Northern Pike one of the most exciting and strongest fighting fish for brackish and fresh water. These exciting adversaries are a carnivorous fish. They are most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere. These area’s include: Canada, Alaska, The Ohio Valley, upper Mississippi River and its tributaries, the Great Lakes and the states surrounding them (Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska).
An interesting fact on Northern Pike is the latin translation of their name which is “waterwolf”. These fish are cunning, fast and predators to other fish.
General description of a Northern Pike: they are a light green, almost olive color, with some yellow or white along the belly area. There fins have dark spots ranging from quite a few on some fish while others may have few. Their gills have little to no scales on the bottom half and they have a large pore which is for sensory on their head. Most Northern Pike’s grow to a rather large size with length’s around 57-59 inches and weighing approximately 52-57 pounds are not just another fisherman’s tale.
Germany is the proud owner of the heaviest pike recorded, she ( most large pike’s are female) was caught in 1983 was 5ft long and weighted an impressive 61 pounds. Northern Pike in the United States are not are large as their foreign counterparts. One of the largest known caught was in September 1940 in Great Sacandaga Lake in New York state weighing 46 pounds.
Habitat’s for Northern Pike are usually slow moving streams, lakes and reservoirs withing the shallow area’s with alot of vegetation. They are also known to be in cold, clear and rocky water. Northern Pike’s are predators therefore they are capable of holding perfectly still for very long periods of time while waiting for prey.
They have great acceleration speed and tend to catch prey by their sides and immobilising or killing with their sharp teeth to which they then turn the prey lenthwise and swallow. It is know to eat other fish however occasionally they like to vary their diet by eating water voles, insects and even ducklings.
Fishing for Northern Pike can be rewarding yet requires alot of patience and knowledge. Their are three periods of time to fish during what is known as open water season. The first period is right after the ice has melted and near spawning areas. These area’s are especially great in lakes and reservoirs near vegetation in shallow water.
They will put up a spectacular fight so there is not room for error when trying to best a champion like the Northern Pike. The second period which is the best for catching larger pike is during June or early July when the water is starting to warm and the pike start to move to deeper and cooler water. The third period is when the water starts to turn cold again, during fall. This is when they start to move back to shallow water, however this is also one of the most difficult times to try to catch pike as they are much more sluggish and tend to not eat as often as before.
Water temperature signals the start of any and all movement. As the surface temperature reaches 67-70 degree’s they start to go deep into the cooler water and as the surface temperature cools they start to return to the more shallow water.
In summary Northern Pike’s are exceptional fish to fish for, look at or simply to just admire. They are very capable predators and they put up a great battle. So if you are up to a challenge and want to fish for something unique this the fish for you.
Martin Brinkmann
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what kind of fish it was that I saw years ago? Detail included..?
Ok about 8 years ago my friend, her brother and I were fishing in a small weedy lake/pond in Northern Ontario Canada. My friend was using her "lucky lure" and she caught a fish that to this day we have been unable to identify conclusively. When she reeled it in, her brother and I were at the edge of the boat and when we looked down we were both shocked at the prehistoric looking creature on the end of the line… It was a dull brown, had a blunt rounded face almost like half of a sphere, with very sharp V shaped teeth, its body was short, stocky and thick, it had an interlocking diamond shaped pattern of lines on the skin and did not look like it had scales, it had a round tail and weighed close to 10lbs. It bit the line and got away while we were sitting there slack jawed wondering what it was.
It was not a catfish, ling, pike, pickerel, trout, bass.. or any of the other common fish species that I know of.. The other fish in the lake that we know of are catfish, and northern pike.
Anyone have any suggestions as to what species of fish it may have been??
I think what you caught was a fish called a Drum. They make a clicking sound under water that sounds like a drum. If that’s what you caught your pretty good they are usually picky and don’t bite artificail lures often. Check and see if drum live in the area. I am from Texas and it sounds a lot like a fish I caught many years ago that my dad said was a drum.
References :
Bowfin, Amia calva, http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/fbowfin.html
or perhaps
Northern snakehead
http://www.lindenhurstil.org/lakescom/snakefish.htm
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The bowfin looks like what you described. if this was not it, the "diamond shaped pattern of lines" makes me think of the short-nosed sturgeon. It’s a long shot, since you were in a lake, not a river, and the range has been declining. However, someone could have dumped it there long ago when they were still plentiful.
See link below:
http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/English/sturgeon.htm
References :
Most likely bowfin.
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Could be what is commonly called a Burbotte. They resemble a catfish in facial structure, but with much shorter barbels, and the tail is more like that of an eel than a fish.
http://www.oefg1880.at/fischarten/fotos/AALRUTTE_HARRA.jpg
The only other thing I can see it being would be a Bowfin.
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/images/jpegs/bowfin.jpg
Hope this helps!
References :
sounds like a dog fish /bowfin
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