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Pike Family


Name: 
Pike Family
Characteristics: 

Pike can grow to a maximum recorded length of 1.83 metres (6 ft), reaching a maximum recorded weight of 35 kilograms (77 lb). The UK record pike was caught at Llandegfedd Reservoir in Wales in 1992.[2] Individuals have been reported to reach 30 years in age. They have the elongated, torpedo-like form of predatory fishes, with sharply-pointed heads and sharp teeth. Their coloration is typically grey-green with a mottled or spotted appearance with stripes along its back, perfectly camouflaged among weeds. Individual pike marking patterns are unique, like fingerprints.

Fish Habits: 

The pike feeds on a wide range of food sources, predominantly smaller shoal fish. Pike are also cannibalistic, sometimes preying upon smaller members of their own species. They are undeserving of their fierce reputation with only a few minor incidents of pike 'attacks' on people being substantiated.

They will also prey on insects and amphibians such as newts or frogs in times when food is scarce, and occasionally on small mammals, like moles or mice when caught water-borne. Small birds such as ducklings may become a target for hungry pike. Pikes are also known to prey on swimming snakes, such as vipers.

Contrary to popular myth the pike is not a notoriously voracious fish. Its reputation as a pest seems to predominate amongst anglers whose focus is on other species.

Fishing Tactics: 

Pike angling as a key part of general coarse fishing is becoming an increasingly popular pastime. Effective methods for catching this hard-fighting fish include dead baits, live baits and lure fishing. Pike can easily be damaged when handled since they are not as robust as their reputation would suggest. Colour of lure can be influenced by water clarity and weather conditions. Since pike have numerous sharp teeth it is wise to take extreme care when unhooking the pike. The use of a wet leather gauntlet and surgical forceps to remove hooks is highly recommended on safety grounds. Care for the pike should be the pike angler's utmost concern. The formerly recommended practice of grasping a pike by its eye sockets (tragically interpreted as "its eyes") resulted in countless released pike that quickly died from inability to see prey any longer. The current recommended method of grasping pike is to close the hand firmly over the gill covers, and to make the period of handling the pike as short as possible before release. The Pike Anglers Club was formed in 1977 to campaign for the preservation of the pike and the sport of pike fishing.

A practice known as 'gut hooking' was previously widely used in catching pike. Upon taking the bait the pike will hold it for a short time in its mouth as it moves off. The pike will then, usually, turn the bait in its mouth so that it sits in alignment with the pike's throat to ease swallowing. It is recommended that when pike fishing the process is not allowed to go this far and a strike is recommended as soon as a bite is indicated. Otherwise what is known as 'gut hooking' will result which will normally kill or seriously injure the fish. Other methods of catching and handing pike which are now frowned upon are the gaff and the gag. The gaff is a metal hook on the end of a pole used to hook through the fish's body in place of a more humane landing net. A gag is a device for holding open the pike's mouth whilst unhooking. These are now illegal as they put a huge amount of pressure on a pike's jaw thus causing irreparable damage.

Distribution: 

Within North America, there are northern pike populations in North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, eastern New York, Idaho, northern New England, most of Canada (though pike are rare in British Columbia and east coast provinces), Alaska, the Ohio Valley, the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries, the Great Lakes Basin and surrounding states, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. They are also stocked in, or have been introduced to, some western lakes and reservoirs for angling purposes, although this practice often threatens other species of fish such as trout and salmon, causing government agencies to exterminate the pike by poisoning lakes.

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