The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1917-05-28
JUST ORDINARY OIL PICkEREL

My Dear Buck:
II there is one of the fish family
that we remember from the knee
pants end bent-pin stage of the fishing
game, it sure must be or Judge Pick
erel and the young picks" 1t GER
tainly made your heart do a double
quick and started the cold creeps up
your spine, the first time you hooked
pickerel, after kindergarten course
on clubs and sunnies. You probably
had long cane pole or a young sap
ling cut from the nearby wooded shore
anyway, from that time on you real
lied that there was some sport" to
the game. Since then, of course, the
OF pickerel has been sorta dropped
into the discard, and it takes trout,
bass or muskie, perhaps, to start the
JOY trips up along your vertebrate But
let me tip you off straight, Buck.
there's many good fighter left in the
pickerel outfit, regardless Of the many
slurs cast upon his fighting qualities
by some Of the ultra-exclusive high
brows in the angling derby.
Find Pickerei Most Anywhere
The pickerel is one Of the fish that
you can fish for nearly anywhere, and
you don't have to make a five hundred
to one thousand mile trip to his home
grounds" He is a common, ordinary
cuss that can pick up living on next
to nothing. and at the same time raise
q V1io1fu hio In, NV, oo;x
lized" waters he Will even make a
sure-enough professional fisherman sit
up ard take notice at his ability to
evade the bait and make said fisher
man use all his skill and wits to il
duce him to take the lure. The more
he is fshed for the wiser he gets. and
to land few fair-sized pickerel in
nuch-tished waters takes keen work
more so than for the gamer fish in the
usual fish haunts of the North woods
AS a rule the piekerel found in local
waters does not grow to excess size,
say an average of two or three pounds
Some are larger, Of course, but not the
general run.
Where the PckereI Hangs Out.
The pickerel from the running
streams, like all other fish, puts UP
the best fight, while those from the
warmer waters Of the lakes and slug
gish streams are dull and slow fight
ers. The pickere1 is found in nearly
all rivers and lakes or ponds, his pref
erence being for shallow, grassy lakes.
His main hunting grounds are along
the edge of lily and weed beds and on
the outskirts of the grassy growth
that is often called "pickerel grass"
Here he turks, waiting for the smaller
fish to swim past, often striking his
prey with snap of the jaws that cuts
the victim in twain. He is sure
enough barbarian, and is a destroyer
of the weaker fishes, all of which
points to the fact that he will be with
us for many day. He is vicious to
the core, and at times will strike a
trolling spoon with force enough to
bend it double. In springfield lakes he
is often found around the spring-holes,
and deep fishing here will bring him
out. You can feel reasonably sure of
landing him any time from the first
of the season to the windup, and then
take a rap at him through the ice in
winter.
Needs Dentist in August.
August is about the poorest month
for pickerel fishing, caused, no doubt,
by the soreness of the gums, as
claimed by many of the old-timers.
The "muskie," cousin of the pick
erel, loses his teeth in August, while
the pickerel itself mas swelling of
the gums during dogdays that does
not put him in a humor to bite on any
thing. Late September and early Oc-
tober is about the best all-round pick
ereI season, at which time he is found
in the shadows, at the mouth Of out
Troll and Cast for Him.
Although trolling is the surest meth
cd of landing the pickerel, much
sport can be had by casting for him,
using light bass tackle. A NEEDLESS
hook with small frog, sinner or min
now for bait, and a single spinner, is
all you need. Row along the weed
beds, about seventy-fve feet out and
cast in toward the edge, landing your
bait about five feet from. the edge.
Give the pickerel a little time before
striking as he grabs the live bait and
darts back to his lair, there to turn
it around in his mouth and swallow II
head first. Strike sharply and row