Pickerel?

Has anyone evere caught pickerel on a fly rod?I was fishering at a friends where I had hooked a pickerel.I was just about to land him when he cut the line and swam off.

When I lived in the east I caught many Pickerel on a fly. Just as pike musky have teeth so have pickeral. Use a short piece of heavier tipit or fine wire and any larger streamer. BILL

Sure have. They are a fun fish to catch. I use streamers. Usually they are caught when I'm fishing for panfish or Bass so I dont use wire leader.

jed

Clousers, buggers, any bright streamer really and even some nymphs 12 and bigger.
In the evening try marabou muddler on the surface. You also need good tippet. Pickerels are not leader shy so try 10 or 20 pound superbraid for the tippet. I use Power Pro - it's tough enough to stand up to those teeth.

Thanks.i will keep trying.

Yep, just like the others said...wire tippets or heavy tippets.

KPH,

I've caught and landed a couple of pickerel in a South Carolina lake where pickerel are not common and are seldom caught by any method of fishing. When I first started fishing this lake, if someone had asked me if there were pickerel present, I would have said "no." I caught mine on the surface with a 1/0 white Gurgle Pop. I was fishing for LMB at the time. I used 15 lb test leader and had no trouble with the teeth. 8T :D

This goes back a few years to an old mill pond on the E. Shore of Maryland. My first try with a fly rod, one guy watching, commented that you can't catch anything on a fly rod...only minnows or worms. Sure enough, tangled with a nice pickrel (on a home tied streamer) and it felt like an alligator. Will never forget that first fish on a fly rod.
Bob A (Crackleback)

kph:

Although I usually fish for pickerel with conventional tackle; I have taken them on a fly rod on the surface during a flying ant hatch with poppers; and with streamers.

What I can tell you about my success with them on conventional tackle is: retrieve FAST!

My go to "bait" for pickerel is a watermelon/cream 5" Senko cast right to or up on the bank; (when fishing from my float tube) and retrieved in a fast and erratic manner. All of a sudden you'll see a "V" wake; tap, tap, BAM; fish on! I will tell you that the pickerel I catch won't mess with a bait for long; in other words they won't grab a soft plastic and run with it like a bass so you have to set the hook rather quickly.

I have done the same thing with an BIG olive/white Clouser Minnow tied with synthetic hair so I can get it about 4" long. I cast and strip as fast as I can with pauses and twitches. Keeping in mind that they will drop a streamer just as quickly as a Senko; I make sure to have control of my line so I can set the hook fast.

Pickerel are fun!

I flyfish for pickeral quite a bit here in DE...they seem to be the first fish to turn on in late winter and can be a blast on a #4 or #5. I have had good success with using a double strand or #8 leader (attach 2 seperate sections of #8 leader material). I find it gives the fly better action. Also they have to bite through both peices of leader which I have never had them do. Sounds like a crazy idea but it works.

Thanks guys.I was thinking of what I could do for a stronger tippet cause I could not get to the store.So looking through my fly tying box I relized my silver ribbing wire would do nice.So i have yet to try my new twisted tippet.Bamboozle,i noticed that when you real in fast the come .I'll try it with my fly rod.

Went trout fishing yesterday evening. No trout but I have landed 4 pickerels: one at 20" one at 18" and two bit smaller. That was on St. Croix Premiere 5wt with 2lb Vanish tippet. Three were hooked in the lip and fourth took the fly a bit deeper yet was not able to bite off the tippet. Unless you going after alligators I think wire leader/tippet might be a bit too much.

You might consider using a tube fly streamer where you can "hide" the wire inside the tube. When you hook a fish, the fly should move up the leader and away from the pickerel's teeth making the streamer last longer. Just a thought...

Jim Smith

I do a good bit of pickeral fishing in the local reservoir. I have found 20lb saltwaer flouro is a good enough leader to keep them from cutting. They will hit nearly anything striped over the weed beds, clousers, rabbit leeches, etc.