Me and a buddy set out Saturday morning to float a local creek & lake that was rumored to have some nice size Chain Pickerel. It was a really unique area and just paddling around exploring it was fun and relaxing but it didn't take long until my friend landed his first ever Pickerel, even better it was on glass:) Afterwards we honed in on where the fish were hanging due to the sunshine hitting the water and I switched to a faster sink tip followed almost immediately by a big Pickerel nailing my finesse gamechanger on the pause and just as quickly as my 6wt doubled over the 0x broke on its sharp teeth!! I was heartbroken but excited that I got to see the caliber of fish that took my fly. So I made some adjustments by cutting off a butt section of leader I had handy and attached it as a bite guard to another gamechanger and went back to hitting structure and shaded areas. I ended up fishing a deep hole and while stripping in my fly my line went tight and I just knew I had hooked a nice bass, as I had just released one a minute earlier, but to my surprise a nice pickerel leaped out of the water and then dove straight back down and under my kayak!! Thankfully the Lil Stiffy 6wt made fighting him in close easier and I was able to net him by the bank while my buddy paddled over to get a pic! After soaking in the moment of catching such a beautiful fish in such a scenic lake, we went back to fishing the shade and trying different flies and had luck on traditional hair wings as well as super simple craft fur baitfish. I know many people don't care for Chain Pickerel but for me they are such a unique and beautiful fish that just match up with the way I enjoy flyfishing to the fullest.....anyone that knows me, knows that I have a soft spot for glass 6wts and streamers...these fish fit the bill to a tee:)

*Enjoy and feel free to post pics of your fly rod chain pickerel here..i would love to see more of them!

pickerel1 by brandon bailes, on Flickr

pickerel2 by brandon bailes, on Flickr

pickerel4 by brandon bailes, on Flickr

pickerel3 by brandon bailes, on Flickr

Beautiful fish and a sweet kayak!

Great report! It is pickerel season. They love cold water and are active all winter. They only live to be about six years old on average. There is an old book dedicated to them which I think was called the weedy world of the pickerel or something like that. My largest which was taken on a glass 7wt was 5lbs with a length around twenty four inches.

Great report, those fish are a blast to catch.

I will check my copy later and get back to you. Not a common book.

edit -

Found it. By Bob Gooch

There are a couple available on Abebooks

dustdog12- they are a fun target for winter fishing here as opposed to stocked trout:) my buddy actually used a 6wt of yours to catch his 1st pickerel Saturday.

KOOL!

Oh yeah, jackfish.
Lots of fun to catch.on a fly.
Not related but still an unusual catch on a fly.(for me).


Walleye,caught a few days a go in tenn river
Right at sunrise

Nice! I paddled across the Okefenokee and just about every fish was new to me, but a big chain pickerel was probably the coolest one of the trip.

How about "grass" pickerel? Used to get them on streamers in New England as a kid...Different camouflage,but more of a striped vertical pattern...I've seen rivers that hold both...very fun on a fly...tonyg

Very cool! Always wanted to tangle with one when I lived near the Everglades, a trip to Caddo is definitely in order.
I find their adaptability to different environs amazing! Esox in southern swamps!!

yeah they're definitely not shy about eating or attacking...I had a few eat right at the surface next to my kayak!

Awesome, killer looking flies and fish.