Winter Pickerel: The Poor Man's Musky.
 

 

By: Jim Gronaw

Date Posted: December 11, 2011

 

The fish just barely thumped my 32-nd ounce jig but immediately felt much heavier than the panfish I had been catching the past hour. Setting the hook, I felt that I would likely lose whatever was on the end of my two-pound test mono. My son Matt eased the boat out and away from the shoreline stickups and brush we had been fishing and tried to keep the wind from blowing us back to shore. All the while, I had to scramble, stern to bow, to keep the fish from getting either motor. Matt was looking for the net in one of the compartments, and finally came up with one as the fish finally surfaced and showed us his toothy maw…it was a big chain pickerel that had my tiny jig just hooked on the tip of it’s snout!

Meanwhile, the wind had kicked up again and we were headed right for some more shoreline brush. Matt got us back out of peril as I tried to keep pressure on the fish and get it back in close enough to get it in the net. Like all esox species, the fish seemed to have at least one last- ditch surge…several times. Matt made three attempts with the net, twice the fish slithered out, and on the third try it finally just collapsed in the belly of the rubber net, literally too long to fit like it should. But we got it in the boat!

I felt as though we had accomplished the impossible…landing a big chain pickerel on 2-pound test line and a tiny panfish jig. The fish measured just over 25 inches and was easily my personal best. Later that day, we would have several more encounters with the toothy critters, with several more fish up to 24 inches, all on ultra light gear.

Indeed, chain pickerel can be fun and exciting. It was not the first time these ’big snakes’ had caused a stir in my angling efforts. And as far as a winter target species goes, chain pickerel would have to be high on the list for the cold weather angler throughout much of the Mid-Atlantic region. They are somewhat of the Rodney Dangerfield of freshwater fish…no respect, in the way, messing up the fishing and just not liked by many anglers seeking more ‘worthy’ gamefish. Me? I like ‘em.

Much like their larger cousins the northern pike, chain pickerel are active throughout the winter and prepare to spawn in February or March in much of the mid-Atlantic waters where they are found. They are a favorite among ice anglers in parts of the northeast and are a winter catch throughout tidewater Virginia, southern Delaware, much of New Jersey and down into the Carolinas. Although not noted for tablefare, I have eaten some caught through the ice and found them to be firm and flaky and of good taste. Record size fish vary from state to state, with a Pennsylvania record going 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Maryland lists a 7-9 pickerel and Delaware a 7-8. All of these fish are true monsters, with a world record of 9 pounds, 3 ounces, coming from Georgia. Most state citation requirements need fish of 4 pounds or 24 inches to get entry. Anything larger is just a great fish in my eyes.

Classic winter pickerel patterns would be to look for fish near brush, logs, dying weed bed edges or incoming creek mouths that have not frozen over. Open water anglers can cast in-line spinners like Sims # 4 or #5’s, ¼ to 1 ounce spinner baits or simply a shad dart, tipped with a minnow, fished below a bobber. Some pickerel men just suspend large golden shiners, known regionally as ‘millroach’, below floats in and around visible cover during warm winter days and wait for a take. Ice fishermen utilize tip-ups with live minnows over sparse weed bed areas or in and around logs and laydowns on the lake floor. Some of the biggest pickerel of each winter season are caught by anglers fishing for bass or crappie in tidal flows in eastern seaboard states.

JUST A FEW ‘BACK EAST’ PICKEREL HOTSPOTS…

If you have a hankerin’ to slip out for some ‘big snakes’ this winter, then here are a few places that you might want to try in and around the Mid-Atlantic…

Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland

This is one of the best ice-fishing spots in the nation for really big yellow perch. It also has an abundance of chain pickerel that seem to top out in the 24 inch range. Anglers using tip ups and minnows encounter them. The weed beds and point off of McHenry holds a lot of them during early ice.

 

Pinchot Lake, Rossville, Pennsylvania

This 340 acre lake has a variety of popular gamefish and an overlooked population of trophy chain pickerel. Every year, 5 to nearly 7 pounders are caught either through the ice on from open water on mild winters. Minnows are the primary bait, but I have caught them here using panfish jigs for crappie.

 

Loch Raven , Baltimore, Maryland

Surely a great and popular multi-species fishery, Loch Raven boasts a very good population of pickerel, and some trophy fish in the five pound range are in the mix. It may freeze in the winter, and ice fishing is not permitted here. But open water efforts are worthy in March and April or even as early as February if the winter is mild; a sleeper for big fish in my opinion.

 

Pocomoke River, Snow Hill, Maryland

On a mild winter, anglers can enjoy a multi-species effort on this scenic Delmarva waterway with bass, crappie and pickerel as the quarry. Simple bobber/jig combos can lead to some excellent catches. I have seen numerous pickerel from this river that exceeded five pounds.

 

Delmarva Mill Ponds

Both Maryland and Delaware have a myriad of tidal flows that boast chain pickerel and some get big. Check out Concord Pond, Nanticoke River, Lake Bonnie, Choptank River and the ponds in and around Salisbury, Maryland, to include Johnson Pond. The Chickimicomico is another good, isolated bett for winter snakes.

 

Tidewater Lakes of Southern Virginia

In and around Suffolk and Norfolk Virginia are several lakes that have great multi-species fishing to include big chains. Cahoon, Western Branch and Lake Prince offer good cold weather fishing for them and the bass and panfish aren’t at all shabby.