4/5 Pickerel Fishing

[tautog]

I went pickerel fishing with my dad today. Slow pick of small fish mostly 11"-13". Some spots held nothing, others one or two fish. Definitely still a bit cold. All on live killies. Hit a small pond on the way back and had a 13" bass and an 8" crappies. Last year on this day I had 9 bass just on topwater at the same pond. Definitely still 2 weeks behind.

[Lard Almighty]

Sounds like you had a successful day beating the trout crowd to put a bend in the rod. The bass seem to still be on their late winter/early spring patterns. Once the overnight temperatures start routinely staying above 40F, things should bust wide open.

[tautog]

A little more size would have been nice. Average fish was around 3" less than normal on the spots I fished. Never had one under 13" before on two of those spots and practically every one was that size today. Spillways were totally dead. Needed dark bottomed shallows in the sun.

[420*NightCrawler]

That's good news to me. Give it another week or two and they'll be on fire. There's a nice pond in Harriman stuffed with Pike. I hit that just about every year in spring for about 2 weeks, before all the lily pads come up and choke out the pond. They're such fun fish for their size.

[surfrod]

got a couple of quick ones today....

including my best fly rod pic

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a413/rswitzer2/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140408_181605.jpg

[kmaty]

Gota ask what wt rod/reel did you use guna get heavy into the fly thing its one thing i have mastered?

[kmaty]

And very nice!

[surfrod]

k,

Don't use what I used to start. I was looking for crappies which hang out in the spots I was trying (in past year anyways)

I used a 6'6" st Croix avid 3 wt rod with an orvis (black whatever) real.

When I return I will have my 7'6" 5 wt which is more appropriate for this spot

I think most like to use a 6 to 8 wt for fw pic/bass spots