Pickerel at Swartswood Lake

Hard to believe it's been over 10 years since I last fished Swartswood Lake.

I selected an available shoreline that looked promising. Tree branches gave some shade. I found water shallow in close to them, but variegated by large rocks. I saw the water attained maybe four or five feet of depth within the length of a good cast. A definite breakline between visible and invisible bottom. I was really thinking smallmouths, but noticed my worm rubbing against some newly emerging vegetation, though it was sparse.

"I catch them from shore at Round Valley, Merrill Creek, Spruce Run...I ought to be able to do it here,"  I was thinking to myself. And besides, last I was here, I did just that.

A basstoat positioned not far from me. The fishing seemed dead for that guy, best I could judge. But that was no reason. 

A few minutes later, I came up with a pickerel of about 21 inches that hit my Chompers worm just a few feet beyond that breakline in the dark water. Really good fight. I fished maybe 20 minutes in total. My wife sat at a picnic table, reading, while after hiking we waited on our reservation at the Boathouse Restaurant. 

Pickerel