The other big demand for pickerel there is during the summer when nonresident visitors bring their kids to northcountry. It is a consensus that most of the pickerel fishermen are younger anglers or parents who bring kids along. Pickerel generally spawn during March and April over vegetation in flooded areas. The eggs are sticky and adhere to underwater plants. After hatching, the young fish remain attached to the vegetation for six to 10 days before they start to feed.
Parents give no care to the eggs or the young.
When small, pickerel feed on zooplankton and insects. After they reach a length of some six inches, their diet switches to fish and crayfish. Then their diet can be anything. Ted even found a baby duck in one pickerel's stomach. It had 21 golden shiner fry in its stomach.