How to Catch Chain Pickerel Ice Fishing: Complete Guide
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Chain pickerel can offer some of the best and most consistent ice fishing to be found. They are fairly easy to locate and even easier to catch once you find the appropriate location. They fight hard and their sharp teeth make landing them a bit of a challenge. I grew up fishing for chain pickerel through the ice and ice fishing for pickerel is one of my favorite outdoor activities.
Let me explain to you everything I’ve learned in my 20+ winters spent ice fishing chain pickerel and let me share with you what I have learned from fishermen better at catching pickerel than me.
We will discuss the best times of day, what bait to use, how to locate them, what techniques to use, and some proven tips and tricks to catch more big pickerel than anyone else on the lake.
To learn the best water temperature for musky, check out this complete guide I wrote. Check out this helpful guide for the best time of day for pickerel fishing.
Ice Fishing for Chain Pickerel
Best Time of Day
When ice fishing for chain pickerel, I have found the best time of day is typically from mid-to-late morning from 9 am until 11 am and in the mid-to-late afternoons from 3 pm until around sunset. That midday window is usually pretty dead as are the early morning daylight hours.
If you have any rain or snow move in, the hours preceding the weather event can also be very good chain pickerel fishing times. During very cloudy or overcast days, the midday window can be decent for big pickerel as they will be a bit more active than under direct sunlight.
Where to Find Pickerel
In early winter once the ice forms and is safe to fish on, pickerel will be in shallow bays with plenty of weed cover. Here they will actively ambush baitfish like shiners, shad, and yellow perch.
Oftentimes, the ice will be completely void of snow allowing near-full sunlight to penetrate and help the weeds grow.
As winter moves along and heavy snows rest on the ice, the weeds will begin to die in shallow bays due to lack of sun. Pickerel may now move onto deeper shelves near the mouths of these shallow bays. They won’t want to leave the weeds entirely but they will be deeper.
Best Baits for Winter Pickerel
1. Shiners
Shiners are my favorite ice fishing bait for chain pickerel by far. Pickerel really seem to respond favorably to shiners in the 2 to 4-inch range though 4-inch shiners will require a little more time for pickerel to mouth well enough for a good hookset.
You can buy shiners at many bait shops and they are very hardy. Rig these on tip-ups or free-lined beneath a standard ice fishing spinning rod.
2. Fathead Minnows
Fathead minnows are a great bait for small bass, trout, as well as big yellow perch and bluegill. I think they can make decent but not spectacular pickerel bait.
I think they are a bit too small for chain pickerel but you can catch small and even medium-sized pickerel with them. I feel like big pickerel will just ignore them altogether.
3. Mudpuppy Salamanders
These large salamanders are pretty good live bait for ice fishermen for a variety of species. In some parts of Colorado, they are the only legal live bait you can ice fish with.
I think you can catch big pickerel with small mudpuppies but I have never actually fished with mudpuppies before so this is all just theoretical. They can be worth trying out but I think you’ll catch more northern pike and bass than you will pickerel.
Artificial Lures vs. Live Bait
During the summer months, artificial baits can work about as well as live bait for chain pickerel who will be more aggressive and active feeding. During the winter, with the water a lot colder, pickerel will be more sluggish, favoring live bait.
100%, I recommend using only live bait for ice fishing pickerel as long as you are fishing in a state or watershed where live bait is legal.
I think your best option is shiners since they can be purchased at many bait shops and are bigger, tastier meals for big pickerel than fathead minnows.
Try fishing with shiners in the 2 to 4-inch range for the best results. Give the pickerel a little extra time to mouth the 4-inch shiner before setting the hook.
Check out this helpful guide for the best time of day for pickerel fishing. Check out this helpful guide for the best time of day for musky fishing.
15 Tips for Chain Pickerel Ice Fishing
1. Locate Weeds
Pickerel prefer weeds to just about any other cover-type. Chain pickerel are one of the most specialized ambush hunters you can catch. Their slender bodies and coloration allow them to perfectly blend in among the weeds and ambush small fish and frogs.
The most important tip I recommend for ice fishing chain pickerel is to find weeds and other underwater vegetation.
These locations will hold plenty of baitfish and offer pickerel great ambush sites. These will also be corridors by which bluegills and yellow perch, which pickerel also eat, pass through all day long coming to and from deeper water
2. Use a Portable Fish Finder or Flasher
A portable fish finder or flasher can be a great tool for ice fishermen to locate vegetation and fish presence. These devices are especially important for anglers new to a body of water with no prior knowledge of drop-offs, weeds, and other features.
But it can also be very useful for fishing your home lake as it will tell you with more detail what you already kind of know and it will tell if you if fish are present.
Flashers are more primitive in their design but can be a great tool for ice fishing. For a much more detailed look, portable fish finders like the Deeper PRO+ and the iBobber offer a better value, in my opinion.
3. Fish Openings in Ice from Bank
If you ever come across melting ice during a warm spell, do not try to fish them from the ice. The ice will be very thin around these openings so don’t risk it to fish here. If these openings in the ice are near the bank, fish these from the shore.
Chain pickerel among other species will be drawn to these openings in the ice as they provide warmer water, more dissolved oxygen, great plant growth, and more baitfish.
The sun will also warm up the rocks and mud under the water make it a bit warmer than the rest of the lake. Fish these openings with artificial lures like shaky-heads and small swimbaits.
4. Shiners or Minnows
The two best bait options I have found for ice fishing chain pickerel are shiners and fathead minnows. Both of these baits are readily available for purchase at most bait shops in states or watersheds where live fish are legal bait.
Chain pickerel respond very well to shiners in the 2 to 4-inch range and smaller pickerel will feed on the fathead minnows though you may not catch any big pickerel with these.
Small yellow perch, small bluegill, and small sucker work really well too but are illegal to use as fishing bait in many states. Go with shiners and minnows if you can.
5. Live Bait Over Lures
Many anglers catch chain pickerel by accident while jigging for yellow perch, bass, and even pike. But using artificial lures for pickerel can be very unreliable in the winter.
Instead, I recommend using only live bait as long as it’s legal. Live baitfish are the ideal bait for pickerel through the ice.
Rig some tip-ups with lively shiners and simply using your jigging rods to soak shiners. Just prop up your rods so you can see if there’s a bite. You will catch a lot more pickerel using shiners through the ice than any lure on the market.
6. Know When to Set Hook
Chain pickerel have a very distinct way of grabbing and eating bait. They like to run with the bait aways, pause, and then swim off. During the pause part, pickerel will be flipping the bait around for a head-first consumption.
When I’m using tip-ups, I run over to the hole as fast I can. Then I like to watch the line coming off the spool keeping my hand off the line while it runs out.
Once the line stops moving, I will grab onto the line and pull it snug so I can feel slight tension with the fish. When the line starts moving again, that is when you set the hook. Set it too soon and you will lose the fish because it won’t have the hooks in its mouth yet.
7. Check Your Line After Each Fish
Pickerel have sharp, nasty teeth. It is a good idea to check your line’s condition after each fish you catch. Pickerel don’t grow more than a few pounds but they can really do a number on your gear because of their teeth and nasty demeanor when hooked. Check your line for any cuts, nicks, or kinks after you catch one.
Any of these deformities can cause the line to fail when a big one gets on the hook. If you notice anything wrong with your line, just cut that piece of the defective line away and re-tie your hook higher up. This minor inconvenience can prevent you from losing fish later on.
8. Consider a Wire Leader
Wire leaders can be a good idea for chain pickerel, especially when fishing with tip-ups. Chain pickerel exist in that middle-ground range where they are big enough with sharp enough teeth to warrant special care but don’t for-sure need the heavy-duty wire leaders you would with northern pike, muskies, and even big walleye.
When fishing with a jigging rod and live bait, I don’t use a leader but I do like attaching a 4-inch wire leader to my tip-up braid so a little extra protection. Wire leaders aren’t necessary but they can give you some peace of mind.
9. Pinch Barbs & Use Pliers
Though relatively small fish, these fish possess some formidable chompers. Chain pickerel have a dozen or so needle-like teeth in their mouth designed for grabbing and tearing flesh. It is in your best interest to keep your hands off the menu.
First off, I always recommend using needle-nosed pliers when removing the hooks from pickerel. I have seen videos of guys reaching their fingers in after the hook and it makes me cringe.
Another way to minimize time spent inside a pickerel’s mouth is by pinching the barbs down on your hooks. The hook will hold well enough to not lose any fish but the barbless hooks will be a lot easier to remove.
10. Shallow Bays Can be Great
A really good spot to look for pickerel in the winter are relatively shallow bays with softer bottoms. Look for water 8 to 15-feet deep separate from the main body of the lake or reservoir.
These locations will often be pretty dense with underwater vegetation and, therefore, hold both baitfish ad chain pickerel there to feed on them.
I have found the most success ice fishing pickerel occurred in bays that fit this description. I have had very few bites on the main body of the lake even when I was specifically targeting pickerel. They really prefer backwater with weeds.
11. Fight Pickerel Different Than Bass
It is important to fight pickerel different than you would a bass. Pickerel like to turn broadside if they can or angle away which flosses your fishing line right across their mouths.
This is the last thing you want to happen as those teeth can easily shred your line. Keep direct tension on the pickerel and try to resist their head-shakes with steady tension.
Bass, on the other hand, like to swim away from the hole. This can cause serious issues as the edge of the ice hole is sharp and if the bass grinds your line against it, it can cut.
If you feel a heavier fish on the line you suspect is a bass, dip your rod-tip right into the water when the bass makes a run for it. Your rod in the water will allow the line to remain harmlessly beneath the sheet of ice and not cutting along its edge.
12. Keep Drag Loose
I recommend using pretty light fishing line for winter pickerel because they are sharp-eyed and they will be more cautious around the thicker-diameter fishing line. I think 4-pound test should be plenty of line to spool a jigging rod with when using live bait for pickerel.
That said, you will want to keep your drag loose to prevent the pickerel from cutting the line or simply breaking it. By keeping your drag loose, you will also eliminate the chance of the pickerel pulling your rod through the hole never to be seen again if you are too slow getting to it. This can happen.
13. Fish the Best Times
For much of the year, the best time of day to catch chain pickerel is in the reduced-light hours around sunrise and sunset. These times of day are generally cooler and offer pickerel the best chances to ambush prey. But during the winter, I have actually found that mid-to-late morning and mid-to-late afternoon are the best times of day for pickerel through the ice.
I don’t exactly know the reason for this though I suspect it has something to do with pickerel liking the water to warm up a bit more after the cold night. I have read many other ice fishermen cite these windows as really good for pickerel too.
14. Place Bait at Appropriate Depth
Use a clip-on weight to find the depth with your tip-ups. When the line stops leaving the spool, it is on the bottom. Completely pull your line out of the water noting the section of line that entered the water. Un-clip the weight and add live bait to your hook.
When you put your bait back down the hole, wrap an additional 2-3 coils of line back onto the spool. This should lift your shiner a couple of feet off the bottom which will position it among or slightly above the weeds and perfectly for pickerel to ambush.
15. Invest in a Gas-Powered Auger
With chain pickerel, you really need to find weeds to find good fishing. It can be soul-crushing to spend 30-minutes digging a hole with a hand auger only to realize you selected the wrong spot too shallow or too deep or without good weeds.
I grew up fishing with a hand auger with questionably sharp blades. By investing into a good gas auger, you can make quick work of digging many holes which will increase your mobility, the number of fish you catch, and your back from hurting the next day.
