18 replies to this topic

[esox fan]

Ok guys i am new here and new to pickerel keeping. My son and i will be getting two very small redfin pickerel this week. They wi be housed in a 30 gallon tank well planted with fake plants, live plants, and hiding spaces. We have access to guppy fry, endlers, and black worms.
Should we seed the tank with some sort of fresh water coppods as well?
Also is there anyone here from SW Michigan that can tell me where we could go to fish for grass pickerel since they are native in the state?
Our goal is to catch every species over time. I know that will take some time as we would have to eventually travel to Italy and the Amur River after I retire. Kind of a bucket list thing for me to do with my son.
Anyway thanks for the help.

[Michael Wolfe]

Welcome to the forum.

 

I really think father-son projects like this are great.  I kept a small pickerel for a while at the begging of my son.  They can be a lot of fun and I think you will be OK in a 30 since many esox do not really cruise around the aquarium much... they usually just relax until dinner time.  I dont think you have to seed with copapods... but I would set up the aquarium now with the endlers and let them get established and let them help establish the biological filter for your tank.  That way everything will be ready when your esox is ready to go in.  I would also set up a separate tank to breed guppies in... you are eventually going to need a lot of guppies.

[smbass]

I don't have any specific sites for you but grass pickerel should be relatively common in the backwaters and small vegetated streams in SW MI. They are also present in natural lakes in and around dense vegetation. If you were in Ohio I could give you some specific sites to try but am not real familiar with MI. Use small lures or live bait worked along shallow weed lines. I have caught a few hook and line but catch them much more often with seines.

[esox fan]

The tank has been running for two years so it is well cycled. I just wasnt sure about the endlers and guppies. We are going to get another tank going for guppies this week. They will only be 1.5 to 2 inches when i get them so i should be set i think.

[esox fan]

I have read of a couple lakes south of me that may have them so i will just have to try for them now. Some are along the road and a couple are connected by a stream so i am hoping that they will be productive

[esox fan]

Bad news. My fish got stuck in memphis durimg shipping we will see if they make on Monday since they were supposed to be here Thursday.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Storm. That stinks, was a bad week for shipping fish I would guess.

[Michael Wolfe]

How big are they?  Keep your fingers crossed.  Pickerel can be pretty tough fish.

[gzeiger]

Keep in mind that these are some of the very most enthusiastic jumpers. I've had one jump over seven inches out of the water to his death.

 

If the decision isn't already made, I'd recommend keeping only one. They will eat each other, even at fairly similar sizes.

[esox fan]

Great news! The little guys arrived ALIVE! Took a lot of time to acclimate and all is going good so far. One of the guppies dropped fry today and both ate. My fingers are crossed that it will continue to go well.

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[Matt DeLaVega]

SALT! 1 tablespoon per five gallons. I would just do it, if you have not already. That's a long time in a bag.

[esox fan]

I have been told about salt before. Please share your experience with it as i have been told that there really is not benefot and that there is depending on the perso. You are talking to.
They are doing great. Colors are improving daily and they have massacred all the guppy fry that were dropped yesterday.

[Sunfish Catcher 321]

Where did you get you pickerel.

[gzeiger]

There is some disagreement on the long-term benefits of salt, and most I think agree with you about skipping it. There is generally agreement that salt can reduce the immediate stress of capture and transport though, because it helps mitigate the ionic loss from the fish's stress reaction which can be damaging if it is prolonged, such as by going from stream to net to bare-bottomed collection bucket, or mailing.

 

I would not add anything at this point if they are doing well, but I agree it would have been a good idea when they were taken out of the bag.

[Mike]

Great Bear Lake (Between South Haven and Kalamazoo) had a good population of Grass Pickerel; I used to catch quite a few each year while fishing for Bass or Crappie. Like smbass said look for them in the weeds or on the edges of weed beds for the bigger ones.

Saddle Lake is another good one.

[Mike]

Don't forget about the latest addition to the Pike Family: Aquitanian Pike Esox aquitanicus found in France.
If you want to make it harder - your bucket list might look like this if youre counting subspecies, forms/mutations & propagated hybrids:

This is my Pike Species Bucket List:

1. Grass Pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus
2. Redfin Pickerel Esox americanus americanus
3. Chain Pickerel Esox niger
4. Northern Pike Esox lucius
5. Northern Pike (European) Esox lucius
6. Silver Pike Esox lucius mutation
7. Blue Pike Esox lucius mutation
8. Muskellunge (Great Lakes /Spotted) Esox masquinongy masquinongy
9. Muskellunge (Chautauqua/Ohio River) Esox masquinongy ohioensis
10. Muskellunge (Clear/barred) Esox masquinongy immaculatus
11. Tiger Muskellunge (Hybrid) Esox masquinongy/ Esox lucius
12. Aquitanian Pike Esox aquitanicus
13. Cisalpine Pike or Southern Pike Esox cisalpinus
14. Amur Pike Esox reichertii

I am missing #'s 7,9,12,13,& 14

[esox fan]

I got my fish from Sachs. They were great. I hightly recommend them.

The little guys are doing very well i only have ine issue and that is a spot that is on one of them. At first i though ich from the stress of travel but i am not to sure. I will post a decent picture when i can get one. He doesnt like to pose liKe other one does.

As for the bucket list i have only caught norther so far. I am heading to South Carolina i about a month and hope to bag a redfin and chain when I am there. My fater inlaw is looking into some areas where i might be able to catch some Without worrying about alligators. I also hope to get my first musky this summer...... i have hooked one but lost it once. This year will be my first serious attempts at them.

As for the grass pickerel, I planned to head to Saddle lake hopefully soon as well as a couple in Kalamazoo that reported ly have these little guys.

Are you also a Michigander Mike?

[gzeiger]

If you'll be in the Charleston area, PM me. I know a few spots.

[Betta132]

Aw, cute little guys!