The northern pike

Family: Esocidae

Order: Societies

Class: Actinopterygii

Life expectancy: 7 years (in the wild)

Reign: Animalia

Housing: Lake Constance, Lake Garda, Loch Ness, Lake Geneva…

The northern pike, also known as the freshwater shark, is a powerful and aggressive predator. These fish are fighters, they give full meaning to the expression “sport fishing”! They never give up without a fight.
It is one of the most bony fish in the world, but its flesh is firm and very tasty.

Pike is a large fish that generally weighs 3 to 15 pounds. But they can weigh up to 30 pounds in Quebec!

He likes to lurk among water lilies and weeds to hunt his prey. The best season for pike fishing is autumn but it can also be found in summer.


Commercial northern pike fishing

It is subject to some commercial fishing in several Canadian provinces although it is not the species directly targeted by these fisheries.


Sport fishing

Pike is one of the major fish species, considered to be the king of the lakes and rivers it frequents. Its size and its sometimes spectacular “fights” in fresh water make it popular with river and lake anglers. Small specimens (less than 60 cm) are relatively easy to catch where pike are abundant. Large specimens are a real challenge.

The pike’s mouth is lined with more than 700 teeth, hence the use of adequate leader.

Its teeth being very sharp, the nylon line used for its fishing is easily cut, which is why it is necessary to use a leader of at least 20 cm in steel crinel, braid or fluorocarbon. It is fished alive, but many fishermen now prefer less deadly techniques for both live fish and pike, which tend to engulf the fish deeply. Thus, many fishermen prefer to handle various lures, including swimming fish, soft lures or spoons, whose recovery during handling allows the pike to be phished most often on the outside of the mouth, making it easier to release the catch. Some fishermen fly fish it. The large flies or flies imitating a small fish used are then called streamers.