Common pike: what it looks like and what it eats, where it lives and how many years the predator lives

There are many fairy tales, legends and stories about the wisdom of the common pike. Human curiosity about this mistress of the rivers has led to the discovery of a huge number of intriguing facts about this predatory fish. The pike is well known among freshwater predators in Russia. This species is found throughout the northern hemisphere. Pike are ruthless and cunning hunters who lurk along the banks of rivers and lakes, waiting for their prey.

Description

The pike is widely known as the most ferocious predator in the waters of the country. It mainly dwells in shelters, waiting for prey in ambush at close range.The largest common pike ever caught was 145 cm long and weighed 35-40 kg. However, the average body length is only 0.90 m, and the weight is 8.5 kg. According to scientific studies, life expectancy does not exceed 31-35 years. In the US, researchers have found that no pike over 24 years of age have been caught by fishermen; however, this does not necessarily mean that American individuals do not live long. Most likely, they just managed to avoid getting hooked.

No pike older than 17 years of age have been found in Sweden and Finland, while Russian ichthyologists have reported that most of those caught were 22 years old or younger, although popular rumor ascribes a completely different lifespan to this fish.

Origin story

The pike, a species of ray-finned fish, has existed since the Silurian period (420 million years ago). During this time, the species went through changes in size and adapted to life in both large and small fresh water bodies throughout the northern hemisphere.This family includes seven different species, which are divided into two groups: five are found in North America and two are located in Russia and Europe. We will talk about the common pike (Esox lucius), which is more popular than other species and is also eaten.

Habitat

Pike can be found in freshwater environments throughout North America and Eurasia. It tends to stay in still or slow moving waters, along coastlines and in dense vegetation. In lakes, rivers and ponds, it usually swims close to the shore and stays in shallow water with a lot of algae. In rivers, it is also found further from the coast.

The species is quite tolerant of acidic water conditions, so it is often seen even in swamps. However, usually fish avoid fast-flowing or rocky rivers. Vegetation is essential for the fish's habitat, so living in the north, they often hide behind rocks, under bushes or snags.

In addition to inhabiting inland waters, this species is found in coastal areas of the B altic Sea, such as the Gulf of Riga, Curonian, Gulf of Finland and the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov.

It is very sensitive to both salinity and oxygen levels; if the oxygen level falls below 2.0 mg/l, then respiratory arrest will occur, leading to death. In Russia, it can be found almost anywhere where there is any small fish that it can feed on - juvenile pike prefer shallow areas near cattail thickets, while large adults settle in holes located at great depths in water bodies.

Pike food

Most of the year, these predators feed twice a day - in the mornings and evenings. During daylight hours, they remain mostly inactive at the bottom of rivers. However, during the spawning period (March-June and autumn), they become especially voracious and feed almost constantly in order to accumulate strength for mating or wintering.

Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionIt is important to note that the fish menu sometimes affects the color of its scales, as often happens with other aquatic inhabitants.

The main food source for pike is small live fish such as crucians, ruffs, gobies, minnows, perches, chubs, minnows, white breams and young pike. These predators are usually solitary creatures that pair up only when it's time to spawn. This explains why they are not shy about devouring smaller or slower members of their species.

Experienced anglers say that sometimes pike prey on rodents that have fallen into the water, or waterfowl; however, their main diet remains small fish, making them useful in small ponds where overcrowding can be a problem, as they help maintain balance by controlling numbers.

Pike fry usually feed on microorganisms in the water, but as they mature, they switch to eating juveniles of other small fish.

Pike are usually wary of unfamiliar fish. Pike have been observed to experience zhor several times during the year - before the start of the breeding season, after spawning in May-July and September-October - however these dates may vary depending on weather conditions.

What a fish looks like

The pike is easily recognizable by its long and almost cylindrical body, as well as by the solitary fins that extend all the way to the caudal fin, allowing it to swim at impressive speeds. In addition, her body has a streamlined or rounded outline, which further improves the hydrodynamic capabilities. The scales fit tightly together, providing strong armor that protects against other pikes or sharp-toothed predators.

The pike has a flattened, wedge-shaped snout that allows it to judge the speed of prey and how far it is. This structure of the skull also allows her to see what is in front of her, as well as from the sides and below. However, because of the wide open mouth, the view of what is below it is significantly reduced, which encourages anglers not to lower the bait too close to the bottom.

The fish also has exceptional hearing, which allows them to pick up even slight changes in the water at a great distance. The snout is wide and long, providing a good area for capturing prey, and the gill membranes are separated, making it easier to open the mouth when trying to catch large fish. Inside the mouth there are many sharp teeth, among which you can find fangs of various sizes. How many exactly depends on the age of the fish. In addition, the tongue and palate have bristles that resemble the bristles of a toothbrush.

Coloring

The pike's coloring helps it hide in water bodies thanks to light transverse stripes and spots that form a camouflage pattern on most of the body, excluding the belly area - this is especially useful when there are a lot of plants and snags nearby.

It's hard to tell exactly which colors are considered the background color and which make up the picture. The shade of color may change depending on the age of the fish, its habitat, diet, and other elements. Young fish will have a lighter shade, while older fish will have a darker color.

The most common colors found among many fish species are grey-green base with olive streaks or spots. They usually have a dark back, a pale yellow or grey-white underside with gray flecks, and their fins usually show light stripes and flecks against a gray background.

The pattern of spots on pike scales allows you to merge with the environment, since the location of the spots for each of them is unique and remains unchanged throughout life. But if they move to another area, then their scales quickly change color to match this environment. This adaptive camouflage ability is something not even a chameleon can do.

Pike organs

This predator's eyes are medium sized and located on top of its head, allowing it to observe its environment without having to move its body. Like other active predators, it uses these eyes to detect prey and capture it effectively.

Smell and taste are highly developed: she can distinguish between bitter, sweet, sour and s alty tastes. Fish use their sense of smell to detect other members of their species ready to spawn, as well as prey that is hidden in underwater plant life.

The mouth of the fish is wide - taking up half of the head - with a protruding lower jaw, which allows it to open wide and grab everything it hunts.

How often teeth change

The teeth of the pike on the lower jaw are partially hidden under the mucous membrane and come in different sizes. A row of teeth located in the area of her throat can rise up and securely fix prey, making it impossible for her to escape.

Pikes have a special way of arranging their teeth, the so-called family groups: along with ordinary teeth, there are also replaceable ones. If the main tooth is broken or falls out, then the spare tooth takes its place, gradually becoming stronger and reaching full size.

The process of changing teeth in a pike is uneven, both young and old teeth can be in its mouth at the same time. If, for some reason, a pike has lost more old teeth than usual, it will no longer be able to hunt large fish, since it will have nothing to hold it in place until new ones grow. This also applies to bait fishing - without sharp enough teeth to hook on prey, she can't do anything either.

A pike doesn't actually chew its prey, but rather uses its teeth to grip. This makes the fish's teeth a formidable weapon, as they can cause harm to beginners who are not familiar with how to properly handle fish.Some people believe that the pike is able to replace old or damaged teeth during the full moon after spawning. However, such a change of teeth is not periodic, but occurs constantly. At the same time, the pike feeds on prey even when it changes old teeth for new ones, just not so actively. However, it is not so eager to be caught.

Varieties

Let's consider the seven types of pike that inhabit our globe. Which species a fish belongs to determines the features of its appearance, habitats and behavior.

Ordinary

This predator is a typical member of its genus, found in many freshwater habitats throughout Eurasia on the North American continent. There are many of them in Russia as well. Often it reaches up to 170 cm in length and weighs an average of about 6-8 kilograms. The coloration of this species varies depending on the environment in which it lives, from greyish green to brownish or greyish yellowish. As a rule, it prefers shallow waters with dense vegetation near the coastline.

American

Red-finned pike is only seen in eastern North America and can be divided into two subspecies: northern and southern. At the same time, the second one lives in the rivers flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Both types of American pike do not grow to large sizes; they grow up to 0.35-0.40 m in length and weigh up to one kilogram. They can be distinguished by their shortened snout. The southern variety does not have red fins like its northern counterpart. The lifespan of this species does not exceed the age of 10 years.

Maskinong

The largest species of pike is considered a rare variety. The Native Americans gave it the name maashkinuzhe, which translates as "ugly pike" . It has also earned the nickname "giant pike" due to its large size - some specimens can weigh up to 30 kilograms and be up to 1.9 meters long. Her body is usually silver, green or brown and has spots or vertical stripes on her back.

Amur

The Amur pike has an attractive coloration: small silvery or golden-greenish scales and numerous black and brown spots cover its body from head to tail. They can reach a length of 1.20 meters and weigh up to 18 kilograms. This species is found on Sakhalin Island and in the Amur River, and life expectancy is 13-16 years.

South

It used to be that the southern pike is just the closest relative of the common pike. It was first identified in 2011 and lives in the rivers of Central and Northern Italy. Body parameters are average, life expectancy also does not differ from other species.

Black

The black pike, a North American predator, lives in lakes and densely vegetated rivers stretching from the southern border of Canada to Florida in the USA and all the way to the Great Lakes and Mississippi valleys. It can grow up to 58 cm in length and weigh 2.3 kg.This species is similar in appearance to its popular cousin, but it has a distinctive mosaic pattern along the sides, as well as a dark stripe above the eyes.

Aquitaine

Aquitaine pike, a species that was recently discovered in 2014, has its own range of life in France, where it can be found living in almost all water bodies.

Spawning pike

Pike begin the process of laying eggs when the water reaches temperatures between 3-6 degrees Celsius, immediately after the ice melts, and can be found at a depth of 15 to 1 km, depending on the habitat.

When they start spawning, they swim to shallow water and make loud splashing noises. As a rule, males enter the age of sexual activity by 4 years, and females by 5. Small fish usually breed first, followed by larger specimens. When mating occurs, there can be 2-4 males with one female, or up to 8 males if it is a large female pike.

When breeding, pikes will rub against vegetation such as bushes and reeds, as well as other objects in the environment. They don't stay in one place for too long; instead, they move around their spawning grounds during spawning. If the water level drops sharply after spawning, then this can lead to the fact that a large number of eggs will die due to a lack of oxygen or nutrients necessary for survival, which usually occurs during the spring decrease (descent) of water in reservoirs.

When their length reaches up to 0.2 cm, the fry already quite independently get food, for example, they eat carp larvae. Since cyprinid fish tend to spawn after pike, pike juveniles receive abundant food. Once they reach a size of 5 centimeters, they completely switch to eating juveniles of other fish.

In spring, fish live in floodplain lakes with rising water levels, however, when the connection between lakes and rivers is interrupted, their lifestyle becomes radically different from that of their relatives living in rivers or large reservoirs.The lack of food leads to the fact that individuals of about the same age become two to two and a half times smaller than usual; this makes them vulnerable targets for large predators.

Hunting Features

The cunning pike uses the environment to ambush its prey. She hides behind underwater plants, rocks, logs and uneven water bottoms before lunging at her prey and trapping them with no chance of escape.

In cold weather, when there are fewer aquatic plants, the pike will hunt in the open, and sometimes its prey may leave or notice it in time. It has been observed that some pikes can follow their prey for a long distance without much hiding, which scientists believe is due to the personal hunting habit developed by each individual fish. In rivers where the current is strong, pike can move fast enough that even nimble fish find it hard to escape.This predatory fish has the unique ability to jump out of the water and swallow its prey head first every time.

Natural Enemies

It's hard to agree with this, but even pikes with large teeth have opponents. In the Far East, in Siberia and the Urals, river otters and eagles hunt them with pleasure. Large taimen also do not mind the consumption of medium-sized pike. In the southern regions, adult pikes are pursued by catfish, while juveniles are pursued by pike perches, rotans and large perches. However, one of the most significant opponents of the pike remains the man from whom she has no escape.

How to fish for pike

Pike fishing is a fun activity that involves the use of lures and techniques. When fishing for pike from the shore or from the pier, fishermen usually use spinners and spinning rods.

It is common knowledge among anglers that the pike is a solitary creature that prefers waters with little current and is based in vegetation and holes.Fry of this species become active hunters early, reaching 0.40 m in length and 1000 grams in weight by the end of the first year of existence.

In large lakes in one season you can catch up to several dozen individuals, the length of these specimens usually reaches one meter, and their weight is about fifteen kilograms. Spring and autumn offer the best conditions for pike fishing; during the spawning period, this does not give the desired results.

After spawning, fish begin to hunt vigorously again to gain strength before the onset of winter - at this time they peck at almost everything that comes into view during daylight hours (they sleep at night). Shoals, as well as vegetation near the coastline, are ideal places for fishing; especially good results can be achieved on cloudy days when it is warm outside.

In autumn, when food becomes scarce, fish begin to store fat. Fishing at this time is not so intense, and pike can be found at a depth where small fish hibernate.This makes fishing exciting because the pikes become heavier and vigorously fight the fisherman. The meat of these fish is highly valued for its delicious taste.

In the summer, the bite is unpredictable; often it is hooked only on the lower lip, near the edge, therefore it is able to break off the fishing line. Early noon, before four o'clock in the afternoon is considered a favorable time for fishing. During this period, predators move to areas full of water lilies and lotus plants due to the abundance of small fish and ducklings around them. In these places, you can sometimes see huge pikes weighing 10-15 kilograms, swimming close to the shore. If you cast the bait with a wobbler correctly, you may be lucky to catch one of these large specimens.

Interesting facts

The main benefit of eating its meat is its low calorie content and lack of fat, making it a he althy food option. In addition, its meat contains natural antiseptics that boost the immune system and prevent bacterial-related illnesses, making it an ideal choice for flu prevention.

This fish is also a great source of phosphorus, potassium, B vitamins and other nutrients that can help reduce the chances of heart arrhythmias, as well as gastrointestinal problems, obesity and hypovitaminosis.

A remarkable story about a pike is connected with Emperor Frederick II Barbarossa, who in 1230 caught a pike in Helboron, a little less than 3 meters long and weighing 70 kilograms. 267 years later, the same fish was caught again in the same lake. She grew to 5.8 meters in length and 140 kilograms in weight. Unusually for its species, the fish appeared completely white due to its long lifespan. She was released back into the water, but was never seen again.

These fish have the potential to develop, are able to absorb knowledge, which contributes to the search for larger prey. They eat ducks, muskrats and other small waterfowl.

Some fish, if they reach five meters in length, have been known to attack large animals such as dogs or even humans ( although this is rare).

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