Northern pike (Esox lucius) is a freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–30 m.
Scientific name: Esox lucius · Water: Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 150 cm
The northern pike (Esox lucius) is a holarctic carnivore of the genus Esox, named for its resemblance to the pole-weapon called a pike, with an olive-green body shading to yellow-white below, short light bar-like flank spots, dark spots on the fins and large sensory pores on the head and the underside of the lower jaw. It is distinguished from the closely related muskellunge by having light markings on a dark background and fewer than six sensory pores on each side of the lower jaw, and the two species cross to produce the tiger muskellunge, in which males are invariably sterile while females are often fertile. Average length is about 40–55 cm, but pike are capable of reaching 150 cm and 28.4 kg, they grow larger in Eurasia than in North America, and the IGFA all-tackle record is a 25 kg fish taken in Germany in 1986. In the United States it is a premier freshwater predator of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and northern states, fished from shore and from boats with large spoons, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and live or dead bait, and it is known regionally as the northern, jack, jackfish, slough shark, gator or hammer handle. No single documented US fishing season applies.
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