My favorite way to target pickerel during the warmer months is with topwater flies. Pickerel are suckers for frog patterns! However, when the weather cools down, it is time to change tactics. My go-to flies are streamer patterns. While there are many effective streamer patterns to choose from, my favorite streamers are those that imitate yellow perch.
Read moreA Different Kind of Blue Lining
Blue Lining in the Pine Barrens!
The term Blue Lining usually refers to fishing small, often remote, trout streams for native or wild fish. I had a craving for a little blue lining myself but at the height of "leaf season" here in New Jersey, fishing our small wild trout streams that flow through hardwood forests is an exercise in futility, at least until the leaves are off the trees. That being the case, a different kind of blue lining was in order. I headed to where trees have needles instead of leaves, the Pine Barrens.
Read morePickerel On The Fly
Chain pickerel are one of my favorite freshwater gamefish. While many anglers despise them, I am rather fond of them. Why do so many anglers dislike them? Chain pickerel are members of the pike family, and like their larger cousins, they have mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. These teeth, as well as sharp gill plates, give them the ability to rob fisherman of their expensive flies and lures if precautionary measures are not taken.
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