by Scott Brown
MWA e-Newsletter Editor
Often referred to as the “wolf of the weed beds” due to the lightning fast manner in which the opportunistic and always voracious freshwater carnivore “dispatches” its unwary prey, northern pike, scientific name Esox Lucius, feeds on frogs, torpedo shaped fish such as yellow perch, the hatchings of ducks and geese, and small animals such as voles, shrews, and juvenile red squirrels. Capable of growing to lengths of up to 4.5 feet (1.37 meter) and achieving weights of up to 62.5 pounds (28.4 kilogram), northern pike possess long hydrodynamic bodies that allow them to move quickly through the water, powerful duck bill-like jaws that nature has equipped with an impressive set of razor-blade sharp teeth, and large, light sensitive eyes that allow the efficient aquatic predator to effectively pursue its prey based upon visual stimuli alone.
Capable of living as long as fifteen years, northern pike have an average life span of six to eight years. Due to their non-stop voracious feeding habits, northern pike are known to obtain much of their length and weight in the first two to three years of life. The females of the once abundant predator become sexually mature at three or four years, while the male of the species reaches sexual maturity in two to three years. Northern pike found in Laurentian Great Lakes region inland lakes and rivers spawn soon after “ice out” in late March, April and May.
Optimal northern pike habitat continues to be found in Arctic and boreal regions of North America, Europe, Asia, and Siberia that are defined by vast expanses of coniferous forests, wetlands, and thousands of relatively unperturbed inland lakes, rivers, and streams. Ideal northern pike habitat is comprised of large, moderately productive, aquatic plant dominated inland lakes hosting natural shorelines, log jam created pools found in rivers, and the isolated, prey rich backwaters of creeks.
While once thriving populations of northern pike continue to fade within the inland lakes and rivers of southern Michigan due to widespread loss of natural shorelines, woodlands, wetlands, and the harmful influences of water clarity depriving nutrient driven eutrophication, northern pike, along with walleye, continue to be the primary targets of a thriving fly-in recreational fishing industry that continues to operate on relatively large pristine inland lakes found within the Canadian province of Ontario lying just north of Lake Superior.
It is important to note that due to the capacity of northern pike to dramatically alter the food web of freshwater ecosystems as a result of non-stop voracious feeding, the species is considered invasive in some regions. A native of interior and western Alaska, for example, northern pike were illegally introduced to the Susitna River basin in the 1950s. In the 70 years since its illegal introduction, the highly invasive predator has become well established in more than 150 lakes and rivers located in Alaska’s south central region which also includes the Kenai Peninsula.