Pickerel are common freshwater predators known for their aggressive feeding habits. Understanding their diet is essential for appreciating their role in aquatic ecosystems and improving fishing success. This article explores their primary food sources, how their diet changes, their hunting techniques, and how this knowledge informs fishing strategies.
Core Dietary Components
Pickerel are largely carnivorous, primarily eating smaller fish species like golden shiners, brown bullheads, and pumpkinseed sunfish. They are opportunistic feeders, consuming almost any aquatic creature they can fit into their mouths. Their diet also includes invertebrates such as crayfish, and amphibians like frogs and newts. These adaptable predators will even eat worms, snakes, mice, small mammals, and occasionally small birds that venture too close to the water’s surface.
Variances in Pickerel Diet
A pickerel’s diet adapts throughout its life stages and in response to environmental factors. Young pickerel, or fry, initially feed on microscopic organisms like zooplankton and small aquatic insects and crustaceans. As they grow, their diet shifts to larger aquatic insects, then predominantly to fish. The availability of prey in their habitat also influences what pickerel eat, leading to regional variations. For example, while fish become increasingly important for larger pickerel, crayfish can remain a consistent food source across different sizes.
Hunting and Feeding Behaviors
Pickerel are highly effective ambush predators. They typically lurk motionless within dense aquatic vegetation, using their natural camouflage to blend seamlessly with their surroundings. When unsuspecting prey swims within striking distance, pickerel launch a rapid, powerful lunge. Their long, duck-bill-like snout is equipped with numerous sharp, backward-pointing teeth for grasping and holding onto slippery prey. As sight-oriented hunters, they are most active during the day, relying on their vision to detect movement and initiate swift attacks.
Diet and Fishing Strategies
Understanding the pickerel’s natural diet is beneficial for anglers. Live bait, particularly minnows, are an effective choice as they mimic a primary food source. Artificial lures imitating small forage fish are often successful. Flashy and brightly colored lures, such as spoons, spinnerbaits, and inline spinners in white, red, or yellow, attract their attention. Jerkbaits, crankbaits, and soft plastics are also popular options. Given their preference for weedy habitats, use weedless lure setups to prevent snags. A moderate to fast retrieve can trigger strikes; pauses are also effective, as pickerel often strike when a lure stops moving. Due to their sharp teeth, anglers should use a steel or heavy monofilament leader to prevent line breakage.