the same exact spot. With one jerk and a pause, I felt a bite and reeled in an even smaller pickerel that was maybe around 12 inches. After throughly working the cove with no luck, it was time to head home. Those were again, my only 2 fish for the evening. Before departing for today's trip, I made a quick stop at Fishbone's Tackle Shop down Mountain Road to get some more minnows. Will Sarvinas gave me some good intel, mentioning that he's been catching pickerel in deeper water, 4 to 7 feet. I went to the same spot where I had caught the 25 inch fish, hoping that his bigger siblings would be around. Again on my first cast, next to a boat lift piling, I hooked into what felt like a 20+ inch fish that was giving a good fight. As I brought him boat side, he looked to be about 18-19 inches. I release him and made a second cast to the same area and hooked up again. This fish also gave me an even better fight, leading me to believe that I had found another 25 incher. I got him close to the boat and what do you know? Another fish that couldn't pass for 20 inches. 2 days in a row, my first 2 casts result in 2 fish, but not the size I'm looking for. I moved on, fishing various shorelines and boat lift pilings but nothing else to show for it. There was another boat fishing with 2 boys, not sure if they caught anything.
Comment