Muskie Muskellunge Pike
Pike – Learn the Facts That Can Help you Catch the Trophies
This voracious and carnivorous fish lives in freshwaters on the Northern Hemisphere. Northern Pike (Esox lucius) is also known by its folk name of “Water Wolf”. Pikes grow as large as 150 cm in size and 25 kg in weight (1′ to over 4′, and weigh 50 pounds), although larger sizes have been reported, particularly in the Great Lakes area, making people believe in a misidentification or folk tale.
The color of Northern Pikes is olive shading into whitish or yellowish on belly, with spots on their body and some dark ones on the fins. Pikes have large pores on their head and lower jaw. This characteristic make Northern Pike a close relative to Muskellunge, similar-looking, but Northern Pike have light markings on their dark body backgrounds and less than 6 sensory pores on the underside of their jaw.
Usually found in cold, clear, rocky waters, lakes and streams, Northern Pike are usually hidden waiting for their prey, which are caught sideways with their sharp teeth. Pikes eat mainly fish and ducklings, although they are also cannibals, part of their nature, which serves in maintaining the Northern Pike population.
Some anglers have photographed Northern Pikes eating other pikes of a similar size, but also leeches and insects, because they are well known for their tremendously voracious appetite. Northern Pikes are some of the biggest freshwater fish that anglers like to catch due to the challenge involved while facing their aerial acrobatics and explosive hits.
Fishing for pike is an exciting sport in North America, where anglers usually do not eat the catch, but northern pike is usually filleted for the purpose of European cuisine, particularly popular in many German dishes. There are references traced back as far as the Romans, depicting pikes served at festivities.
In America, Northern Pike lives in northern New England, Eastern New York, Minnesota and the Ohio Valley, the Great Lakes basin and also the surrounding states of Nebraska and Missouri. Toward the north, pikes are also found in Alaska and Canada, except, British Columbia, were they appear rarely.
Northern Pike breed with Muskie to produce the Muskellunge subspecies known as Tiger Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy immaculatus), and there is also a mutation of Northern pike known as the Silver Pike, silvery-blue or silver in color, often referred to as Silver Muskellunge, occurring in scattered populations, lacking the rows of spots.
The name of Northern Pike was given to this specie after its North American habitat resembling the pole-weapon known as pike. This fish is also known as Common Pike, Snake, Great Northern Pike, American Pike, Jackfish, Great Lakes Pike, Grass Pike, and Pickerel.
There is a website that has great information on most species of freshwater fish. It has details that pertain to each species of fish such as habitat, spawning, eating habits, the best lures and baits and more, the website is called: Fishing Stringer, and can be found at this url:
http://www.fishingstringer.com
By Robert W. Benjamin
Copyright © 2007
You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.
About the Author
Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970′s-80′s.
Seasonal Vacation Spots
http://www.seasonalvacationspots.com
Musky Mania – Extreme Tiger Muskie Fishing
|
|
Muskellunge Hat NEW Embroidered Cotton Cap Muskie Pike $16.95 |
|
|
Monster Muskie! Chainsaw Carved Muskellunge Musky Pike $149.99 |
|
|
Northern Pike & Muskie (The Freshwater Angler) $10.49 Like most fish species, the key to catching muskie and northern pike consistently is to understand their habits and master your own techniques. Unlike other species, however, these popular gamefish will require some unique tactics and equipment. This book includes a wealth of information on pike and muskies, along with hundreds of spectacular color photos, that will help you catch them more consis… |
|
|
How to catch pike & muskie … |
|
|
The sucker method for lunker muskie and northern: How to use dead suckers and catch trophy northerns and muskie … |
|
|
Lot of 3 Wooden Hand Made Stickbait Fishing Lures for Muskie/Musky, Pike, Largemouth, Walleye $17.99 Want to catch the next epic Northern Pike, Muskie, Walleye/ Pickerel, largemouth, or trophy-sized smallmouth? Then you need to get this set of 3 musky lures. The feeling you get when a fish bulges and swirls near a lure before actually grabbing it is simply indescribable and is definitely an experience you must feel for yourself to understand… |
|
|
Anglers Book Supply Co 1932098348 Fly Fishers Guide To Minnesota $55.28 Minnesota has an almost limitless supply of fishable water much of it only lightly flyfished. There are excellent trout streams in the southeast corner strong salmon runs in the northeast and more smallmouth pike and muskie fishing. Flyfishers are just discovering that Minnesota has some of the best fishing in the country and this book details it all. 60+ BW photos 120+ maps; 6×9 inches 500 pgs. This book covers trout streams lakes and warmwater fisheries. Species covered include Trout Walleye Panfish Sauger Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Salmon Muskellunge and Northern Pike. There are excellent trout streams in the southeast corner strong salmon runs in the northeast and more smallmouth pike and muskie fishing than seems possible. Other anglers have known for years what flyfishers are just discovering: Minnesota has some of the best fishing in the country and this book details it all. An allinone travel/fly fishing guidebook. Softcover |
|
|
Pike $11.67 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
Predatory Fish $58.94 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Predatory fish are fish that predate upon other fish or animals. Some predatory fish include perch, muskie (muskellunge), pike, walleye, salmon. Levels of large predatory fish in the global oceans are estimated to be about 10 of their preindustrial levels. Large predatory fish are most at risk of extinction; there was a disproportionate level of large predatory fish extinctions during the K/T extinction event 65 million years ago. Creation of marine reserves has been found to restore the population of large predatory fish as the Serranidae groupers and sea bass. Predatory fish switch between types of prey in response to variations in their abundance. Such changes in preference are disproportionate and are selected for as evolutionarily efficient. Predatory fish may become a pest if they are introduced into an ecosystem in which they become a new top predator. An example, which has caused such trouble in Maryland, is the snakehead fish. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Tennoe, Mariam T./ Henssonow, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 72 Publication Date: 2010/09/10 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.17 inches |
|
|
Pike Bold $39 Download the Pike Bold font for Mac or Windows in OpenType, TrueType or PostScript format. |
|
|
Pike Regular $39 Download the Pike Regular font for Mac or Windows in OpenType, TrueType or PostScript format. |
|
|
NRS Pike Fishing Inflatable Kayak $995 NRS Pike Fishing Inflatable Kayak |