croton pickerel
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Hairman: most of the pickerel I have seen come out of Croton are enormous......that being said, they have been there a long time.....
we had, by degrees and record, a much colder year than in previous years, perhaps the Picks were more "comfortable" more of the time with this.......
harvesting on the premise that it may or may not help the bass fishing I don't believe is a decision that we have to make.....
we had, by degrees and record, a much colder year than in previous years, perhaps the Picks were more "comfortable" more of the time with this.......
harvesting on the premise that it may or may not help the bass fishing I don't believe is a decision that we have to make.....
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crotons bass population is great.there are lots of lakes where both coexist.muskies and pickeral are mainly stocked to help keep panfish populations under control.that being said,pickeral are delicious if you don't mind picking out the bones.for proof of crotons bass population just see mark g.'s recent croton post and posts by baron von senko.there are plenty of hogs there.:beerchug:
Pickerel are fairly high on the food chain and are not the threat to Bass that one might think. The big issue for Bass are pan fish and Bass themselves. Pickerel will take anything they can eat from insects to ducks and are a beneficial member of any lakes ecology. Due to their size and being an opportunist, they will often target weak or dying fish since they don't need to utilize a great deal of energy to capture them.
I lived at Croton near Baptist Church Rd. for several years back in the late 60's and fished that cove all the way to the 129 bridge on almost a daily basis. The Bass population was outstanding. The Pickerel also maintained a large population. On any given day you could catch plenty of them and as another post mentioned - they are good eating.
I must say that I am surprised that the Fish & Game department would stock them since they are very capable of self propagation. The NH F&G Department doesn't do this - but then again their primary stocking plan is trout. Without a doubt they would benefit a lake that has little or no population since they will help balance the food chain.
On the same subject - Pickerel:
Has anyone ever caught them out of real deep water?
On several occasions, I have been jigging in 35 to 50 feet of water over a hump where I have spotted some fish on my electronics. Much to my surprise I have caught some fairly good size pickerel ( 3 to 5 lbs.) off spots like that. This was up here in New Hampshire and I have never had that happen anywhere else.
In NY, the largest Pickerel I have ever caught came from Kensico. I fished the aqueduct inlet near the fenced off area on Nanahagen Rd ( spelling?). We could almost guarantee at least one five pounder every time we went there.
Enjoy the Pickerel and watch those nasty teeth.
John/NH
I lived at Croton near Baptist Church Rd. for several years back in the late 60's and fished that cove all the way to the 129 bridge on almost a daily basis. The Bass population was outstanding. The Pickerel also maintained a large population. On any given day you could catch plenty of them and as another post mentioned - they are good eating.
I must say that I am surprised that the Fish & Game department would stock them since they are very capable of self propagation. The NH F&G Department doesn't do this - but then again their primary stocking plan is trout. Without a doubt they would benefit a lake that has little or no population since they will help balance the food chain.
On the same subject - Pickerel:
Has anyone ever caught them out of real deep water?
On several occasions, I have been jigging in 35 to 50 feet of water over a hump where I have spotted some fish on my electronics. Much to my surprise I have caught some fairly good size pickerel ( 3 to 5 lbs.) off spots like that. This was up here in New Hampshire and I have never had that happen anywhere else.
In NY, the largest Pickerel I have ever caught came from Kensico. I fished the aqueduct inlet near the fenced off area on Nanahagen Rd ( spelling?). We could almost guarantee at least one five pounder every time we went there.
Enjoy the Pickerel and watch those nasty teeth.
John/NH
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Cool observation, John/NH! I personally have never taken picks from depths below 20 feet, so it's interesting to hear them coming from those depths. My only problems with pickerel are the breakoffs they cause on hooksets and the difficulty they present in playing and releasing them. Some of that can be offset by the John G pickerel glove!
I don't believe they are stocked, although Tiger Muskie have been stocked in Croton on the NE end. There have been scattered reports of Tigers being caught, but they are few and far between.
Hairman, don't sweat the picks. They shouldn't be a problem to the bass population in a place like Croton...
Mark
I don't believe they are stocked, although Tiger Muskie have been stocked in Croton on the NE end. There have been scattered reports of Tigers being caught, but they are few and far between.
Hairman, don't sweat the picks. They shouldn't be a problem to the bass population in a place like Croton...
Mark
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Hairman,
Yes, picks have certainly been over abundant on Croton this year but rest assured the bass population will not be effected by it.
John G's theory is correct....those fish have been there a long time and the colder than normal temps this year have resulted in very coopertive picks !
Ronnie
Yes, picks have certainly been over abundant on Croton this year but rest assured the bass population will not be effected by it.
John G's theory is correct....those fish have been there a long time and the colder than normal temps this year have resulted in very coopertive picks !
Ronnie
I like using a spring wire jaw spreader such as one might take Pike fishing. Works better as the lure is often deep and unhooking goes much better, all while keeping the pick/pike under control.
I don't know about Muskies though, as I haven't been that lucky yet.
--
dw
G
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·what does this translate to ?
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John, NH, Pickeral are a member of the Pike family of fishes. They like cooler temperatures than bass & are often deep like Pike in the summer. However, here on the NYC reservoirs, we generally have about a 25 ft thermocline in the summer & they will often be found suspended at that depth. Come fall & they come shallower as the water cools. This year we had real weird weather with a LOT of rain, so patterns for bass & pickeral were not very stable. In more oxygenated waters like the St Lawrence River, you can catch Pike to about 60 ft. Each body of water can have different Oxygen & PH levels which will effect the depth of the fish. One reason you used to catch Big Pickeral by the Catskill outlet on Kensico was because of the Colder & better oxygenated water there. That also drew the baitfish.
They now have it buoyed off so you can`t get close to it.
As to eating, Pike & Pickeral are tops for fresh water fish. Most people don`t eat them because they do not know how to filet them. Lots of bones, but if fileted correctly, you will not have a single bone to pick out. You can probably find "how to filet Pickeral & Pike" on the internet. Marty
They now have it buoyed off so you can`t get close to it.
As to eating, Pike & Pickeral are tops for fresh water fish. Most people don`t eat them because they do not know how to filet them. Lots of bones, but if fileted correctly, you will not have a single bone to pick out. You can probably find "how to filet Pickeral & Pike" on the internet. Marty
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I don't think he can hear you, Marty. He hasn't posted in a year and a half and not more than 5 times in 3 years. The original poster has 5 posts and hasn't posted in over 3 years which begs the question of why we resurrected this thread and are now continuing it.
Oh, and if you want people to believe you know alot about pickerel you should learn how to spell it
Oh, and if you want people to believe you know alot about pickerel you should learn how to spell it
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Markie Maypo, I guess I`ve forgotten how to spell a lot of stuff, but I know how to ketch`em, & know how to filet them, & I don`t need any red hooks, Gloomis rods, or $400 reels to do it.:laugh:I don't think he can hear you, Marty. He hasn't posted in a year and a half and not more than 5 times in 3 years. The original poster has 5 posts and hasn't posted in over 3 years which begs the question of why we resurrected this thread and are now continuing it.
Oh, and if you want people to believe you know alot about pickerel you should learn how to spell it
On that note I just got a $400 reel (Shimano Antares AR) from Japan for $140.(BRAND NEW)
Tom Seward sold it to me because he had no use for such a gaudy item, & didn`t want it. Ronnie set it up for me, & told me why it was such a great reel, etc, etc etc. I liked my BPS Extremes better. Marty
Here are a couple videos on how to get rid of those nasty Y bones and have a nice Pike/Pickerel fillet:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8uSGvrzjQjs
and
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bcWyGrV0qao
or this way:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FBzhM9aUqPI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8uSGvrzjQjs
and
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bcWyGrV0qao
or this way:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FBzhM9aUqPI
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But the point of the board is to SHARE.
The I read but don't post attitude is EXACTLY why you see less and less waters named.
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I'll take it off your hands for $100
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this is unbelievable! you disappear after a 2003 post but miraculously reappear when someone says something about you???
this thread is closed.....
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Croton pics are big and mean. I usually catch them when throwing a spinnerbait or top water. They are great fun to catch but downright nasty to grab at the side of the boat to get the hook out.
I have not been out much this year on Croton (less than 15 times) but didn't see any great increase in the amount of pic that I've caught while targeting largies.
Pete
I have not been out much this year on Croton (less than 15 times) but didn't see any great increase in the amount of pic that I've caught while targeting largies.
Pete
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