Central New York Fly Fishing: Chain Pickerel on the Fly
Chain Pickerel on the Fly.
Nailed the Clouser.
Bucketmouth getting greedy.
Another one falls victim to the Clouser Minnow.
This is one of my favorite shots - the colors of the pickerel are emphasized, but the background doesn't have any color to it. I like the perspective of it too - it was actually a no look shot!
As it turned out, I didn't even end up fishing yesterday! Obviously, today I am not jumping into anything serious like the SR or anything. I have to get ready to go back to shcool and have some things to do before I go back. I did, however, end up fishing on Friday....
Chain Pickerel it was! I mentioned that I was thinking about fishing for them, so after I tied a few clouser minnows I couldn't help myself. Pickerel behvae much like their bigger cousin, Northern Pike. Target weeds, drop offs, and any water that they can ambush their pray - that is something to keep in mind when looking for "pickerel water". I throw sizes 4 all the way up to 2/0 for Pickerel. The smaller sizes will do, but if you throw the bigger clousers you tend to land some bigger fish, and you might also land some bass. Pickerel aren't massive anyways....16-22'' is the average in the lake I fish for them in, but I have landed fish around 24'' and seen much bigger. In the Finger Lakes, landing a 30'' Pickerel isn't out of the question, so it really depends on where you fish for them.
They are very pretty fish, with distinct chain like markings on their sides. Pike will have more of horizontal dashes along their body. Pickerel are also green colored, and Pike will a dark, almost a very deep olive. A simple Google search of the differences will bring any angler up to speed.
I think pickerel are great. If you fish for them on a 5wt or 6wt, you'll have plenty of fun. I even want to go lighter, but I need to find something that can give me the cast needed for pickerel. That being said, pickerel are a great fish to target if you're working on your casting. Longer casts will be better, since your fly will be in the water longer, giving the fish a better opportunity to hit your fly. Mastering the double haul isn't a bad idea, or if you're having trouble with it, this is a great way to work on it.
Enjoy the picuters! The pickerel fishing should hold up for a while. Pretty much until we get ice. I don't know when I will be out again....maybe not until next weekend, but I will still be posting.
Tight lines.
Artie
