THE TRUE PIKES by E rnest G . K arvelis The true pikes are members of the family erel" in their names. The varied popular Esocidae and of the genus, E SOJ;. T he following names have caused conside r able confusion. spec ies are found in North America: muskel­ The true pike s (fig. 1) are readily identified lunge (E s OJ; mas quinongy), northern pike (E s ox by the following characteristics: they have lucius), chain pickerel (E s OJ; niger), redfinpickerel slender bodies, wh ich are deepest n e ar the (E s OJ; americanus americanus ), and g rass pickerel middle and t a per backward to a slender (E so:r arn eri canus vermiculatus). The se common and caudal peduncle; the dorsal fin is posterior, sci entific na mes are those recommended in opposite, a nd similar to the anal fin; the 1960 b y the Committee on Names of Fishes pectoral fins are small and inserted low. The of the American Fisheries Society. ventral or pelvic fins are posterior and the caudal fin is well forked. No fins have spines. The pikes are know!"! by various popular The head is long with a prolonged ducklike name s. The muskellunge is know n locally as snout. The lower jaw contains strong, sharp masquinonge, musky, Great Lakes muskel­ teeth of various sizes. The roof of the m outh lunge, northern or tiger muskellunge, and carries broad bands of fine, s harp, closely Ohio or Chautauqua muskellunge. The northern packed teeth. The tongue also has a band of pike is also called the great northern pike, small teeth. pickerel, pike, and jackfish. The chain pickerel goes under such names as eastern pickerel, All members of the pike family a re pre­ jack, and green pike ; the redfin pickerel is d acious. They feed principally on fish, but k nown as the banded, barred, trout, or bulldog include an occasional small muskrat, mouse, pickerel; and the grass pickerel is also known duckling, or frog in their diet. They consume a s the mud or little pickerel. enormous quantities of food throughout the year. It has been estimated that between 10 Oth er fish belonging to entirely different and 1:- pounds of food are required to add 1 families unfortunately have "pike" or "pick- pound t o any member of the pike family. The pikes dwell in lakes, ponds, and streams, Note,--Ernest G. Karvelis, Fishery Research Biologist, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.s. Depart­ and are spring spawners. The eggs are broad­ ment of the Interior, Ann Arbor, Mich. cast over the vegetation in shallow waters, Fishery Leaflet 569 Washington, D.C. September 1964 Do rsal fin Pectoral fin Ventral fin Figure l.--Typical pike. [/llus tration bj Su:anne Runyan. ] usually in marshy areas. The eggs a nd fry a r e then stocked as needed. This method of r eceive n o parental care. propagating fish is expensive; it is the only m ethod so fa r devised, however, that will regularly produce fish for stocking. Members of the pike family have been p ropagated a r tifi cially for a number of years. It is a c ostly process because of the canni­ All members of this family excepting the balistic tendency of the fish and their require­ redfin pickerel and grass pickere l a re im­ ment f o r live foo d . The muskellunge and portant game f ish. In some areas the nor ther n nort her n pike are the species generally propa­ pike is taken commer cially. gated. The edible qualitie s of the pike s vary. Some t' The method u s e d is to extrude the eggs species are considered m o re desirable than from t h e female a nd then fertilize them. The others. In general, the flesh i s firm, white , fertilized eggs a re pla ced in a deep, round ­ and ha s a plea sant flavor. Numerous finely b ottom gla ss jar. Water is introduced at t he forked bones scattered throughout the flesh, bottom with sufficient f orce to keep all t h e however, make the smaller individuals d iffi­ egg s m oving . When the fry hatch, they a re cult to eat. ca r ried out of the jar bytheforceof the wat e r . They are collecte d and immediately placed in The pikes a re known to hybridize. When ponds. they do, they produce offspring which seem t o be intermediate to the parents. The p o nds have been prepared for the young The following key is provided to aid in the fish by making sure that no other fish are identifica tion of member s of the p ike family. present a nd that zooplankton is abunda nt for T o u se the key, determine whether 1A o r 1B food . Soon after the pike or muskellung e f ! y are placed in the ponds the fry of suc kers agrees with the structure of the fish under examination. If 1A agrees, then refe r to the or minnows are put in for the pike fry t o eat. numbers at the right, and compare the speci­ The young f i sh grow rapidly and therefore men with characteristics under 2A and 2B. requir e a large amount of live fish of p roper If the fish m atches the description under 2B , Slze. it is a chain pickerel; if not, refer to 3A and 3B. Similarly , if the fish under exami nation The ponds are constructed so that they can agrees with 1B, then refer to 4A and 4B for be drained and the young fish removed. They final identification. lA Opercles wholly scaled, figure 2A •••... See 2A or 2B IB Opercles scaleless on lower half, figure 2B and 2~ See 4Aand4B 2A Side and back marked with dark, wavy, vertical streaks; lateral line scales usually fewer than 110; branchiostegal rays 11-13 (fig. 3); small fish, seldom reaching a length of more than 14 inches. • .... ... • • •••. •...••• See 3A or 3B 2 Figure 2.--Heads of members of the pike family. showing approximate extent of s cale formation on cheeks and opercles (gill covers). (A) cheeks and ope rcle who lly scaled. gras s pickerel: (8) cheek fully scaled. upper half of opercle scaled. northern pike; (C) cheek and opercle both scaled only on upper half. muskellunge. l From Iluhbs and Logier " F,sh .. of the Grea t Ln!. es R egIO n." ] 2B Sides and back ma r ked w ith a dark net w o r k t o give a chainlike appearance; l ateral line scales app r o x imat ely 12 5 ; bra nchiostegal r a y s 14 - 16 ; larger fish to 2 feet l ong . • . C hain pickerel (E s a.r ni9cr) 3A Snout short (fig . 1), 2 . 8 to 3 .1 times in the length of t he head Redfin p icker el (E sa.r amen canus amen canu ) 3B Snout longer , 2.5 to 2 . 7 t i m es in the length o f the head . • G rass pic kerel (E a.r ame n canus l·e rmiculatus) 4A Mar k i n g s i n form of light spots; b r anc hiost egals usually 14 t o 16 (fig . 3 ); sen s o r y pores of head lar g e , t y pically 5 on each side of mandible (fig . 3 ); cheek fully s caled (fi g . 2B) . • . N orthern pike (E s a.r luc ius ) 4B Markings in f o rm of da r k spots or bars o r a bsent; branchio stegals 16- 19; senso r y pores of h ead minut e , usually 6 to 9 o n each side of mandible ; c h eek u s ually s cale less o n lower half (fig . 2C) . • . • •. Muskellunge (E s a.r mas quinangy ) BRANCHIOSTEGAL RA Y Figure 3.--Lower surface of head of no rthern pike showing 15 branchiostegal rays on left side (upper in figure) and 5 sensory po res on each side of mandible (lower jaw). [ From Hu bb s and L ogi er "Fis hes of the Great La!' .. R e gion." ] MANDIBULA R SENSORY PORES MUSKELLUNGE The muskellunge is the largest member of In t he major fish i ng areas in N orth the pike family. It reaches a length of o v er A merica t he muskellun ge i s manag e d i nten­ 5 feet and a weight in e x cess of 60 pounds. s ively. It is gen erally protected duri ng the The a v e rage length of muskellunge taken by spa w ning s ea son a nd ha s minimum s ize and fishe r men is from 33 to 44 inches, and the c reel limi t s. mean weight ranges from 10 to 21 pounds. The ave r a ge size varies with lakes and locali­ The identifying characteristics of the mus­ ties. kellunge are a s follow s: the lower half of each cheek and each opercle scaleless (fig . The muskellunge is not fished commercially 2C); the body color variable--typically oliv e a nd i s considered a fine game and food fish. to brown, dorsally; sides silvery-gray to light It is u sually caught by casting or trolling with yellow-green with scattered dark spots o r large spoons or other active lures. Large, bars; ventral surface pale yellow or white ; live minnows or sucker s are also used for fins dark spotted; no white spots or chainlike bait.