Chain Pickerel
Ah, northern pike. My favorite specie for which to fish. They're big, mean, easy to catch, fun to fight, and delicious. I don't know how much of this will apply to pickerel, but for you poor schmucks in areas with no northerns, I hope some of it will.
For pike, the best baits are spoons, Rapalas, spinnerbaits, and whole smelt.
Lots of people fish for pike by rigging frozen smelt, whole or half, on a big treble hook under a giant bobber. You hook the smelt through the back in the middle, because pike tend to take them from the side (not from behind like many fish). This is a common way to fish for them during the spawn up the rivers, but I see it all summer long.
Spoons are great for pike, and I would bet that smaller spoons (like the ones I sent you) would be great for pickerel. Red and white and firetiger are the colors I've had the most luck with. Cast, let them sink for a minute, then crank them fast. These are aggressive fish that are set off by flashy baits. This method goes for spinnerbaits as well.
My second pike baits are big Shallow Shad Raps, in really any color, but my best luck has been with perch- and shad-colored ones. Again, cast and just crank like hell.
My favorite pike baits are giant, #14, blue and silver Husky Jerks, retrieved at a medium pace, slower if the fish are shallow. Try slightly smaller Husky Jerks for pickerel.
One note about how pike bite:
They like to follow a bait, they'll follow the damn thing right up to you. I've had pike hit as I pull the lure out of the water, at the end of the retrieve. This'll scare the crap outta you if you aren't expecting it. If you see the fish has followed your bait once you've taken it out of the water, let out about 2' of line. Then make crazy, fast figure-8s in the water with your bait, right in front of you. This will often entice that following fish to strike. I don't know why, but it works, especially with spoons.
If in streams, fish near channel edges. This is where I catch at least half of the pike I catch. If fishing a lake, try near dropoffs or the edges of weedbeds. Pike patrol these looking for grub. But really, if there are pike in a lake, if you cast long enough anywhere you'll probably catch one or two.
Pike are delicious, my favorite fish to eat. However, they are a royal pain in the ass to clean. If you catch and decide to eat pike/pickerel, the first few times I would suggest panfrying or broiling the fish, not breading and deepfrying. There are thousands of bones in them, and until you get used to cleaning them you are guaranteed to miss some.
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