Ever wondered how to catch those big trophy pike? This article should give you all of the information you need in order to become a great fisherman.
Table of Contents
Northern Pike (Esox lucius)
About Northern Pike
The northern pike (Esox lucius) is a carnivorous fish that belongs to the genus Esox (the pikes). They are found in the Northern Hemisphere’s brackish and fresh waters (i.e. holarctic in distribution). In the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most of Eastern Europe, as well as Canada and the United States, they are simply known as a pike.
Geographic Range
Esox lucius is a North American and European species. They can be found from Labrador to Alaska in the west, and from Pennsylvania to Missouri and Nebraska in the south. They can be found all over Europe, from northern and western Europe to southern Spain and east to Siberia.
Biogeographic Regions
- Neararctic (native)
- The Palearctic (native)
Other Geographic Terms
- Holarctic
Habitat
Esox lucius can be found in a variety of freshwater environments, including cold deep lakes, warm shallow ponds, and muddy rivers. Esox lucius can adapt to a wide range of environments due to its wide range of tolerances for water temperature, clarity, and oxygen concentration.
Habitat Regions
Aquatic Biomes
- lakes and ponds
- rivers and streams
Physical Description
Northern pike have a length of 46 to 51 cm (18-20 inches). Their solitary dorsal fin and light-colored patches on their black body help to identify them. Scales cover their entire cheek and the upper half of their gill covers, identifying them. The muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), a close relative, has scales covering only the upper half of its cheek and gill covers. E. lucius has 7 to 9 rows of yellowish, bean-shaped dots on its flanks that range from dark green to olive green to brown. The underside is light to medium in hue, ranging from white to cream.
Other Physical Features
- ectothermic
- heterothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Range mass
- 0.5 to 1.4 kg (1.10 to 3.08 lb)
Range length
- 46 to 51 cm (18.11 to 20.08 in)
Reproduction
Northern pike are considered random spawners not nest builders.
Mating System
When the water temperature hits 4 to 7 degrees Celsius, spawning occurs in the shallows (40-45 degrees Fahrenheit). The eggs are vulnerable to predators when they are laid. In around two weeks, the eggs that survive will hatch. Young E. lucius grow quickly in length and weight due to their voracious appetites. Males reach sexual maturity between the ages of 2 and 3, while females reach sexual maturity between the ages of 3 and 4.
Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- external
- oviparous
Breeding season
Spawning occurs in the spring.
Average time to hatching
2 weeks
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
3 to 4 years
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
2 to 3 years
The female then exits after 5 to 10 days of spawning. Males stay in the spawning location for several weeks, but they don’t guard the eggs.
Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
- pre-fertilization
Lifespan/Longevity
Northern pike can live up to 12 years.
Typical Lifespan
Status: wild
12 (high) years
Average lifespan
Status: captivity
10.0 years
Average lifespan
Status: captivity
6.8 years
Behavior
Esox lucius are solitary, aggressive fish. They are usually lurkers, but they can strike rapidly. Their eyes are extremely mobile and can see in almost any direction. This is crucial when it comes to locating their prey. E. lucius, sometimes known as “sprint predators,” conceal in cover, cocked in a “S” position, ready to strike.
Key Behaviors
Communication and Perception
Perception Channels
Food Habits
Young, free-swimming pike eat small invertebrates like daphnia before moving on to larger prey like isopods like asellus and gammarus. They start eating small fish when they reach a body length of 4 to 8 cm (1.6 to 3.1 in).
A pike’s hunting behavior is fairly typical; it may stay immobile in the water by manipulating the final fin rays of the dorsal and pectoral fins. It bends its body and shoots out to the prey, propelling itself using the broad surface of its caudal fin, dorsal fin, and anal fin. The fish has a unique habit of grabbing prey sideways in the mouth, immobilizing it with its sharp, backward-pointing teeth, and then swallowing it headfirst. When it comes to larger prey, the pike would usually try to drown it before transporting it away to be eaten. It consumes mostly fish and frogs, although it also eats small mammals and birds. Northern pike eat insects, crayfish, and leeches, and have been found dead after choking on a pike of comparable size. They eat a variety of spiny fish, including as perch, and will even devour sticklebacks if they are the only available prey.
Pike have been seen hunting and attempting to eat larger water birds, such as an incident in 2016 where an individual was seen attempting to drown and eat a great crested grebe, and an incident the previous year on Lower Lough Erne, Norther Ireland, where an attack by a large pike between three and four feet long was implicated as a possible cause for the injury and death of an adult mute swan.
Predation
Northern pike are solitary, apex predators in the ecosystems in which they live. Northern pike eggs, fry, and young, on the other hand, may be devoured by predatory fish, aquatic birds, otters, or aquatic insect larvae. During the spawning season, it migrates to deeper winter quarters with prey fish such as common roaches. Divers have observed groups of similar-sized pike cooperating to begin hunting at the same moment, leading to “wolfpack” ideas. Because giant pike can be trapped on dead, motionless fish, they are supposed to wander about a broad territory in search of food. Big pike have also been observed cruising large bodies of water at depths of a few meters, most likely seeking schools of prey fish. Because of their propensity to cannibalism, smaller pike are more of an ambush predator. Pike are frequently found around culvert exits, which is due to the presence of schools of prey fish and the potential for ambush. Because they are potamodromous, all esocids have minimal migration, albeit some local movement may be important for population dynamics. They are known to follow herring schools in the Baltic, indicating that they migrate seasonally.
Ecosystem Roles
Northern pike are important as top predators in the aquatic systems where they live.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Despite its reputation as a “sporting” fish, some anglers release pike they have caught because the meat is considered bony, particularly because of the large (epipleural) “Y-bones.” Pikes have a long and illustrious culinary history, and its white, mild-tasting flesh is beloved in Europe and portions of North America. The ability of a filleter to effectively remove the bones from the fillets while reducing the amount of flesh lost in the process (known as “de-boning”) is a highly prized skill in fishing towns where pike is popular cuisine. There are ways to fillet pike while leaving the “y-bones” in the fish’s body; this leaves some flesh on the fish but avoids the time-consuming procedure of “de-boning.” Larger fish are easier to fillet (and de-bone), whereas smaller fish are commonly treated as forcemeat to remove their many little bones before being utilized in dishes like quenelles and fish mousses. Cooking pike may be traced all the way back to the Romans. With their violent smashes and aerial acrobatics, pike fishing is supposed to be quite entertaining. Pike are one of the largest freshwater game fish in North America.
Because of their prolific and predatory nature, some states have passed legislation to help limit the spread of northern pike outside of their native habitat. Anglers in California, for example, are compelled by law to remove a pike’s head once it has been caught. Pike are endemic to Alaska north and west of the Alaska Range, but game fisherman have illegally brought them to south-central Alaska. In most sections of south-central Alaska, there are no restrictions. Some fisheries managers consider pike as a threat to native wild salmon supplies.
In particular, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, pike are prized as a sport fish, and they are returned to the water alive to ensure future sport and maintain a fishery’s balance. Since 1977, the Pike Anglers Club has advocated for pike preservation, claiming that removing pike from waters can result in an explosion of smaller fish, and that pike removal should be stopped since it is harmful to both the sport fishery and the environment. Esox lucius is a prized game fish across its range, as well as a commercially important food fish in Eastern Europe.
Positive Impacts
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no negative effects of northern pike on humans.
Conservation Status
Esox lucius is not in danger of becoming extinct. In states where they occur, the Departments of Natural Resources keep a close eye on population numbers and can supplement populations by stocking streams with Esox lucius reared in hatcheries.
IUCN Red List
Least Concern
US Federal List
No special status
CITES
No special status
State of Michigan List
No special status
References
- Encyclopedia of Fishing 1994. Dorling Kindersley. New York.
- Evawoff, Vlad 1980. The Freshwater Fisherman’s Bible. Doubleday and Co.
- Klein, Stanley 1983. Encylopedia of North American Wildlife. Facts on File Inc.
- Sternberg, Dick 1992. Northern Pike and Muskie. CY DeCrosse Inc.
- “Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 Northern pike”. Fish Base. fishbase.org. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- “pike, northern (Esox lucius)”. IGFA World Record. IGFA Online. Retrieved 2 February2017.
- Weed, Alfred Cleveland (1927). Pike, pickerel and muskalonge /. no.9 (1927). Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History
- www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Communications/Publications/Fish/northernpike.html.
- “Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 Northern pike”. Fish Base. fishbase.org. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- “pike, northern (Esox lucius)”. IGFA World Record. IGFA Online. Retrieved 2 February2017.
- Weed, Alfred Cleveland (1927). Pike, pickerel and muskalonge /. no.9 (1927). Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History