Chain Pickerel

Hello, I'm still new here and trying to learn to fish in southern Florida. I figured out the Oscars in the Everglades, and it might be the best panfishing I've experienced in my life. Does anybody ever accidentally catch bowfin or chain pickerel when they're fishing in the everglades? I have never caught either species and would love to add them both to the list of fish I've caught, so any tips would be appreciated. Chain pickerel specifically look really fun, so I'd love to learn to target them. Thanks all!

I’ve caught both here in central Florida but not in the Everglades. I’ve only fished there a couple times though.


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All you have to do to increase your odds of catching either is fish more often, and with live minnows... or some sort of spinning baits with a lot of flash.
Catching either of the aforementioned species is definitely big fun on light tackle. I've caught hundreds of both incidentally while using live bait.

Lighter spinnerbaits run through sparse grass shallow with maybe an occasional rink, rink of the blades breaking the surface for the pickerel. The bowfin are brutes and eat most anything, including my crappie jigs.

Oh, by the way... welcome to the site from Central North Carolina... and wishing you the best of luck with all of your fishing adventures.

Please pardon my manners, welcome from Central Florida.

Thanks for the welcome and the tips everybody! I’m thinking about hitting the Everglades again tomorrow, so I think I’ll just throw a spinnerbait or beetle spin with a hair jig to catch the Oscars, and it sounds like it’s only a matter of time before I pull out one of the species I’m looking for


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