Overview
The Alligator of the North is a relatively easy gamefish to catch due to its predatory habits. The best lures are big spoons, spinners and jerkbaits, but pike will attack any artificial that looks big enough for a meal. One of the most effective baits is a big minnow fished beneath a float. Once hooked, northerns typically leap or thrash the water surface, then make a series of powerful runs.
Table Quality
The white, flaky meat has a good flavor, but each fillet has a row of Y-bones. By cutting around the bones, they can easily be removed.
Monster Pike
A trophy pike caught at Cree River Lodge
Eating Habits
Northern Pike eat what they find. Fish dominate their diet, but crayfish, frogs, mice, muskrat, ducklings, and occasionally off-guard fishermen are also consumed. Generally, northern pike prefer one large entree as opposed to several smaller courses.
Age & Growth
Northerns are long-lived, with some fish in the far North reaching ages of 25 years. Females grow faster and live longer than males. In the southern portion of their range pike will attain size faster (2 feet in length at the age of 3) but never reach the monster proportions of their northern counterparts due to a shorter life span (6 years). A 25 year old pike living at more northern latitudes will stretch to 45 inches and weigh in at 24 pounds.
World Record
1940 – 46 pounds, 2 ounces, caught in Sacandaga Reservoir, New York. Many larger northerns have been caught in Europe, but never verified as official records, One weighing 90 pounds, 8 ounces was purported to have been caught in Loch Deigh, Ireland, in 1862.
Pike Territory
Northern Pike Resorts
Manitoba
Big Whiteshell Lodge Ltd.
Northwest Territories
Hearne Lake Lodge
Saskatchewan
B & L Cabins and Outfitters Ltd.
Cree River Lodge
Minor Bay Camps Ltd.
Yukon
Taylor’s Place
Ontario
Air Cochrane
A West Nipissing Resort
Chapleau Lodge
Cianci’s Holiday North Lodge
Kesagami Wilderness Lodge
Leisure Island Houseboat Rentals
Maynard Lake Lodge
O-PEE-CHEE Lake Lodge
Papa John’s Place
Sudbury Aviation Ltd.
Quebec
Wapoos Sibi
Northern Pike Videos
Pike, Grayling & Lake Trout Visit Kasba Lake, Northwest Territories and witness the landing of world record sized Grayling, Trout, and Pike.
Northern Pike A Northern Pike fly fishing adventure on Reindeer Lake in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
Northern Pike Books
Freshwater Gamefish of North America
The Complete Guide to Freshwater Fishing A unique reference guide. The difficult and expensive photography of so many species in diverse locations is a one-time feat that ‘s unlikely to be repeated..
Northern Pike
Northern Pike & Muskie A superb reference for northern pike and muskie. Learn about the fish itself, where it lives, and most important – its eating preferences and how to imitate and present what the fish enjoys most.
Art of Fly Tying
The Art of Freshwater Fishing A book intended to help anglers break the one-species, one-method habit…. proven techniques for catching the most popular gamefish in virtually every type of water in North America.
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