Some Like it Cold

Most Esox could care less when it starts getting cold. Pike, pickerel, and muskellunge are more tolerant and aggressive in water under 50 degrees than most other predators in the same water bodies. Their maintained vigor in cold water occasionally takes me by surprise despite having caught them with aggressive presentations just about every month of the year. One such day in the dead of winter, a few warm days had melted the edges of the pickerel pond I was fishing, leaving two to five feet of open water before the ice started. I caught fish casting streamers onto the ice and dragging them off the edge. Most fish ate the fly as you'd expect, while it was actually in the water. But a few blasted right through the soft edge ice trying to get the fly before it even had a chance to get into the water. That was pretty cool. The water was just a tiny bit over 32 degrees and these fish were occasionally busting through ice to get at the fly. So, when many other stillwater fish are thumbing their noses at fast retrieves and big flies this time of year, I look to my old friends, the Esox niger, to get my violent predatory behavior fix.

I've had some frustrating and some typical and productive pickerel days lately. The frustrating days were due to lack of action though. Exploring a body of water I haven't fished much at all, I found plenty of willing fish but just didn't have the right tools to get the job done. I'm fairly confident that most of the fish I was getting reactions from were actually redfin pickerel, and though they were large for the species they were small for the flies I had on me, at least all the ones fishing the top three inches of the water column. I had plenty of small flies on me but none that would ride high in the water column at an appropriate retrieve speed. A small gurgler would likely have brought a bunch of fish to hand. Now I know. 

On other days in different waters, it was as easy as it should be. Drunk and Disorderly fished quickly on a floating line, lots of violent very visual eats, a few fish to hand. 

I may well and up going back out in an hour after some larger pickerel before the storm really gets going here. With some much cooler weather inbound, I'm hoping fishable ice comes with it. A decent amount of snow in the northwest corner of the state, which is where the first good ice is pretty much always is, makes things questionable. Time will tell but I can't wait to be walking on the water and jigging for panfish.

Until next time.

Fish for the love of fish.

Fish for the love of places fish live.

Fish for you.

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