341 
Where pickerel lurk during the long summer days 
August, 1922 
multiplying reel will materially aid in the 
casting' and when given proper care 
should last several seasons. The pickerel 
may be taken with many baits, both live 
and artificial, and a well-selected group 
should consist of spinners, spoons and 
pork rind baits, with a favorite plug or 
two thrown in for trial. 
C ASTING from a boat is a very suc- 
cessful method and deserves first 
mention. Although a canoe is less 
noisy and may be moved from place to 
place with greater facility, it is not as 
trustworthy as a skiff, and unless you 
are a good canoeist the latter is ad- 
vised. By all means bring a companion 
with you; he is not only indispensable 
for managing the boat — of course you 
will both take your turns at this — but 
he will make the trip so much more 
enjoyable. 
Row the boat along the edge of a weed 
bed, about twenty feet out, casting to- 
wards the growth and dropping the 
spoon very near the edge. Be sure to 
cover every foot of likely water, and if 
a spot seems exceptionally good, return 
again after some time has passed, for 
the failure of the pickerel to strike does 
not always indicate its absence. A 
nickel-plated spoon, medium size, makes 
a very good casting lure and its effec- 
tiveness is increased by attaching a piece 
of red flannel or a small strip of salt 
pork to one of the hooks. It is advisable 
to purchase a spoon provided with weed- 
less hooks, as the pickerel is generally 
found among clumps of pond grass and 
other vegetation which annoys the an- 
gler by persistently befouling the or- 
dinary treble hooks. The most effective 
casting is attained by dropping the lure 
without splashing, allowing it to sink a 
foot or more and then slowly retrieving. 
Do not hustle the spoon through the 
water; as long as the- blade revolves 
in a steady manner the action is suffi- 
cient. Other lures, a spinner, a minnow 
or a small frog may be substituted, but 
I believe that the spoon with its dash of 
pork is as effective as any. 
There are times when these lures will 
fail to bring results, and the angler must 
resort to his ingenuity. Last summer a 
fine pickerel, a few ounces under three 
pounds, was caught by the writer after 
repeated casts, with nothing more than 
the belly of a yellow perch, 
j 
T he live baits deserve some mention, 
for at times the pickerel does not 
seem to care for artificial lures, and the 
fisherman is forced to use them. The 
angleworm, so effective in still-fishing, 
is not used for this -fish, although I 
caught a medium-sized pickerel one af- 
ternoon when fishing for perch with 
night-crawlers. Small fish of any species 
'may be used, but the pond shiner and 
minnow are so much superior and are 
so easily caught that it is best to use 
them if possible. Little frogs, the green- 
backed and white-bellied ones, are deadly 
baits at any season and are worth all 
the trouble taken to catch them. 
As the season advances and the days 
'grow hot, a method not yet mentioned 
may be used. This is trolling, and it is 
a very successful way to catch the big 
ones that lie in the deep water. Al- 
though much trolling is done with the 
handline tjie best sport is found in using 
a light rod with enough backbone to 
stand the strain of the line going through 
the water. Since no special quality is 
needed in a troll line, except, of course, 
strength, any line about fifty yards -long 
will do, and because of the revolving 
spoon and its tendency to twist the line, 
a swivel or two should be used. 
Trolling for pickerel 
Keep the boat moving at a steady rate 
and send the spoon down where the big 
pickerel lie, a few feet from the bottom 
and not far from a pond lily' bed. Re- 
member that a lure with streamers of 
grass fastened to its hooks is not apt 
to catch anything, and it will pay you 
to reel in every little while and see if 
the spoon is clear. 
Before entering upon the next topic, 
the time of day that the pickerel bite 
best, I should like to say that to lay 
down any rule or to give anything but 
a most liberal statement is impossible. 
There are times when the fish will not 
bite despite the skill of the angler or 
the bait used ; then on another day, under 
apparently identical conditions, little ef- 
fort is needed to bring home a string of 
fish. Find the reason for this and you 
have found the keynote of fishing and 
why it is such an alluring sport and ap- 
peals to the people of all ages. In the 
early spring, when the days are cool, all 
hours, I believe, are apt to bring good 
results, but as the season is further ad- 
vanced, better fishing will be found in 
the morning and late afternoon. 
VY7HEN the days become shorter and 
crystals of ice are found at the 
edges of the ponds and lakes in the early 
morning, fishing rods are carefully laid 
away in their cases and tackle-boxes are 
closed with reluctant snaps. The an- 
gler’s season is over, and not until the 
warmer days of spring arrive will he 
be cheered by a taut line following the 
wake of a hooked fish. 
Several years ago I was fortunate to 
be able to spend the entire winter in 
the country, and here I was introduced 
to the merry pastime of fishing for pick- 
erel through the ice. As I later learned, 
if we look for sport we find it not in the 
struggle of the pickerel as it is taken 
from the water, for the icy environment 
seems to have deadened the fish and 
chilled its powers of resistance, but in 
the exhilarating fun and carefree frolic 
that follow a day spent on the ice. 
Thus the pickerel provides the angler 
sport throughout the year and for that 
reason it may be termed our most de- 
pendable game fish. When the active 
trout has been supplanted by the gamy 
bass and it in turn has ceased to hold 
the angler’s fancy, the pickerel remains 
— a continued source of pleasure for the 
fisherman be he old and well versed in 
his art or young and at the verge of his 
angling experience. 
