Pickerel Fishing in New Brunswick

Looking forward to the 2011 fishing season opening in a couple of weeks. This year I am focusing on besting my own personal best of 25 inches from 2010. It only took me 20 years to best my previous best of 24 inches.

Today I would like to share some information on pickerel I've found surfing around the net.

First you likely knew this but the the pickerel is part of the pike family, so it should be no surprise that they are extremely aggressive. Which works for me as they love smacking my baits, artificial flies included.

When they're on I don't even like putting my hands in the water to clean them. I have visions of a pack of these pickerel checking out my fingers.

A Pickerel By Any Other Name

Here in New Brunswick we call the pickerel by the name Chain pickerel and I 've heard them called Jacks however as I was looking for more pickerel info I found they go by quite a few names.

Eastern pickerel, Mud pickerel, Grass pickerel, Lake pickerel and here's one that sounds cool, maybe I will start using this name and see what people say: Reticulated pickerel

"Fish On!!" What is it? It's a Reticulated Pickerel" Okay maybe not, but I'll try it.

There are even more names but let's move on, fishing season's getting close and I have to finish this article.

Where Do Pickerel Live

I know they live here in New Brunswick but the chain pickerel has a range that follows the east coast of Canada, down through the east coast all the way to Florida and west to about Alabama. Now that would make for a great road trip, wouldn't it.

The Chain pickerel, err I mean Reticulated pickerel has the following characteristics:

They have a long narrow body, covered with a chain-link pattern that runs down both sides which is where it gets the name Chain Pickerel

The pickerel, starting with it's back is usually black. When you look down on them in the water the black makes them almost invisible against the bottom.

Going the sides toward the belly, which is white, it changes from dark green chain link pattern gradually getting lighter as it reaches it's white belly. Great camouflage as they can sit just inches under the water and you can't see them.

The average length seems to be about 15 to 20 inches (38.1 to 50.8 cm) and can reach about 30 inches (76.2 cm). That 30 inches is now my new goal and then I'll have to move away or start fishing for musky.

The Chain Pickerel Spawn

Chain Pickerel spawn early spring as the water temperature get close to 50 F (10 C) and can lay up to 50 thousand eggs. So many she doesn't feel the need to stay and watch them, some are bound to survive.

Basically about the time of ice out these pickerel head for the shallow flooded back waters with at least 3 feet of water to spawn.

Chain Pickerel take about 3 years to reach fourteen inches long and don't become sexually mature until then or maybe even their fourth year. So set those little guys free so they get the chance to experience the joy of sex, at least once.

I've heard that the pickerel is not classified as a sport fish however I do and have great fun competing with my fishing buddies. Loser buys the ice cream on the trip home.

I practice catch and release, seldoming keeping any fish, unless I hurt them and know they won't survive. The chain pickerel has very tasty white flesh.

Here in New Brunswick I usually find them in water that tends to have a muddy bottom and lots of grass and weeds. They can taste a bit weedy or swampy when the water gets to warm so if I plan to have a feed of pickerel I prefer to have it in the early spring while the water is still cold.

Oh yeah, they also have been called chain lightening as they dart out so fast to snatch food that you can hardly see them. Their lightening speed and aggressive nature and of course the fight is why I'm addicted to pickerel fishing, sport fish or not.

I have to say that chain pickerel of one of my most favourite species to catch here in New Brunswick.

The day I first caught a pickerel fishing in Cassidy Lake was the day I stopped fishing everything else for a long while. I just kept going back for more and more. Then I introduced a few friends to pickerel fishing and they were hooked as well.

One my first day fishing pickerel I caught a 24" one, but my buddy caught a 26" monster and wanted nothing to do with touching. Their mouth is full of extremely sharp teeth, so I had to rescue him and bring it into the boat. His record that day still beats mine and it has been more than 20 years ago. My best so far has been 24 1/2".

Every time I go pickerel fishing I expect to beat his record and some day I will do just that. The picture at the top of the page is one of me holding my personal best, 24 1/2" chain pickerel.