![]() Wintertime chain pickerel will push shallow to spawn when water temperatures get near the 50-degree mark. ![]() That makes sense when you consider the historical range of the fish, which goes by the Latin name of Esox niger, a beautiful pike look-alike that features hues of olive-green or yellowish-browns on its back and sides, along with a creamy yellow or white underbelly, and interlocking dark bands on the back and sides. "The population density and average size of the fish seems to increase as you head east." "The native range of the chain pickerel in Texas roughly follows Interstate 45 and points east," he said. Woodruff has seen that reaction more than once. But when I got the feisty fish in that was pushing three-pounds or so, I was a bit perplexed for a moment, wondering how a northern pike had made it all the way to Texas. At first, I thought I had a good largemouth at the end of my line. "Late winter offers few choices to the fly fisherman in this part of the world," agrees Rob Woodruff, my longtime angling friend and a fly fishing guide who lives with his wife Jenny near the trout-rich White River and Norfork River in Arkansas.īefore I met Woodruff, I was first introduced to the East Texas jackfish when I threw a chartreuse spinnerbait into a tannic-stained regional creek that fed into famed Caddo Lake. Where I live in North Texas, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department notes that can be anywhere from December through February, depending on the year and severity of the winter months. In fact, chain pickerel-a toothy cousin of the northern pike and the muskellunge-actually head for the shallows to spawn as water temps approach the 50 degree mark. Unlike many other fish species stuck in the winter doldrums right now, the winter months are actually a great time to target these fish while everything else is curled up out deep. ![]() Simple, go looking for some jackfish, that’s what, or the chain pickerel as the species is better known to many. With largemouths still weeks away from the spawn, the summer blitz of freshwater striped bass even further away, and bluegills not even thinking about making a saucer-shaped spawning bed, what’s a guy to do if he likes to fish with the long rod? (Photo by Lynn Burkhead)Īside from that, options can be limited, particularly if you live miles from good trout water like I do, and a guided redfish trip near the Big Easy is out of the financial cards this year. One word of warning when targeting chain pickerel on the fly: Watch out for their dental work, which can shred an angler's fingers. And in certain portions of the Gulf Coast, the period from Christmas through Mardi Gras can provide some great saltwater action for the biggest bull redfish of the year. In the Ozarks of Arkansas, streamers can bring a flurry of action, particularly when water temps get cold enough to cause a shad kill. Winter can be a challenging time for fly anglers, no doubt.įor trout guys out west, tailraces and small midge patterns can produce some action, not to mention BWO’s on cold and stormy days. "Chain pickerel offer a good opportunity to tune up your fly casting before the spring season begins in earnest, and many of the waters they occur in are pretty and peaceful at this time of year."- Fly-fishing guide Rob Woodruff.
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