Features and behaviors of Chain Pickerel

Chain Pickerel What To Know shows that Chain pickerel don’t grow to 4 feet like their northern relative, the muskellunge. But they act like they do. Next time you catch one, look it in the eye and tell me you don’t see it staring back at you, sizing you up. This is a fearless predator. At the same time, these fighters are temperamental and hard to predict.

Pickerel are known to prefer shallow, heavily vegetated lakes and slow-moving rivers. I also fish for them on sandy floodplain marshes where I stand and push a canoe with a long paddle, watching for their V-shaped wakes.

Bold as they are, pickerel seldom strike while they’re swimming away. But if you let them settle, they revert to predator mode. Frequently, they’ll swim right back to where they were before you intruded. Casting to the area—even just a few yards from your boat—may result in a shocking blowup.

Chain Pickerel What To Know

Chain pickerel are deep olive-green on the back, shading to a creamy yellow on the belly, with the back and anal fin about the same size and located far back on an elongated body. A distinct black chain-like or interwoven marking on the sides give them their name.

Diet:

Juvenile and adult chain pickerel feed mostly on fish, but their diet can also include small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Chain pickerel are normally solitary and often wait and hide in areas of aquatic vegetation to strike prey that swim their way.

Habitat:

Ecology: Chain pickerel’s preferred habitat includes vegetated lakes, swamps, and backwaters and quiet pools of creeks and small to medium rivers. This fish tolerates warm water, acidity to pH 3.8, and salinity to 22 ppt.

Angling:

Anytime during the open season, with the best fishing occurring from early May through July. Pickerel remain active in the winter, providing ample opportunities to catch them through the ice. They can be caught anytime during the day but are often more active early and late in the day.

Lures: Spinnerbaits, jerk baits, crankbaits, top water lures, jigs and plastics can all be effective. Pickerel often go after brightly colored lures (white, red, and yellow), but natural colors also work well. Bait: 3-4″ live minnows hooked under the dorsal fin fished under a bobber.

Considered “lie and wait” predators, pickerel are usually found around vegetation where they ambush smaller fish as they pass by. Pickerel can generally be found in weedy, shallow (2-10 foot), water most of the year. When fishing by boat, start near the bank and work your way out until you find the depth where they’re hiding.

Gear and Techniques

• Rod: 5.5-7′ medium or medium-light action spin casting, spinning, or bait casting rod.
• Line: 8-12 pound monofilament line, plus a steel/wire leader (to prevent their sharp teeth from slicing your line).
• Lures: Spinnerbaits, jerk baits, crankbaits, top water lures, jigs and plastics can all be effective. Pickerel often go after brightly colored lures (white, red, and yellow), but natural colors also work well.
• Bait: 3-4″ live minnows hooked under the dorsal fin fished under a bobber. Hook them under the dorsal fin and fish them under a bobber.
• Tips & Techniques: Like any type of fishing, keep trying different things until you find what’s working that day. Pickerel often follow lures to the boat, so if you see them doing that try changing your retrieve. Slow it down or speed it up and try to make it more erratic. If that doesn’t turn followers into biters try a different lure style or color.