Big Pike

[Dick Dastardly]

Been a total of 5 times with mates and 6 with customers.Only regular "guiding" I do now although I dont do a lot of actual guiding,just put the trip together and use the local guides Ive found.

[Severn Wolf]

Sounds like a good fish to go hunting Budgie. I`d love to see an article.

Where are you based? I`ve had a Tarpon off Islamorada and while I love fishing for them I am always open to new challenges

[The Flying Tench]

How can you tell that the pics are Northern Pike and not Muskies? Am I right that the big Northern Pike are found in the colder parts of USA? Is it the same with Muskies?

[Peter Waller]

John, body shape is similar but marking are very different.

[Newt]

Musky

 

And there is a hybrid mysky-pike cross called a

 

Tiger Musky

 

Both of them and the pike are northern US fish. None down where I live - way too warm in summer time. We do have a couple of close relatives in some of our lakes though. Not ever as big.

 

Chain Pickerel (from the chain link pattern)

 

Common Pickerel

 

[ 21. January 2005, 12:40 AM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[argyll]

Pike are found surprisingly some way south, in places like Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Some of the state records are in the thirties or close. I suspect that they thrive in the real deep water reservoirs that exist in these places and over a number of generations have adapted to local conditions.

[The Flying Tench]

Peter Waller:

John, body shape is similar but marking are very different.

Admittedly Newt's excellent pics of muskies have different markings from our pike, but the pics of big Northern Pike look pretty different too.

[Newt]

John - all I can say is that the UK Pike and the US Northern Pike are shown as the same species.

 

Typical one with other information Here along with information on a number of other northern species. The page is a Wisconsin educational site.

[Ian FG]

UK Pike and Northern Pike both share the same latin name: Esox Lucius. So surely they must be the same species.

[Dick Dastardly]

Acording to all the books Ive read they are the same.Dont forget colouration and strength of markings varies a lot here in the UK from water to water.