Day 1 of the Esox Hatrick: Scored A Pickerel

[catfishonthelake]

I've never been known for my patience, so I started a day early. Plus, I figured it would make musky fishing on Saturday the finale, and if I did strike out with the pike tomorrow, at least I'd have one in the bag. That being said, I've never had so much trouble catching a pickerel in my life. Since there are not many ponds that have pickerel by my house and since I didn't want to drive too far, I went down to DeVoe and Helmetta pond in Jamesburg/Spotswood as they're supposed to have a ton of pickerel. I even picked up shiners at Molder's to make sure all went well. It didn't at first, as both lakes are COMPLETELY covered in grass. I tried tossing the shiners, senkos and even a Yum Money Hound wherever I could, but I only scored a small crappie near a dock in Helmetta. I was about to cut bait, but decided to try a tiny pond next to a factory that looked like it was fed by the outflow of Helmetta. After 10 minutes or so, I got him. It wasn't big, but it doesn't matter. I'll post the pick of the slightly-larger-than-axhandle size slime dart when I get home. One down, two to go.

[catfishonthelake]

[AJFISH13]

1 down, 2 to go. Nice job.

[catfishonthelake]

Thanks man. Looks like you've been doing pretty well yourself.

[AJFISH13]

Originally Posted by catfishonthelake

Thanks man. Looks like you've been doing pretty well yourself.

Thanks. Good luck on the other 2, I haven't caught a pike or musky yet . Closest I came was this June when either a tiger musky or a record class pickeral made a monster explosion on a topwater. Lake has been stocked with tiger muskies for a while(Lake Shenandoah) but haven't heard any being pulled out of there. Only thing I could compare it to was a cow striper smashing a bunker on the surface .

[Moz]

Best of luck with the challenge, awesome idea.

Is a pickerel with red eyes a red-fin pickerel? I caught one over the weekend but shook it off the hook at the shoreline without having a really good look at it. Esox are a mystery to me.

[RockFish]

Go Cat Go! Haven't caught a toothy critter in a while and your quest has made me remember some great trips. Used to fish St. Lawrence River for pike and a lake in NH for pickerel. Maybe I'll be inspired enough to hit Spruce Run for some pike. Good Luck.

[catfishonthelake]

Hey. Thanks guys. I've actually never seen a red-fin pickerel up close, but I know they have red fins and are smaller than chain pickerel. Also, Rockfish, I fished the St. Lawrence once and caught a beautiful 35-inch northern. It had the most amazing markings and was FAT. I have 6 pictures and the lure I caught it on and intend to get a replica one day. I set her free though. Beautiful fish. It's amazing up there.

[njfisherman1975]

U got a jealous follower catfish...wish I had the time to do what u r doing.

[Skunk City]

Very cool. Subscribed.