Pickerel fishing in your area

Question
I would like to obtain some information on fishing for pickerel in your area.  I live in the Lancaster, Pa. area and would like to try to catch chain pickerel.  Please help if you can.  Thank you!

Answer
Chain pickerel are typically a shallow water species that live primarily in and around weedbeds primarily in lakes and ponds.  Chain pickerel tend to inhabit the same waters as largemouth bass and follow a similar diet.  They are rather agressive and feed frequently due to a fast metabolism.  

I typically encounter them while fishing shallow, weedy water (usually for bass).  Small spinnerbaits, soft plastics, shallow crank baits, jerkbaits, etc have pretty much all caught me pickerel.  Rarely have I caught them in water much over five feet deep and/or away from cover.  Find a pond that is overrun with them, and get used to fishing for them there and slowly work into more difficult waters.  You'll find quite a few of these in Eastern PA.  A great example of such waters is Stick Pond, across from the Francis E. Walter Dam in the Poconos.  Be forewarned though, pickerel are agressive and have tons of sharp little teeth.  If you're fishing for them with soft plastics, you're going to go through a ton of them because they get absolutely shreded.

Most people don't fish for pickerel, though, but rather catch them from time to time while fishing for largemouth.  They inhabit similar waters and feed similarly.  You're probably going to catch a combination of chain pickerel and small largemouth bass due to the waters you're fishing and the lure's you're using.  Just generally pay attention to the feeding habits of each and you'll pick up a lot.  Take a notebook with you and simply write down information about your trip, water temp/color, air temp, time of day, weather, and lures techniques used and how successful they were along with where on the body of water they were being applied.  The more information you can catalog and learn from the better.  It's good to talk to people and learn that way, but it's even better to build your own catalog of information because then you learn on your own and build confidence in lures and techniques.  

Good luck with the pickerel fishing.  Let me know how that goes for you.  If you have any questions, especially in regard to specific techniques or strategies, feel totally free to ask.

thanks for asking and good luck!
Chris