Second option turned out great

[J.A. Veil]

I just got home from Weems Creek -- I had my best pickerel day ever there -- 9 chainsiders in less than 2 hours. That is amazing, considering that I could not catch a single pickerel in Weems in any of the past three winters. Seven of today's fish were younguns, suggesting that the population is reestablishing itself.

However, Weems was not my first option today. I enjoy poking around the headwaters of the South River in the spring and wanted to see if I could find any yellow neds there. When I go there, I launch at the Rt 450 bridge. The water is always shallow and often is not navigable -- I am able to launch and paddle only about half the times I check there. Today was definitely too shallow.

After eyeballing the South River water depth and taking a few casts downstream from a nearby culvert, I drove to Weems Creek and went exploring. I found pickerel in many of my Weems Creek summer white perch spots. I guess the habitat suits both species.

[HJS]

Good to hear, especially about the young'uns. Still using minnows?

[J.A. Veil]

Good to hear, especially about the young'uns. Still using minnows?

Yes. I took a few casts today with a small spinnerbait that caught some pickerel in Nov, but had no hits. I will stick with the minnows until pickerel season closes on March 15.

[CB kayak 02]

Nice john!Hopefully we can get out later in the week, Friday will probably work best for me.

[Aesiegel]

John,
Good to hear that Weems is still producing.

Friday may be possibility for me as well. Please keep me in the loop.

Ed

[Shady]

I am so envious of all you guys and your during the week fishings! Good work John aka Mr. Pickerel! Hopefully I get a chance to fish for the chainsiders again soon before March 15...

[new2yaks11]

That's awesome that you can catch pickerel so close to home. I have to try and get out of Jonas Green some day and fish the Severn. Great catching.

[ictalurus]

Nice going, John. I was hoping someone was enjoying the weather and catching fish. I almost blew of work to hit the Severn. I wish I lived or worked a bit closer to Annapolis.

[Memory Maker]

Let me guess ....... you used your wife's cookies ........

Congrats !!!! ......

[J.A. Veil]

Let me guess ....... you used your wife's cookies ........

Congrats !!!! ......

That was fuel in my belly -- not for the fish.

[kevinfry]

john, I still don't know what you look for when seeking out pickerel. even in this cold weather are you fishing shallow? Looking for structure? Sunny areas or shady?

[new2yaks11]

I've found pickerel in both the shallows or somewhat deeper water. I know they will usually hit minnows but honestly I've probably caught as many on artificials as I have using minnows.

[J.A. Veil]

john, I still don't know what you look for when seeking out pickerel. even in this cold weather are you fishing shallow? Looking for structure? Sunny areas or shady?

I start by fishing shorelines. I place the kayak about 1 cast-length from shore and cast to the shore or laterally along the shore. It really depends on the day and even the water temp, amount of sunlight, and time of day. Often the fish are in 1-3 feet of water, but they sometimes can be on a drop off or slope. I have caught a few in the deeper sections of the creeks/coves where I fish (deep is relative -- typically 6-8 ft in the place where have been fishing). You also need to adjust your retrieve based on the depth of the water. Sometimes I cast into 1 ft depth and need to wind faster and hold my rod tip high in the air to keep from dragging bottom and getting slime on the hook.

It helps to go with someone else who has done some fishing in an area to help narrow down the potential decent fishing spots. If you don't have that opportunity, just get out and try lots of places. If you don't catch fish after fan-casting to an area for a few minutes, then move on to somewhere else.

You asked about structure. I have not had much success fishing docks, but some other anglers may have done better. Ideally, I look for sloping shorelines with fallen trees underwater. Another decent place is stone rip rap slopes. Unless you luck out and find a hot bed of pickerel activity right away, you need to put in some time. Over the last month, I typically catch from 3-5 fish per hour, and that is when I fish areas that I expect to hold fish. It is not like white perch fishing where you can get bit nearly every cast in some areas.

I hope that helps to increase your confidence.