Here are some places to seek out chain pickerel
Catch the crocodile-like chain pickerel in Chesapeake
The older I get, the more I prefer the company of fish to most people. And this time of year I like to get reacquainted with a longtime piscatorial friend, the chain pickerel.
I was first introduced to these weird and wonderful fish in the 1990s. I knew nothing about their natural inclinations, much less what lure or fly they’d hit. And that was a beauty of it.
If you haven’t encountered one yet, you won’t soon forget your initial introduction.
A green elongated body with a bronze tint to it, the distinctive chain pattern extends from the gill cover to its caudal fin. Pickerel possess a broad snout that houses crudely jagged teeth that’d do a baby crocodile proud.
Pike are found in brackish and freshwater creeks, farm ponds and lakes throughout Maryland. These “green wolves” benefit from the resurgence of underwater grasses, such as horned pondweed, common waterweed, redhead grass and Eurasian milfoil that now blanket many upper Chesapeake Bay tributaries.
Chain pickerel are voracious feeders that lurk around shallow-water cover like grass beds and fallen timber, biding their time until unsuspecting prey
meanders past. And then BAM! Game over.
What went from a relatively obscure fishery now has a fairly rabid following, if social media posts are a marker of pikes’ recent popularity. Therefore, I seriously doubt I’m burning spots when I suggest that Rays Pond, Brewer Creek and Chase Creek in the Severn can be great pike waters.
In the Magothy, you’d do well to work that river’s feeder arteries including Cypress Cr,eek, Cattail Creek or Blackhole Creek. The South River has its own potential gems, such as Duvall, Broad and Warehouse creeks. The Annapolis Waterworks Park may have some, but a pass is required.
The Patapsco River tributaries — Bodkin, Stoney, and Curtis creeks — are worth a look too. Eastern Shore’s Tuckahoe and Wye Mills are also popular.
Note that too much pressure may mean you’ll have to ferret out less angled waters. Exploring new (to us) waters is what makes fishing the Chesapeake special. Take all safety precautions (please, life jackets are a must) and fish with a friend. Winters waters are unforgiving.
I’ve seen pickerel strike a lure with crazed ferocity. Other times, they’d take the bait. One time a pike followed my lure within a foot or so of the kayak, glanced up at me as docile as a lamb, then shot off like a scared cat.
From spinners and spinnerbaits to suspending jerk baits and flies, I’ve caught pickerel on just about every rig that’s ever been made and even taken some backroads so I wouldn’t get made.
On the jerk baits, I suggest swapping out treble hook with a single Siwash hook. I’d be negligent if I omitted a weedless spoon from my arsenal. Marabou jigs tipped with frisky live minnows or soft plastic paddletails under a bobber rank too. I also like to chuck clunky Clousers (yellow over white; purple and white) or weedless flies on my six-weight fly rod.
Clearly, when it comes to lure selection, you have lots of options and many work just fine. The real trick is learning to fish that particular lure well. That said, finding fishy habitat is more important to me than the specific lure.
Also, don’t get trapped in an echo chamber. Go ahead and experiment with different combinations and colors. If it’s a bust, who cares? Isn’t the main point of sport fishing to have fun?
Why anyone would eat a pickerel is beyond me; as table fare they’re pedestrian at best. They’re most valuable when returned to the water for another angler to catch.
By now most anglers have heard that Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources is planning to close the recreational and charter boat striper fishery from July 16-31, a move that bumps up the restriction by a month compared to 2020. The closure is necessitated by the fact the striper stock is in trouble throughout this marquee gamefish’s range. Particularly at risk are the large breeders.
The 16-day closure coincides with when the upper Chesapeake suffers its worst water quality. An oxygen-deficient “dead zone,” combined with poor fish-releasing practices, results in too many dead stripers. The closure only targets the recreational anglers, not commercial harvesters. I’ve asked, but there is no data available related to potential impact the commercial sector is having on the stock during this same time frame.
DNR’s current leadership believes its most recent rockfish conservation measures are strong and aggressive. No one who has a stake in our striper fishery doubts balancing the wildly popular and economically important recreational fishing industry with maintaining a healthy population is challenging. But without a stable stock, there is no healthy rockfish sport fishery.
The public comment period runs through Feb. 16. The public hearing is scheduled for
Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. online. To join by phone, call (415) 655-0001, and the meeting code is 1427010170##. Make sure you speak up for rockfish.