Pickeral Rig Question

[millsboy79]

I have never really considered using a pickeral rig before, but I got walleye tags this year and it seems like a good way to go.

The last time a fishing buddy of mine was using one, the ice was just coming off, he tossed it out onto the ice with the idea to just pop it off and be in the deepest water.

He popped it off all right ... popped the point off both hooks. Which at the time made me feel fairly justified in not previously using them.

What I am curious about now is the different brands, is there better quality rigs out there? I believe his were the one you can get at wholesale sports. Blue and white pack with gold hooks.

I guess depending on the consensus I can always get whatever brand and replace the line and hooks with better quality hardware.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks



Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[KegRiver]

I use Pickeral rigs quiet often, when I'm bait fishing.

I have two brands, one is cheaper. Both work about the same.

I use them mostly for Goldeye and Chub. I find I have better luck using twister tails or spoons for Walleye.

[Talking moose]

Garbage hooks. Buy some good ones and replace them.

[newguy]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

Garbage hooks. Buy some good ones and replace them.

Exactly right.

Make sure your hooks are for th type of fish you want. Pike, biggin hooks. Perch or stocked trout, small.

I've used them for years and they rarely let me down.

[genno]

I find the twister tails and crank baits work better on the walleye, less boring too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wildwoods]

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=293101
There were some good options here.

[dodgeboy1979]

like others have stated, upgrade the hooks and you should be good to go.

[Bushleague]

Hooks are always bad on pickerel rigs, replace them.

Pickerel rigs are a good way to fish bait on the bottom when you are switching back and forth from other types of presentations. Their sole advantage is that you can change them out easily. If you are just planning to soak bait I find a slip sinker rig is superior.

Slide a sinker on to your line, then a bead to protect your knot, then tie on a snap swivel. Tie your hook on a length of line with a surgeons loop at the end that you can clip to your snap swivel. I usually use some floatation on the hook, either a marshmallow or an earplug, in still water you want your leader length to be the distance you want your bait off the bottom, probably 12-18 inches. In current or if you are trolling/ drifting the rig I usually use a leader about 3-4' long as it helps the bait get off the bottom and lets it move around more. In a big eddy with all kinds of weird swirling currents you might want to go shorter to avoid the leader getting tangled around stuff.

With this setup the hook is much less likely to tangle on the main line while casting than a pickerel rig and with the sliding sinker I have a better hooking percentage. As well, if a fish breaks off he isn't dragging around a pickerel rig and sinker until either the hook rusts out of his mouth or he gets tangled up and dies.

[pinelakeperch]

Pickerel rigs are effective, but you can make rigs equally as effective that don't leave as much of a mess in the water.

I like to use a sliding sinker rig. Take your mainline, and slide a barrel swivel on. Add a second barrel swivel, but tie it to your main line. On the swivel that slides up and down your mainline, tie on a weight using a weak mono. On the swivel that is tied to your mainline, tie on a hook using a high strength fluorocarbon leader. With this rig, you have tremendous fighting strength when fighting fish due to the fluorocarbon leader, and any snags of the weight on the bottom will break off easily, leaving the rest of your rig intact.

[kouleerunner]

I caught a walleye Tuesday with a broken pickerel Rig still in its mouth, using a jig tipped with a minnow. It seemed recent enough that it had happened, the hook had not rusted very much, but I'm sure the walleye was happy to have it removed, and we sent him on his way. It wasn't a very big fish (not even close to legal) but the rig must have got caught in rocks, and the line broke off. Break offs happen quite often in that location.

I have used pickerel Rigs bought in stores, and agree with everyone else in this thread, change hooks to a better quality, use a sliprig such as millsboy suggests, or make your own rig, with better quality line and hooks, ( I have built my own with the wires of store bought rigs and using better quality line, and adding better hooks), and tie weights on with a lighter "break" line, so if the weight does snag, it breaks off without losing the entire rig. I would much rather spend $3 building a rig that is much less likely to fail, than $1 on a rig that is almost guaranteed to fail!

I hate seeing cheap broken rigs in fish lips. I don't use them anymore, but I rarely fish from shore anymore either.

[chucklesthe3rd]

any brand just replace the hooks. If u want u can make ur own but with three way swivels.

[Tfng]

When I used to use pickerel rigs I found the weak point to be where the line is wrapped around the bead.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by jhutter

Pickerel rigs are effective, but you can make rigs equally as effective that don't leave as much of a mess in the water.

I like to use a sliding sinker rig. Take your mainline, and slide a barrel swivel on. Add a second barrel swivel, but tie it to your main line. On the swivel that slides up and down your mainline, tie on a weight using a weak mono. On the swivel that is tied to your mainline, tie on a hook using a high strength fluorocarbon leader. With this rig, you have tremendous fighting strength when fighting fish due to the fluorocarbon leader, and any snags of the weight on the bottom will break off easily, leaving the rest of your rig intact.

There's a whole bunch of ways to tie a slip sinker, and they all work. While I do like your method and know that it is widely used, just a few observations... the sinker is actually the most expensive component in the whole rig. I generally make my leader the weak link, the hook costs far less than a 2 oz pyramid weight and with the drag set properly and the mainline test strength chosen accordingly it doesn't interfere with my ability to land fish. Sure I might lose the whole rig once in awhile, but usually I keep my sinker and just clip on another pre-tied hook.

The second observation is, since I usually want my bait to ride off the bottom I feel that a tough/ abrasion/ resistant mono is a better choice than fluoro because of its greater buoyance.

Like I said, many different ways to put bait in front of a fish, just food for thought if the OP decides to try slip sinkers.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

There's a whole bunch of ways to tie a slip sinker, and they all work. While I do like your method and know that it is widely used, just a few observations... the sinker is actually the most expensive component in the whole rig. I generally make my leader the weak link, the hook costs far less than a 2 oz pyramid weight and with the drag set properly and the mainline test strength chosen accordingly it doesn't interfere with my ability to land fish. Sure I might lose the whole rig once in awhile, but usually I keep my sinker and just clip on another pre-tied hook.

The second observation is, since I usually want my bait to ride off the bottom I feel that a tough/ abrasion/ resistant mono is a better choice than fluoro because of its greater buoyance.

Like I said, many different ways to put bait in front of a fish, just food for thought if the OP decides to try slip sinkers.

I wasn't intending to lead the OP to believe that my rig is the only rig available, so thank you for your added points.

I choose to have the weight break first because I would rather lose the weight than a fish

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by jhutter

I wasn't intending to lead the OP to believe that my rig is the only rig available, so thank you for your added points.

I choose to have the weight break first because I would rather lose the weight than a fish

Good point, and I also wasn't intending to come off as having the only, or even the best way. Just trying to point out all the variables.

As for breaking the fish off, for walleye I use a 10 lb leader max. So I use a 15 lb main line and have not actually sacrificed any strength in order to make the leader sacrificial. Of course it is possible that some day I may snag the sinker on something substancial while fighting a fish, and at that point breaking the sinker off would cost me a fish. In what amounts to hundreds of fish I've caught on such a rig I cant remember this having happened yet, so I'm comfortable with those odds.

I think we've probably both soaked a lot of bait and tried different things, and we both have good reasons for doing things the way we do.

[azn_rice_man]

Originally Posted by Tfng

When I used to use pickerel rigs I found the weak point to be where the line is wrapped around the bead.

True story. I re-tie all the p-rigs I use with a better line and hook and majority of the time, it's that wrap around the bead that gives, which causes me to retie the whole thing.

Anyone with suggestions on how to improve that?

[Talking moose]

The only time I use pic rigs is when fishing rivers where the visibility is half an inch....( the peace early in the year...) sometimes lures won't catch zilch.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Good point, and I also wasn't intending to come off as having the only, or even the best way. Just trying to point out all the variables.

As for breaking the fish off, for walleye I use a 10 lb leader max. So I use a 15 lb main line and have not actually sacrificed any strength in order to make the leader sacrificial. Of course it is possible that some day I may snag the sinker on something substancial while fighting a fish, and at that point breaking the sinker off would cost me a fish. In what amounts to hundreds of fish I've caught on such a rig I cant remember this having happened yet, so I'm comfortable with those odds.

I think we've probably both soaked a lot of bait and tried different things, and we both have good reasons for doing things the way we do.

Amen!

[i love fishing]

I use pikerel rig often ,their good for walleye pike trout goldeye and maybe sturgeon
I went red deer river beside the centre street bridge off drumheller
just hook a minnow on

[Tfng]

Originally Posted by azn_rice_man

True story. I re-tie all the p-rigs I use with a better line and hook and majority of the time, it's that wrap around the bead that gives, which causes me to retie the whole thing.

Anyone with suggestions on how to improve that?

I quit using them and switched to a slip sinker rig. I've also rebuilt them and only incorporated one of the wire arms. So it would be, sinker, lighter line, barrel swivel, heavy main line, wire arm with lighter line to hook.

You never know when a big sturgeon will grab your bait fishing the river.

[waterninja]

I can never figure out how they put those pic rigs in those little pkgs.
Eagle Claw snelled hooks.

[AK47]

The best advise about pickerel rigs is to never use them. So many much better options.

[JReed]

They should have a fishing derby where you can only use those high quality gold hooks that come with p-rigs. Would be a blast

[FISHBATTEREDBEER]

I use pike rigs,same as pickerel but everything is steel.