Tidal pickerel 12/4

[dsaavedra]

For the longest time I've been looking forward to targeting pickerel again after having fun with it for the first time last winter. But the weather was slow to turn and warm water temps kept me fishing for rockfish in shallow water. Finally it got cold and I went on 3 pickerel trips in the month of November and got skunked all 3 times

This past Saturday I fished in two tidal creeks and more than made up for the skunk trips. I've never had so much action while fishing for pickerel. I landed 25 pickerel, fought and lost at least half a dozen more, and had countless short strikes and follows. I also landed a fat yellow perch which was a first for me in this body of water. Most pickerel were not large, the average was around 15-17" with four or five of them hitting the 19-20" mark. I also landed what I believe is smallest pickerel I've ever caught.

It seemed like on average 1 out of every 3 or 4 casts had some type of action, whether it was a follow, strike, or hook up. The water was nice and clear so I had a great view of all the action which made it exciting. I couldn't figure out why I was getting so many follows and short strikes though... I tried switching up colors but it made no difference. I tried varying my retrieve in many different ways and it made no difference. I think a lot of them were just very small fish. Another thing that happened frequently that was frustrating was I'd get a solid strike, wait a second or two, set the hook, my rod loads up, and then the lure comes out of the fishes mouth. I guess they were just holding on to it and never actually got hooked. Oh well, I'm not complaining... if I'm catching fish in December at all I'm happy, and the constant action kept me entertained all day.

[ski357]

I'm considering going after pickerel this winter. I've never targetted them. Looks like a lot of fun and will help pass the winter fish-less doldrums!

[dsaavedra]

Pickerel are a good way to scratch the itch when not much else is going on. I used to completely stop fishing when the weather got cold so now if I'm catching anything at all during the winter I'm happy. I know you're in SOMD, St. Mary's lake is a good place to target pickerel (and crappie) during the cold months.

[J.A. Veil]

Dave -

Congratulations on catching a bunch of pickerel on your latest trip. Catching 25 pickerel in our local tidal creeks is a very good day. On some days, pickerel do grab hold of the lure/minnow without actually biting hard. Some times waiting 3 to 5 seconds after you feel the fish before setting the hook will allow it to move the bait into its mouth, and you stand a better chance of actually hooking up. My experience this fall in fishing in Severn creeks and ponds is that I almost always catch some, but rarely a lot. There are many anglers trying for pickerel now, and the fish are getting wary or worn out.

[dsaavedra]

On some days, pickerel do grab hold of the lure/minnow without actually biting hard. Some times waiting 3 to 5 seconds after you feel the fish before setting the hook will allow it to move the bait into its mouth, and you stand a better chance of actually hooking up.

John, I actually tried this on a lot of the strikes and sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I remember one in particular I could see the fish strike and I deliberately waited before setting the hook and watched as the fish spit the lure right out almost immediately... he must have felt some hardware on the initial strike that he wasn't too keen on.

[Mark]

Dave,

Congratulations on an excellent pickerel outing.

I wish I knew what makes them aggressive some days, or feisty within only a given period of time on an otherwise slow day. They can turn on like a light a light bulb and then turn off just as fast. I've noticed this behavior in both tidal water and freshwater ponds. You chose a good day to chase them when evidently their bite meter was set on high for a long time.

Saturday was beautiful weather. I had an obligation otherwise I would have been out after them myself. I think the aggression you noted continued into the next day. My son fished for them in the Magothy on Sunday and he said they were very active. I had obligations that day too or I would have joined him.

I can relate to your comment about misses. Numerous misses indicate a good pickerel fishing day in my opinion. They are not easy to hook. I think that's due to their bony mouth and the fact that they may carry a bait before chomping down on it. On some outings, I miss half as many (or more) as I actually get to the net. Downsizing flies or lures has never helped me. I am a stickler about keeping my hooks sharp. But I've had them toss a hook immediately after I sharpened it. Offsetting the hook point slightly on soft plastics and flies may help somewhat. I have noticed that. But overall, I think misses are part of the game when pickerel fishing.

One thing for sure is that a day like you had will bring you back for more.

Continued success on your future outings.

[dsaavedra]

One thing for sure is that a day like you had will bring you back for more.

Absolutely. I'm already looking at my calendar trying to figure out how I can squeeze in a trip this upcoming weekend.

[UnkleRob2020]

Thanks for the report Dave. I was approximately two miles (if I am calculating correctly) away from you on Saturday and I had a very different experience.

My day was hurmbling...my radio was locked on channel 16 when you called and I didn't know how to change it. Pretty early in the trip, I stepped into the water to reach the shoreline to relieve myself and my right boot filled with water that I assume was around 48 degrees Farenheit. Also, while pushing off a tree after relieving myself, I cut my thumb and it bled for quite a while. Going forward, I will have better boots (probably waders), carry some first aid supplies with me and I intend to spend some time learning all of the functions of my VHF radio. I had used it a few times, but must have accidentally locked on channel 16 it at some point.

The bright side of my day was that I was fishing with another angler who is much more experienced and I watched the way he methodically approached an area of shoreline and would cast towards the shore and work outwards in almost a grid-like fashion to see at what depth the fish were holding. First cast would be right up against the shoreline. The next cast would be a couple feet further out and so on... I spend a lot of time adjusting the position of my kayak, playing with the radio, holding my thumb above my head to stop the bleeding. I bet you that my friend had 10 good casts for every one or two good casts of my own. If I want to catch pickerel, I need to be placing the lure where the fish are likely to be as frequently as possible.

Also, my buddy Arron was with us. It was nice to introduce him to a fellow angler from the forum. Of course, Arron caught a 22" pickerel on his first cast :--) After being skunked for bass all of November it was nice to see Arron so happy.

It was really nice to get out on the water. I will be better prepared on my next trip.

I am really happy that you had such a good day, Dave. it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Also, Dave was willing to have us join him but that would have been a very long paddle for me with a wet foot and bleeding thumb. Hopefully we can catch up next time.

[dsaavedra]

Oh man, sounds like you had one of those days where everything was just conspiring against you. Sorry to hear that but kudos for grinding it out and at least turning the trip into a learning experience. I probably would have just gone home as soon as my foot got wet

Congrats to Aaron, 22" is a very nice pickerel for tidal waters.

If I want to catch pickerel, I need to be placing the lure where the fish are likely to be as frequently as possible.

This is certainly true for all types of fishing, but one thing I've noticed with pickerel specifically (I think I mentioned this in your other thread) is that they will follow a lure out from cover and trail it all the way to the boat sometimes. So it's good practice to not "give up" on a cast once you think your lure is outside of your expected strike zone. In fact on Saturday the majority of my strikes came well away from cover. The water level was low so there wasn't much cover underwater to begin with, but I'd cast as tightly to shoreline/fallen trees as possible and work the lure back to the boat, allowing it to pause and sink when it was in deeper open water, and this is where many of the strikes came from.

[SpaceCadet]

Congrats - that's awesome! Like you, this is only my second winter targeting fish as I only got a dry suit last fall. It's a little harder going at times, but it's nice having the water to yourself - or at least with less competition.

I was out on the tidal Pax near Rt4 a few days ago and caught a few pickerel too. Not nearly so many as you but I did get a beautifully marked 23" fish among a few others. I was also amazed to pick up a half-decent smallie! I've never caught or even heard of one this far down the Pax at all, and certainly not in 3ft of 47-degree water! No complaints here though!

[dsaavedra]

Wow!! I would have never ever expected to catch a smallie near the Rt 4 bridge... that is crazy. Way to go! Your pickerel looks awesome too, great colors on it.

As an aside, I've fished that stretch of Pax around Rt 4 on several occasions over the last several years and it just seems absolutely devoid of life except a few catfish. I've heard it supports bass, yellow perch, even snakehead (did not know there were pickerel in the mix too) but I have not seen a trace of them. Still, Wayson's Corner is only about 10-15 minutes away from my house so I keep going back hoping to get something. I plan to make a trip or two there in the coming month to try for blue catfish in some of the deeper holes.

[SpaceCadet]

As an aside, I've fished that stretch of Pax around Rt 4 on several occasions over the last several years and it just seems absolutely devoid of life except a few catfish. I've heard it supports bass, yellow perch, even snakehead (did not know there were pickerel in the mix too) but I have not seen a trace of them. Still, Wayson's Corner is only about 10-15 minutes away from my house so I keep going back hoping to get something. I plan to make a trip or two there in the coming month to try for blue catfish in some of the deeper holes.

Give me a yell sometime and I'll meet up with you there. It has taken me a couple of years to get to grips with it, but I'm starting to find fish on the regular. The problem there is that it has a LOT of potential fish-holding structure, but only certain parts of them appear to hold fish - and not always the parts you expect. I'm slowly learning their patterns and I got decent numbers of largemouth this year, a nice late-October snakehead, and now am getting into the pickerel. That smallie was a big (happy) shock though.

[dsaavedra]

Give me a yell sometime and I'll meet up with you there. It has taken me a couple of years to get to grips with it, but I'm starting to find fish on the regular. The problem there is that it has a LOT of potential fish-holding structure, but only certain parts of them appear to hold fish - and not always the parts you expect. I'm slowly learning their patterns and I got decent numbers of largemouth this year, a nice late-October snakehead, and now am getting into the pickerel. That smallie was a big (happy) shock though.

Right on. Do you launch from Wayson's? I've launched there (it's the closest), but also launched down at Jackson's landing and also upriver at Wooten's landing.

[SpaceCadet]

Yep, I always launch at Wayson's. It's about 15 mins up the road from me.