It might sound a bit scary fly fishing for pickerel and it can be but that’s part of the excitement. Here in New Brunswick we don’t have pickerel that get huge like some of the Northern Pike I have seen but they think they are. Again, that’s part of the excitement of using your fly rod for these crazy fish.

Fly fishing open water isn’t much of a challenge but still more of a challenge that using your bait caster or heavy action spinning gear. The challenge really comes into view when you try fishing deep in the weeds for Chain Pickerel.

It’s a lot tougher keeping your arm from jerking the line when you are in the weeds and can see action coming from all sides. Very exciting.

What Flies To Use For Pickerel

Ha, that was a trick title, as pickerel will go for just about anything. I don’t even like putting my fingers in the water to wash them off after releasing a pickerel because I they may just come back and bite a couple off.

I don’t take small flies. They just get busted up way too fast. I much prefer to take some of the dry flies I use for Atlantic salmon and smallmouth bass.

They don’t last long either but I usually land a few pickerel before they have been torn to little fibers.

In the early season when the weeds are quite breaking the surface I like to use some of the streamers I use for Atlantic salmon in the spring. I retrieve them very fast to keep them near the top of the water.

I have never out stripped a pickerel. No matter how fast I retrieve that fly the pickerel that wants it out runs it quite easily.

When the weeds start breaking the surface I usually put the streamers away and get out the big deer hair bugs I use for bass.

I know a couple of spots that have very small pickerel. The bodies of water they are in are shallow so most places work great with big, or little dry flies and you don’t get anything that will bust up your gear.

These type of pickerel spots are great for testing fly fishing equipment.