Northern pike

Identification and biology

Pike have a single dorsal fin set far back near the tail, jaws full of sharp teeth, and rows of light yellow or gold spots on a darker green or gray body; Missouri adds a row of five sensory pores on each side of the underside of the jaw. Females grow larger and live longer than males. Alaska's Department of Fish and Game gives lengths to 4 feet, weights to 40 pounds and a lifespan of 20 or more years, with 20-pound fish common in some Alaska waters. Young pike eat insects and small crustaceans and switch to fish at about two inches; big adults also take small mammals and waterfowl.

Range and the spawn

Pike ring the northern hemisphere. In the US they are native to Alaska's Interior, north and west and to the upper Midwest, including Wisconsin and most of Iowa; Missouri sits at the southern edge of the range, and its stocked populations have mostly not sustained themselves. In southcentral Alaska, around Anchorage, the Mat-Su Valley and the Kenai Peninsula, illegally stocked pike are treated as invasive, and ADF&G runs eradication programs to protect salmon and rainbow trout. Spawning comes right after ice-out in flooded, vegetated shallows; Wisconsin DNR reports late March to early April at 34 to 40°F, while New York Sea Grant's fact sheet gives 44 to 56°F. The eggs stick to vegetation and get no parental care.

The mistakes that cost fish

Fishing the wrong cover: Iowa DNR finds pike along weed lines and through vegetation in 3 to 6 feet of water for much of the year, even though they can use deep water. Fishing the warmest hours of summer: Iowa calls pike a cool-water species that is more active in cool months or the cooler parts of summer days. And landing a pike without a leader or long pliers, given the number of teeth along the jaws, tongue and roof of the mouth that ADF&G describes.

Tackle setups

Playbook by water temperature

Month by month

Best waters for northern pike

168 waters we report on where this species is one of the main fish, each with a daily report.

Common questions