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We are looking to try a different lake in late June this year and wanted to hear how the fishing on Pickerel Lake compares to Tomahawk Lake. Is Pickerel worth a try or would I be better off with Tomahawk? I'll be with the wife and kids and we primarily fish for crappie, perch and bluegill. I'll fish for bass and chase musky, but crappie fishing is how we'll spend most of our time.
Thanks, Dave
First part of June would be good time for Pickeral Lake if your chasing bluegills and crappies. We've done really well there pre spawn there for crappies in May. We've also caught some real nice bluegills here in August. You and your family should have a really nice time. Hope this helps.
Tight lines
DavesHammer:
My vote for what you are looking for would be Pickeral as well depending upon the time of year you go. You can always sneak over to Tom to fish SM bass and musky, but the pans and largies on Pickeral are there!!!
Mark
Thanks. Are the crappie and gill on Pickerel any larger than on Little St.? We've been a little dissapointed with the size on Little St. over the years as well as the lack of perch and know there's some better lakes in the area we should consider trying. Too many people keeping crappie and gill of any size.
Dave
Dave:
You are welcome... IMHO, panfish are like any other fish kept for food, people are keeping too many of the larger size. I say that because the best genetics for that particular species is from those larger fish. There is also a particular time when the fish are at the early part of their sexual maturity and they are at their best at producing eggs with the right genetics in them. I can't really refute the argument that the largest fish haven't finished their usefulness as spawners. I know there is a group of people that believe that if you don't take the large fish the little ones can't grow up, but I think that is horsehockey as those large fish are cropped before they can get their genes back into the lake, therefore making it impossible to reproduce fish of any size.
If 9" gills are hard to come by on Little St., why not take 6-7's and leave those few 9's along with the 8's in the lake. Taking meals of those in-between fish would help the stunting process by taking out more of that species.
I can't make anyone fish for period of time to understand what the size dimensions are for a particular lake, then keep those fish just under the optimum size... I can't make anyone keep the size distribution that I want for a lake, so I try not to get too excited about what that is as long as what you catch and keep is legal. If it is legal, it is your decision.
I personally don't keep fish until I decide that I am going to have a meal. At that time, I will keep all 20 or so fish of any size provided not too small or not too large. The size structure on Pickeral is like anything you would find on Little St. Good luck and be safe fishing!!!
Mark
Pickerel is great for perch and crappie. Last year we caught a ton of crappie in that 8-9" range. Just a hair too small for me to keep but a very strong year class. This year should be excellent. All you need is a hand full of beetle spins with twister tails and you and the family will have a ball.
As far as the muskie fishing goes, you are better off going somewhere else. We do have big fish in this lake, but they a few and far between. I've had good luck on Sweeney which is only a few miles from pickerel. Its a small lake and can be fished in an afternoon. Any questions on pickerel or sweeney feel free to ask.