CHAIN PICKEREL ON STRIKE

I’ve never stalked a whitetail deer, but I imagine doing so is a bit like fishing for large chain pickerel. Success is found by locating those prime areas where the big ones live, and by working those areas thoroughly and patiently with exact techniques.

- Charles Weiss, with Diane Robitaille

Like a wise old buck, a big granny of a chain pickerel can become too comfortable with her surroundings and a steady supply of food. For chainies, who are pure predators, that means a good supply of prey fish, often in the corner of a small inland lake.

As they get larger and older, chain pickerel become creatures of habit, roaming along the lake and showing up at different structures that provide reliable food and shelter throughout the seasons. They will have several prime spots where they like to hang out. These spots might supply the patient and skilled fisherman with a nice catch of quite large chain pickerel.

Sometimes these spots overlap or seem to be on top of one another. A good fisherman will cast over a lot of water in search of these spots. And what a thrill it is when one of these spots is found and a large, thrashing chain pickerel strikes your lure.

In the province of Nova Scotia there is so much water to explore for chain pickerel that fishermen can become spoiled. Or they can dither, like a diner presented with a too-extensive menu. Should we try that pond by the highway, or that back-county lake that requires a bit of a hike? So much water, so many choices. Success at one lake on one day may be followed the next day by getting skunked at the same lake, using the same techniques.

I love to explore these lakes and ponds with a medium-action bait casting rod or with a travelling, eight-weight fly rod. Over the last decade I’ve fished these spots in May, June, August, September, and October as I’ve visited Nova Scotia with my fishing partner (aka, my wife).