Pikeperch.Matt Hayes& Zander

[Stefan]

I have read many fishing books, Zander and perch are from the same family of fish, but they are different species, also a Pike and a Perch cannot interbreed. They are similar in appearance 9 most obvious from the perch). But in size the Pike, especially the nashers they have!

[Steve Burke]

I suspect this is an editing error - a composite of several takes on the subject that have been combined and shortened.

 

This is not uncommon, especially if the production team aren't experienced anglers. For this reason I now ask to see both the "rushes" and the draft programme for any TV work I do. However with Matt being very much busier than me he may not have had this luxury, and so this quote may have slipped through unnoticed.

[Newt]

I agree with the opinions that surely Matt Hayes would know the Zander is it's own fish and not a cross - probably. And if it was a cross way back, more likely with other Stizostedion rather than Esox lucius (pike) and Perca flavescens (yellow perch) [or at least I think that is the one you have over there].

 

Small wonder there is confusion with these fish. Especially with the pronounced stripes on the Zander pictured below.

 

From real catch photos, they look even more similar but it would be dead easy for an angler not familiar with any of them so assume he'd caught a small pike - or something.

 

Sauger (Jack Salmon)

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Stizostedion canadense

 

 

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Walleye (Pickerel, Yellow pike, Wall-eyed pike)

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Stizostedion vitreum vitreum

 

 

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Zander (pike-perch?)

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Stizostedion Lucioperca

 

[Paul_D]

Perca fluviatilis is the species we have over here Newt.

[Steve Burke]

Aparently biologists are still arguing whether European perch (perca fluviatilis) is the same species as the US yellow perch (perca flavescens). Some feel that they are sub species. Hopefully they'll come to a consensus before long.

 

Colouration is a little different, but then our own perch vary somewhat in colour, and indeed in shape. In fact sometimes there are two distinctly different shapes of perch in the same water, one being a bottom feeder the other a generalist. Fred J. Taylor wrote about this with Great Ouse perch and others have also pointed it out.

 

Habits of the US & UK perch seem very similar, with any differences possibly down to the competition that perch have from other predatory species in the US. This may be the reason why our perch are on average considerably bigger. Over here we consider a 2½ pounder a specimen (= US trophy), and our record is 5lbs 9½ozs.

 

I've learnt a lot about perch from US magazines and books. However I've learnt even more about catching perch from reading about walleye!

 

[ 11. March 2003, 09:52 AM: Message edited by: Steve Burke ]

[Tim Kelly]

Do you think that some of the scandinavian and other northern european perch are a different sub species to the ones we have here? I have seen pictures of some of the huge perch they get and they seem to have quite a different body shape to ours.

[Steve Burke]

I don't know I'm afraid, Tim. The fishing and the size of the perch certainly seems mouth-watering though!

 

I've fished in Skandinavia only once, on a pike trip with Rapala to the Baltic. The perch we caught there were similar in shape and colour to our UK ones.

[Lee-sox]

Read mats article about zeds in todays anglers mail, in it he says they look very like a cross between the two, not that they ARE a cross

[Lee-sox]

sorry it in the angling times not the mail

[corydoras]

Steve Burke:

 

This may be the reason why our perch are on average considerably bigger.  Over here we consider a 2½ pounder a specimen (= US trophy), and our record is 5lbs 9½ozs.

I had a quick peek on fishbase and the max size they have is 4.75 kilos or just shy of 10lbs in old money. I would't mind winding one of them in .

 

Corydoras