Sunday Pickerel Hunt

[J. Rentch]

My friend Mark Bange and I went to Unicorn Pond yesterday for some Pickerel. Weather was perfect: Low SW winds; sunny skies; water temp 40 degrees. We launched around 11 for an afternoon trip. I started throwing a blue/white Bendback fly that I recently tied:
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Took a while to find the fish, but just about everyone we caught was in 1-2 FOW. Most were under 15", but had one over 17". I ended up with 5, Mark did better.
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We stopped around 3:30 as my wrist was getting tired from throwing the fly. When I got home, I realized I forgot to put on some sunscreen as my face (cheeks) were quite red and warm. Even in sunny February day in Maryland you can get burned. Had a great time !

[Mark]

John Rentch and I have enjoyed a number of winter pond pickerel outings this season, including yesterday's outing. While we do bring spinning tackle, most of our pickerel catches come on the fly. I thought I would share some hints with those of you who would like to feel a pickerel on the end of your fly line at this time of year.

1. Enjoy your breakfast at home or favorite diner, maybe even lunch too. Winter pickerel in ponds are not early morning, break-of-day feeders. If you go out before noon, you’ll have a nice boat ride but your chances of significant pickerel action are low.

2. Sunny days are best. This is not like bass fishing where you want cloud cover or need to target shaded banks. Pickerel like sun on their back in winter. This belies their image as a predator lurking under dark cover waiting to ambush their prey. They still will rush to make a strike, but they’ll do it in open water in winter. Fish out here, not near banks:

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3. Low wind is best. Pickerel generally do not like the surface of the water rippled by wind. You can still catch them in such conditions but that’s when you’ll want to use an intermediate line that slowly sinks. Getting down just a few inches more in such conditions is often the difference between success and failure.

4. On still days, look for wakes and splashes in shallow water. It’s not quite sight casting because you may never actually see the fish. Pickerel are ideally camouflaged. But you’ll see where they are feeding. Cast in that direction.

5. Look for emerging vegetation in shallow water:

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This is where your kayak gives you an advantage over shore anglers. You can float right over the top of these pad fields now and they can be 50 yards or more from shore. The water may be hardly as deep as your paddle. I believe that's why pickerel like these areas – structure with water shallow enough to warm in the sun. In two months, the area will look like this:

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In fact, if you know where these places are on the pond you are fishing in winter, head to them. They hold fish even now.

You cannot cast into the middle that vegetation with a fly rod when it’s high. But you can now. A light streamer on floating line is best. A light streamer with an upturned hook is ideal. John and both have connected with pickerel in these areas often using a bendback minnow. It’s essentially a Clouser minnow without the weight. I find a Clouser too heavy in such conditions. I prefer bendbacks that slide among the stems and leaves without getting hung-up.

Here it is in the water:

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And here it is with a pickerel attached -- one of 10 I caught yesterday:

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Bendbacks ride with the hook up and are light enough to suspend in the water column. Pickerel love that. I fish it with a strip, strip, pause motion. I keep the rod tip down, even in the water at times as I strip line. Typically, the strike comes on the pause. When that happens, strip strike to drive the hook home, then lift the rod tip. One more hint about the bendback – offset the hook point slightly. It increases hookups. I should do it automatically after I take a finished bendback from the vise. But I don’t. I offset it on the water. Often a missed strike is my reminder to offset the hook.

6. Be patient. Pickerel mass feeding in a pond is an unpredictable event, other than they evidently prefer to sleep in so don’t go early. On most of our outings we find that something triggers their feeding. We don’t know what it is, but when the dinner bell rings, unheard to us, they start feeding. That’s when multiple hookups are common. That frenzy may last for 90 minutes or more when bites are prevalent. Prior to that you might think there are no fish in the pond. So, wait the devils out if your schedule allows. Eventually they’ll start biting, again usually after noon and you’ll be glad you were there when they do.

7. Finally, enjoy the by-catches:
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Bass and crappie are active in winter too. They hit the same flies that pickerel chase. You won't catch them as often as pickerel but it's a nice surprise when you do.

Hope this info helps if you are seeking to chase winter pickerel on the fly.

[J.A. Veil]

Nice work John and Mark. Unicorn is a pickerel haven.

[Tim Elliott]

Excellent report gentlemen. My first ever pickerel was caught out of Unicorn Lake about 3 years ago. A good fishing buddy of mine who had passed away took me to Unicorn and also taught me how to fly fish while we were there. We spotted a small pickerel in the stream below the dam and he instructed me as to where to cast, but the fish did not bite.

[DanMarino]

Fantastic report John and Mark. Great photos and explanation of the fishing methods. I need to tie some bendback flies. Those are some pretty fish.

[Mark]

...I need to tie some bendback flies...

Tom,

Here's a few out of the vise:

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They don't last long on a pickerel outing if the bite is good:

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