![]() ![]() This is especially true if any kind of current parallels such a location. If you find good sunken timber or weeds in less than a foot of water, these can still be great ambush locations for pickerel. I have caught pickerel within inches of water. Fish shallower in spring and fall for better results. In fall, pickerel will work the edges of baitfish balls with bass to fatten up for winter and the shallow water helps them corral the bait. Of course, shallow water is where pickerel spawn later in the spring. In the spring, chain pickerel will be moving up into shallower water to take advantage of early-season weeds growing in the shallow bays on the north side of lakes. Use this knowledge to find better pickerel spots next time you’re on the water. The exact same thing occurs in winter but the deeper water is actually warmer than much shallower water. In summer, pickerel will go down deeper to find cooler, more oxygen-rich water. Fish Deeper in Summer & Winterĭuring summer and winter, most fishing will congregate in deeper water. Additionally, with a couple of inches of line in the pickerel’s mouth, you stand a better chance of those teeth cutting the line during the fight. If you want to release your pickerel alive, a back hooked baitfish will give better survival rates to the pickerel. If you hook your minnow through the lips, that hook will be deeper into the pickerel’s throat that could lead to a dying pickerel after you remove the hook. Pickerel, even more than most species, eat food head first. I recommended hooking baitfish through the back instead of the lips. Find out what bait a lake has and fish with baits that mimic the easiest to ingest option in front of you. Pickerel will almost always pick the easiest meal they can. A soft finned sucker is a lot easier to swallow than a spiny-finned deep-bodied crappie. Pickerel will prefer to eat the easiest to swallow meal as they can. ![]() If your waterway has shiners, alewives, and bluegills, that is what most pickerel eat everyday. The right bait to use is whatever big pickerel are naturally eating. And pickerel will see your bait coming and be afforded the chance to strike it when it passes by. Fishing your baits along weed edges will keep your baits in the strike zone for the longest period of time. Chain pickerel prefer deep edges along weeds, vegetation, and submerged timber where they can launch ambush attacks on prey swimming by. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |