Pickerel Panic!

One of my early memories of fishing was a trip to a small pond in October loaded with pickerel that were eager to bite on our lures. I have no idea how many we caught or even what lure we used so long ago but I clearly remember catching lots of them. Over the last few days the number of pickerel clients have been bringing to the boat has been on the rise. But yesterday was a day like I remember from (dare I say) forty years ago.

My client was a fly fisherman who can cast well and also understands where fish are likely to be. Making my job a little easier. The morning was very foggy and still with the trees just starting to change colors. I had him start with small streamer flies in our search for bass. Before too long though it became apparent that pickerel were dominating the game.

Because they possess a mouthful of razor sharp teeth my light tippet on the fly line needed to be upgraded to 12 pound test. The flies became large and bulky first a large muddler minnow and then a mouse pattern, I have had for years and never really used.
Eventually large streamers that I have for striper fishing were the fly of choice.

The strikes are lightning fast and often come with a big splash making for some exciting fishing. One especially showy take had the fish clearing the water a couple of feet away and grabbing the fly as he came down on top of it.Needless to say a very enjoyable trip. I am looking forward to a few more exciting trips with great fall scenery before I put the boat away at the end of November