Rat Man

Hi; I live in South Jersey and have targeted pickerel for many years. Yes, you can eat them, but they are VERY bony. I like the taste but unless it's a really large pick they're not worth the trouble. Why not just release then to fight another day. They're excellent fighters on light tackle. Also, I read some posts that say that pickerel swallow lures and die anyway. I think that if you keep good, heavy wire cutters on hand and are willing to sacrafice a hook to save a beautiful game fish you'll be able to release almost all of the pickerel that you catch alive. It takes a long time for any fish to grow to lunker size. Please don't kill them.