Modest Pickerel patterns

[Baron]

I'm going to begin tying and my goal is to catch more Pickerel and Panfish. I'm told that the pike family comes alive in the fall and would like to prove that point. I hope to use 4-5wt gear and so I'm not looking for 10oz lures I'm hoping that the size I tie will still continue to attract large perch, crappy and Gills. I'd like to settle on a standard style so that with minor theme and variation adjustments I could tailor them by color, size and season.

DaveW posted some photos on the opening page article that look fun and lightweight. I think I'm looking for lightweight, perhaps perch or bait imitations in Clouser or Deceiver styles. Weedless is best as I fish very shallow weedy Pocono lakes.

I'd love to see your recommendations.

I know Pickerel aren't the most popular. I grew up in farm country and fished allot of ponds locally as a kid. I like Bass fine but don't find then all that special anymore. I never caught pickerel as a kid and am just enamored by them. Bass are higher in the bio-accumulation arena. I eat allot of fish. Pickerel are slightly safer and panfish are better yet.

 

[afishinado]

Baron wrote:
I'm going to begin tying and my goal is to catch more Pickerel and Panfish. I'm told that the pike family comes alive in the fall and would like to prove that point. I hope to use 4-5wt gear and so I'm not looking for 10oz lures I'm hoping that the size I tie will still continue to attract large perch, crappy and Gills. I'd like to settle on a standard style so that with minor theme and variation adjustments I could tailor them by color, size and season.

DaveW posted some photos on the opening page article that look fun and lightweight. I think I'm looking for lightweight, perhaps perch or bait imitations in Clouser or Deceiver styles. Weedless is best as I fish very shallow weedy Pocono lakes.

I'd love to see your recommendations.

I know Pickerel aren't the most popular. I grew up in farm country and fished allot of ponds locally as a kid. I like Bass fine but don't find then all that special anymore. I never caught pickerel as a kid and am just enamored by them. Bass are higher in the bio-accumulation arena. I eat allot of fish. Pickerel are slightly safer and panfish are better yet.

You really answered your own question >

Clouser and Deceiver patterns in different colors and sizes tied weedless.

I would add pencil poppers and gurglers tied weedless for surface applications to round our your fly box.









Get busy tying > fishing.....good luck!

 

[Baron]

Poppers for fall, Afish? Did you say earlier that if I use dumbbell eyes the fly will fish upside down? Wouldn't that make it much more weedless?
Wouldn't a black marker make nice perch stripes?

 

[afishinado]

Baron wrote:

Poppers for fall, Afish? Did you say earlier that if I use dumbbell eyes the fly will fish upside down? Wouldn't that make it much more weedless?
Wouldn't a black marker make nice perch stripes?

Yes, sometimes fishing on top just above the heavy weeds is the only way to present your fly. Plus I like to fish poppers slow in the heavy stuff, especially in the colder water, but often try to make some noise with your fly to grab their attention.

 

[redietz]

Back in the day, I caught a lot of pickerel on a Micky Finn bucktail. If you can find keel hooks, it can be pretty weedless, too.

If I could tie them as twelve year old, they're probably a good beginner fly.

Good luck. Personally, I always enjoyed pickerel fishing.

 

[JerryC]

Last year when we were up fishing Sohola around this time, the bass and pickerel were blowing up bait fish on the surface. Top waters do work in the fall. Another simple pattern if you're planning to tie Clousers is a buck tail teaser. I tie them as simple bait fish patterns. If you look at the picture of Lefty's Deceiver, just subtract the feathers and that's your teaser. Light buck tail on the bottom, pearl or silver flash in the middle and darker buck tail on top. I add eyes to mine but it's not required.

 

[Baron]

Thanks Bob, both Micky Finn and McGinty were on the list but didn't yet make the cut. I decided Lefty's legacy is the winner and I just ordered tying materials for that.

Jerry,
I'm going tomorrow to Shohola to try it out. I hope to find some weeds to row around in.
Teaser it is for now. My adult kids are out in their yards hiding their chickens and securing their chicken coops.

 

[RLeep2]

If you're going to be trying to throw flies big enough to interest decent size pickerel with a 5 wgt. rod, fly bulk is probably going to be an issue. You might want to consider tying flies with lightweight components to make casting a little easier. One such pattern is Lefty Kreh's "Seaducer" with a palmered hackle body and a saddle hackle tail. Pretty light and easy to cast yet still has some visual bulk. Here is an example as a general template. Use any color combo that appeals to you, not necessarily this olive one. I use a lot of these for northerns. They aren't all that durable but they catch fish.

https://olefloridaflyshop.com/shop/flies/saltwater-flies/general-saltwater-flies/sea-ducer/

 

[Baron]

Very simple. I ordered what I need for the full lefty deceiver. I’ll have plenty enough tying materials to tie a bunch of different versions.
Bob I see this version will require me to tie hackles at the head. It looks fun.
I didn’t order the braid to cover the shank as shown in the video. The author said it was optional. I may use thread or flash to neaten the shank up.

 

[jifigz]

Any bass/trout streamer. Closures, bunny strips, woolly buggers.

Size them accordingly. All very simple to tie and very effective.

 

[JerryC]

"Jerry,
I'm going tomorrow to Shohola to try it out. I hope to find some weeds to row around in.
Teaser it is for now. My adult kids are out in their yards hiding their chickens and securing their chicken coops"

You might run into my buddies then. They're up there this week. They usually put in at the second ramp. Drive past the turn-off for the first ramp. The road ends at parking area for the ramp, and the road down to the ramp is on the left. If you see two guys tooling around in a green 12 john boat, yell "Yo John" and if they both turn and look at you, you got the right boat. It's easy to remember my three fishing buddies names, John, John, and John.

Always remember that chickens shed their feathers, and at some point they quit laying and the only thing you can do is invite them to dinner. My niece kept a couple of chickens in her back yard when she lived in Austin, TX. She was always sending me feathers. Eventually, she asked me to tie some flies for her husband's father to take to New Zealand. Using just plain old chicken feathers I came up with the "Austin Chicken Nymph" which Greg's father caught a 10 lb Brown trout on. Picture of the nymph below.

 

[Baron]

Jerry that fly doesn't look anything that resembles a chicken.

I was going to look for the boat with broken fly rods but I'll yell for John instead.
My fly fishing son will be looking for hen feathers around the roost for me. I'm sure if they ever come for dinner they'll likely leave their coats behind.

 

[drakeking412]

https://flylordsmag.com/fly-fishing-for-chain-pickerel-tips/?utm_source=The+Flylords&utm_campaign=58c4ade6c6-Newsletter+9%2F15%2F20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_985ec1d746-58c4ade6c6-342569393


might be of some use

 

[FlyMaster99]

I caught my first pickerel when i was 13 on a ant dry fly fishing for "white fish" for catfish bait that evening. Since then I've caught multiple on dry flies while not even trying to target pickerel. A few times i have gone out and targeted them I have caught them on Clouser minnows as well. I still love catching them and hope this helps as well. Good luck and tight lines.

 

[Bamboozle]

While I don't fish for Pickerel with a fly rod much anymore, when I did they liked my "plastic worm or Senko" fly which is as easy as pie to tie:

I use an Eagle Claw Barbed Weedless Baitholder Hook - 449WA

Tie in three strands of Estaz Chenille at the hook bend (you can play around with colors), leaving one strand long enough to wrap forward to the head of the fly. Wrap forward and tie off.

FWIW - I don't weight mine, preferring instead to use a fly tying cone head, pegged on my tippet for weight, (if I want weight) but you could add a few lead wraps if you wish before making the “body.”

After tying off and cutting the thread, take the three strands you tied in at the bend and braid them like a ponytail until the overall length (which includes the hook shank) is what you want, remembering that the shorter it is, the easier it will cast. For pickerel, 3” – 4” is fine.

Tying off the end of the “ponytail” while holding it in your hand isn’t particularly difficult since neatness doesn’t count. After tying off the “ponytail,” coat the wraps with a little head cement or clear nail polish for durability and trim off any scraggly ends.

While Pickerel teeth will rip them up, they also rip up anything you use however, they are so easy to tie that you can make a bunch in an hour.

When I used them, I cast to likely holding areas and “rip” them through the water FAST, the same technique I use when fishing real Senkos for Pickerel. With the 449WA hooks, you can cast them right in the openings in the weeds and slither them across snag-free.

 

[Fredrick]

I have had great sucess with clousers tied with super hair on a 60 degree jig hook .

 

[Baron]

I used a feather Plug yesterday and the faster I stripped it the more attention It got but none connected. It seemed that they all wanted the tail but not the hook.
Is the photo below similar to what you are describing?

 

[Baron]

Bam, when you tied it did you leave the weed guard open until the fly is done.
I didn't understand about the bonehead. Are you saying you slip the cone over the tippet as you tie on the fly.
I use that hook in size 6 for spring perch and Its okay. the guard tends to open easily and constantly needs tending. That might have more to do with interference from the heavy nightcrawlers. It must be an excellant streamer hook.

 

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
Bam, when you tied it did you leave the weed guard open until the fly is done.

I didn't understand about the bonehead.

I don't understand about the bonehead either...Is the "bonehead" me or you?" ;-)

Yes, those "worms" you pictured are similar to mine. I don't bother with the tail for pickerel and yes, weed guard open and open wide when tying.

As far as the weed guard popping open, yes it does at times but it still functions. Besides, I'm in the habit from fishing for bass & pickerel with real soft plastics to visually inspecting my "bait" after each cast because they often get pulled partially off of the hook. So looking at my fly after a retrieve is no big deal to me.

Of course you could just use a regular hook and add your own weed guard.

As far as the cone head goes, I use them like a conventional bass angler uses bullet head weights, slide them on your line before tying on the fly.

As far as pegging goes, sometimes I don't bother, sometimes I use a little blob of "Soft Lead" to hold the cone head or I just use a tiny split shot in front or just use a split shot. There are other techniques for pegging a weight that I carried over from my conventional bass fishing that I also use.

Also, Water Gremlin makes a removable soft lead bullet weight that I use all the time called Bull-Shot when I want to add weight to an unweighted larger fly.

In regards to the "attention" you got with a "Feather Plug" fished fast, sometimes the take happens on a pause which allows the bait-lure-fly to fall.

If I had a dollar for every bass or pickerel I've caught on a soft plastic when it was falling after a twitch or retrieve, I'd be a rich man.

Have fun...

 

[Baron]

I like the flies shown but would be afraid to add the tail shown......afraid the fish would laugh.
Whirlpool, on the forum that kicked me off, said that the leaded line I took off an old Medalist would help in many different ways when tying and and in need of weight. It sounded reasonable. The lake I fish most is terrible for weeds and until the milfoil collapses to the bottom standard streamers are off the menu. They either have to be weedless or float or both.
Since the deepest I desire to fish is 4' deep in a 6' deep lake neutral buoyancy is the best.


For those of you that have been to Gouldsboro may know of the stump field that I spend so much time in. I love it there but its a real challenge now.