Chain Pickerel

Pickerel are reported by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation to be found in most of the Finger Lakes.   They are rare in Conesus and Owasco Lakes and were once found in Otisco Lake but are now extinct there, but all the other lakes have decent populations.  Their numbers and average sizes fluctuate over the years.   Keuka Lake is currently loaded with small nuisance pickerel.   Canandaigua and Skaneateles have some decent fish.  Cayuga Lake is also full of pickerel and the north end is the place to be when the season opens in May.   At this time of the year they are shallow and very aggressive.  In the summer I've caught pickerel in 18' to 23' of water off the edges of weedlines.   Seneca Lake has produced some very nice pickerel over the years, but the pike/pickerel population appears to be very low right now.   In the 1980s Seneca's pike fishing crashed and the pickerel population responded very nicely.

Pickerel are capable fighters and superb eating.   I enjoy fishing for pickerel, especially on Cayuga Lake.  Action is the attraction!   I don’t have a problem with keeping a bunch of pickerel since they are very underexploited.   However, they are important to have in the fisheries since they keep panfish populations under control.   De-hooking pickerel can be a challenge.  They are hard to hold and have very sharp teeth.   I’ve received more nasty cuts from 16” pickerel than I have from handling 35” pike!

The pickerel in the "Species Photo" is a 23" taken by Jessica in January 2008 on the south end of Cayuga Lake.   The fish hit a Lunker City shaker in the Mahi Mahi color.