![]() ![]() For this reason, I’d recommend a medium-light or medium rod with a mid range gear-ratio spinning reel just to keep things simple. A large, unexpected 20+ inch pickerel can quickly make a mess of the average ultra-light pond tackle. Pound for pound, many anglers would agree these fish are one of the strongest fighters in the pond. ![]() This tip is pretty simple and preference based, but when targeting chain pickerel in specific, it’s important to consider their size and aggression. No matter the speed of the retrieve, the sudden pause seems to be the key factor in eliciting a strike from the pickerel, often at the last second! Ultimately, for the purpose of targeting them exclusively, pickerel are more willing to commit to a fast moving bait than most local freshwater fish. I usually alternate between some variation of 1-5 rips/twitches and then follow with a pause of 1-10 seconds.Īs you can see, the angler has a wide range of options that they can experiment with. ![]() As the weather cools, the old “rip-rip-pause” technique familiar to many striper fisherman becomes extremely effective with the jerkbait. This is especially true with the spinner bait and even sometimes with the jerkbait (since to a pickerel, it might as well be a fleeing minnow). Other than a fast-stop-and-start retrieve, a straight and steady moderate retrieve all the way back to the bank will often get the job done if a pickerel is lurking in the vicinity. It's important to keep this mentality at the forefront if you don’t just want to end up with a bunch of largemouth (which wouldn’t be the worst problem to have). I want to be clear that the “madman retrieve” is more of an initial search tactic or fallback rather than the default, but the point is to illustrate how willing a chain pickerel is to chase down a bait in a far more ferocious manner than your average bass. You might be surprised how many times a pickerel will shoot out of the weeds and hammer that bait right in front of you! At this point, I will either give it a few light twitches, or just let it suspend for a second. ![]()
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