Northern pike
| Northern pike (Esox lucius) | |
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| Northern pike | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Superorder: | Protacanthopterygii |
| Order: | Esociformes |
| Family: | Esocidae |
| Genus: | Esox |
| Species: | E. lucius |
| Binomial name | |
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Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| targets |
| bluefish |
| brook trout |
| crappie |
| hucho taimen |
| largemouth bass |
| northern pike |
| peacock bass |
| shoal bass |
| smallmouth bass |
| more fly fish... |
| other sport fish... |
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| fishing |
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| I N D E X |
The northern pike (Esox lucius), known simply as a pike in Britain, Ireland, most of Canada, and most parts of the United States (also called jackfish or simply "northern" in the U.S. Upper Midwest and in Manitoba), is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (i.e. holarctic in distribution).
Pike can grow to a relatively large size: the average length is about 40–55 cm (16–22 in), with maximum recorded lengths of up to 150 cm (59 in) and published weights of 28.4 kg (63 lb). The IGFA currently recognizes a 25 kg (55 lb) pike caught by Lothar Louis in Lake on Grefeern, Germany, on 16 October 1986, as the all-tackle world-record northern pike.
The northern pike gets its common name from its resemblance to the pole-weapon known as the pike (from the Middle English for 'pointed'). Various other unofficial trivial names are American pike, common pike, great northern pike, Great Lakes pike, grass pike, snot rocket, slough shark, snake, slimer, slough snake, northern, gator (due to a head similar in shape to that of an alligator), jack, jackfish, hammer handle, Sharptooth McGraw, Mr. Toothy, and other such names as long head and pointy nose. Numerous other names can be found in Field Museum Zool. Leaflet Number 9. Its earlier common name, the luci (now lucy), was used to form its taxonomic name (Esox lucius) and is used in heraldry.
Northern pike are most often olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. The is marked with short, light bar-like spots and a few to many dark spots on the fins. Sometimes, the fins are reddish. Younger pike have yellow stripes along a green body; later, the stripes divide into light spots and the body turns from green to olive green. The lower half of the gill cover lacks scales, and it has large sensory pores on its head and on the underside of its lower jaw which are part of the lateral line system. Unlike the similar-looking and closely related muskellunge, the northern pike has light markings on a dark body background and fewer than six sensory pores on the underside of each side of the lower jaw.
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Wikipedia