good pickerel bite - Dec 4

[J.A. Veil]

Today I could not pass up the delightful weather. I fished for about 2 hours and caught 15 pickerel -- I had two at 19", then later in the trip I managed a 21" fish.



One of the 19" pickerel had an old gash in its side. I don't know if a raccoon or an osprey may have swiped it when it was young.



Early on I had several bites but the fish did not hook up solidly. After the second time this happened, I looked at the poor minnow. The pickerel must have grabbed it by the tail and held on. On the second time, the pickerel bit the tail off the minnow.



I also spent some time drifting over a debris pile and jigging. The sonar showed schools of fish, but I could not get a bite. I tried various rigs -- BKDs, 2-oz crippled herring metal lure with a Gulp teaser a foot up the line. That makes 4 trips in a row that I jigged there without getting bites.

[Shady]

Well, I was on the fence about trying for Picks again in the Severn or trying for Striper somewhere else this weekend, but I know where Im going now. Thanks for the report!

[Reelaxin10]

Nice report John, looks like that needs to be my bait of choice from now on! I also got out there for a few hours this afternoon and for convenience I walked down the hill and launched at Truxton on Spa Creek. I was throwing a gulp swimming mullet on a light jighead. This was the first time I tried for pickerel there and managed 3 in two hours with the biggest being 17''. There isn't as much good pickerel habitat shoreline in Spa as there is in other Severn tributaries. I'm going to give other places a try soon.

[Hemingway]

Nice report John, it was a good day for pickerel down on the Pocomoke as well. I got an 18 and my first citation with a 25. Quite an awesome day for Dec.
Gary

[J.A. Veil]

Nice report John, looks like that needs to be my bait of choice from now on! I also got out there for a few hours this afternoon and for convenience I walked down the hill and launched at Truxton on Spa Creek. I was throwing a gulp swimming mullet on a light jighead. This was the first time I tried for pickerel there and managed 3 in two hours with the biggest being 17''. There isn't as much good pickerel habitat shoreline in Spa as there is in other Severn tributaries. I'm going to give other places a try soon.

Shane -

I was doing well on Gulp baits up until Thanksgiving. Just like last year, the artificials dropped off in catching success in late Nov. As soon as I switched to live minnows, the bite rate picked up again. But that doesn't mean lots of caught fish every trip -- it just improves the odds a bit. Since switching to minnows, I caught 14 pickerel one trip and 15 on another trip when fishing in waters that I know hold pickerel. On a third trip, in which I was exploring less familiar areas, I caught only 4 pickerel.

Regarding minnows, I buy mine at Anglers -- they seem to be the only Annapolis area shop that consistently has minnows throughout the winter. I typically buy a pint at a time for $8 (similar to a bag of Gulp). I keep them in a minnow bucket set inside a 5-gal bucket in my garage (no food, no aeration). During the winter months when the air temp is cool, they last for 2-3 weeks. Each time I go out, I dunk the minnow bucket in the river several times to give them fresh water. I have fished three trips so far on the first batch, and should have enough minnows left for 2 or 3 more trips.

I have much better success using smaller minnows (2" to 3" - diameter slightly larger than a pencil). In each batch of minnows, I get some large ones (4" to 6" - as big around as my thumb). I get far fewer hits on minnows of this size.

[wfauby]

Have you ever tried Perch patterned jerk baits for pickeral? That is a pattern that is devistating on pickeral at Deep Creek Lake in western MD. It may be difficult to get the proper jerk bait action sitting in a kayak...but standing in a boat, rod tip down and jerking that bait hard works great up there. Do they make Perch pattern gulp? I love pickeral fishing and would love the opportunity to explore the rivers on the eastern shore.

[Hemingway]

John,
Nice intel on the minnows, good way to may them last. I caught both of the pickerel yesterday and a small bass, on a BA (dark green with specks, and chartreuse tail) on a 1/4 oz chartreuse jig head. I hope to join you this spring or sooner for a Severn trip

wfauby,
Anytime you and anyone else want to make the trip to the ES just let me know and I will be glad to meet you and wet a few lines.

[J.A. Veil]

Have you ever tried Perch patterned jerk baits for pickeral? That is a pattern that is devistating on pickeral at Deep Creek Lake in western MD. It may be difficult to get the proper jerk bait action sitting in a kayak...but standing in a boat, rod tip down and jerking that bait hard works great up there. Do they make Perch pattern gulp? I love pickeral fishing and would love the opportunity to explore the rivers on the eastern shore.

I have had little success over the years throwing or trolling hard plastic lures, so I rarely try them any more. I think it is user error rather than any fault of the lures.

Last winter, Ictalurus (Bill - who has been remarkably quiet on this site for the past few months after starting a new job and having his first child -- both in the same month) fished with me twice in Severn tributaries. Bill had great success throwing a very small Rapala lure. I think it was in fire tiger pattern. So to answer your question, I think they do work in the hands of an angler who knows how to use them.

I have not seen Gulp baits in patterns yet. A few styles offer two-tone or shaded colors, but I am not aware of any detailed patterns.

[Reelaxin10]

Thanks for the info John. I guess it's time to invest in a minnow bucket. Think I could catch my own with a minnow trap off my community pier in spa creek this time of year?

[ronaultmtd]

Yeah, John, I am noticing that Bill has taken his family responsibilities very seriously (as he should) and those of us who enjoy his laid-back, friendly company miss him out on the water- There is a core group of Southern Maryland kayakers that usually fish together (a bunch) and Bill has been the ring leader for a long time-

[J.A. Veil]

Think I could catch my own with a minnow trap off my community pier in spa creek this time of year?

I think you could catch some. Are you comfortable leaving a trap out overnight at that location?

[Reelaxin10]

I think you could catch some. Are you comfortable leaving a trap out overnight at that location?

Yea I would be comfortable because not everyone has access to the locked gate and pier on the right. I'll give it a try and let you know how it works.