Grass Pickerel

[MuskieBait]

Yes, small lure...think along the line of the smallest spoons and #1 or smaller spinner. I would focus more on subsurface lures over topwater. With they small size, their habit is likely to stay near bottom to avoid aerial predators...like heron, kingfisher...etc.

Medium sized minnows are too large. Use the smallest minnow you can find that are less than 2" long. Just imagine how big a 2" minnow is to an 8" Grass Pickerel. An average Grass Pickerel is usually 7-8" long...12" individuals are uncommon.

Bycatch will be there...sunfish, bass, bullheads...but just keep working all the area.

Check in the shallowest, swampiest areas...if you find lots of snags (fallen branches, leaf litter, grass, shallow weeds...etc), that's the place to focus on. The small Grass Pickerel will want to stay away from other predators like bass...so find areas where it is too shallow for bass to visit, but still enough water for Grass Pickerel. Think water less than knee deep.

They also seem to like a mucky, muddy bottom...and tannic water.

6lb fluoro is more than OK. Don't need steel leader. In fact, I simply with with 6lb mono.