What does a pike eat in its natural habitat. Pike fish description where it lives, reproduction

Pike is a small family of fish from the Salmon order. However, pikes have little resemblance to salmon, so they are distinguished into a separate suborder of Pike fish, which also includes umbers, dallias and eudos. All types of pike are similar to each other and easily give interspecific hybrids.

Common pike (Esox lucius).

These are large-sized fish, they can reach 1.5 m in length and weigh up to 35 kg. However, pikes of this size have hardly been found lately, and now a meter-long fish with a mass of 15-20 kg is considered large. The body of the pike is elongated and streamlined, the head is large with an elongated snout. There are many teeth in the mouth, and they are located not only on the jaw arches, but also on the palate, tongue, and the inner surface of the gill covers.

Pike teeth, like sharks, change as they wear out.

The change of all teeth does not occur immediately, therefore, in the mouth of a pike, you can simultaneously see large mature teeth, small young and worn old ones. Pike have paired fins (pectoral and ventral) and unpaired (caudal, dorsal and anal). The pelvic fins are located in the middle of the body, while the dorsal fin, on the contrary, is shifted far back. The scales of the pike are small, the color of the body is gray-green with small spots grouped into stripes. Spotting is more pronounced on the fins. Some species may have red fins.

Sexual dimorphism in pikes is manifested only in size - females are noticeably larger than males, but the coloring of fish of both sexes is the same.

All types of pike are found only in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. The most extensive range is occupied by the common pike - it lives in fresh water bodies of Europe, Asia and North America. The range of other species is limited to North America or the Far East (Amur pike). Pike's favorite habitats are lakes or river inlets; these fish equally avoid both turbulent rivers with a fast current and stagnant stagnant reservoirs. In general, pikes are sensitive to the oxygen content in the water, therefore they sometimes die in winter during prolonged icing of small reservoirs (an ice crust prevents the penetration of oxygen from the air into the water). Pikes lead a sedentary lifestyle, they are found singly. In general, the pike is not very active: most of the time it is motionless in the thickets of coastal vegetation, since the color of the pike perfectly camouflages it among the algae, seeing the prey, it makes a sharp throw and again freezes for a long time. However, when caught, the pike resists and strongly beats with its tail.

The perfect camouflage of the pike makes it invisible in the pond.

Pikes are ambush predators. They feed on various types of local fish fauna, essentially attacking all smaller fish indiscriminately. Their favorite prey in different parts of the range are crucian carp, smelt, perch, roach, ruff, bream. Moreover, large pikes with the same pleasure can dine with their own smaller relative. In the mountainous regions of Canada, lakes are known that are inhabited ... only by pikes! At the same time, large fish eat their own offspring. But what do the smallest pikes eat in this case? Pike up to 10 cm in size feed on aquatic insects and their larvae, crustaceans, fry of other fish. Adult individuals, in addition to fish, can also catch vertebrate animals - frogs, toads, small waders, ducklings. Caught prey pike always swallows from the head.

Pike spawn in early spring, immediately after the ice melts. Spawning occurs near the shore at a depth of 0.5-1 m, while the fish prefer to spawn in sparse thickets of aquatic vegetation. During spawning, the female spawns, and the males (2-4) follow her and water the eggs with milk. At this moment, the fish lose all caution, walk with their dorsal fins exposed above the water and rub against the stems of aquatic plants. The spawned group of fish with a noisy splash diverges in different directions. One female is able to sweep (depending on age and size) from 20 to 200 thousand eggs. Pike caviar is small, slightly sticky at first and is attached to the stems of plants, then falls off and lies on the bottom. Its development lasts only 8-14 days. Pike fry first feed on the smallest crustaceans, but already at a length of 1.5-2 cm they switch to feeding on fry of other fish. Young pikes become sexually mature at the age of 2-4 years. Being a strong and dangerous predator, the pike itself is a victim. In nature, otters, eagles, and ospreys prey on pike. Fry and young pike can be eaten by perches, catfish. Pike is also a popular target for fishing. She is caught on a lure, on a live bait, spinning, and put on baits. Large pike is a rare and honorable trophy. The meat of this fish has excellent culinary qualities: it has few bones, low fat content, excellent taste. Due to the low fat content, pike is of little use for frying, but it is great for cooking fish soup, stewing, and baking.

Probably, there is no person in Russia who is unfamiliar with pike fish. Almost everyone knows her since childhood from the primer, in which the pike personified the letter "Sch", fairy tales, coloring books, fables, riddles, cartoons. Perhaps that is why it is recognized at first sight even by those who have never held a fishing rod.

On this page, the reader will be able to replenish his knowledge base with fishing information necessary for successful pike fishing.

Pikevulgaris - Age, size, distribution

Common pike is one of five species of predatory freshwater fish of the only genus Pike (Esox) of the Pike family (Esocidae). It lives in North America, Europe except for the Iberian Peninsula, in the territory of the former countries of the Soviet Union and almost all of Russia. The exception is the river basin. Amur and Fr. Sakhalin inhabited by another species - the Amur pike, as well as reservoirs with very stagnant water, mountain rivers, arid regions.

The remaining three species: Red-finned pike, Maskinnong pike, Black pike live only in North America and are not of particular interest to domestic fishermen.

Common pike (hereinafter in the text simply pike or abbreviated as "Sch") inhabits if not every, then every second body of water in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, which include large and small rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, quarries.

The pike is unpretentious in the choice of habitat, just like the crucian carp, it tolerates brackish water well, meeting in the desalinated waters of the sea bays of the Baltic and Azov Seas: in the Finnish, Riga, Curonian and Taganrog.

Until a certain age, lake shchips do not leave the coastal zone; they find refuge in the coastal grass, near snags, sunken boats, and other objects. Having reached a solid size at 3-4 kg of weight, these predators move to a depth in large pits.

River pikes, regardless of age and size, do not go far from the shore edge, they spend their whole lives in the coastal line, like their small-sized lake relatives.

Many fishermen consider small pike living near the shore to be a separate slow-growing subspecies, calling them "grass pike", and large individuals hiding at a depth are considered to be "deep pike". In fact, this is one species of predatory fish that does not have subspecies, conditionally divided according to age.

The maximum size of Shch individuals is 1.6 m, and their weight is 26 kg. According to a registered fact, in 1930, an individual 1.9 m long, weighing 35 kg was caught in Lake Ilmen.
Nowadays, fishermen most often catch small pikes from 50 cm to 70 cm, weighing 1.2 - 3 kg, specimens from 3 kg to 7 kg are caught less often, and many trophy hunters have not managed to catch pikes over 14 kg in their entire lives. . The largest "tails" live in wild northern rivers, where predators can live to a ripe old age.

There is an opinion that pikes live for a very long time - more than 100 years, in fact, their average life expectancy is 18-20 years, theoretically - under ideal conditions of existence, they can live up to 30 years, but their increased demands on the oxygen content in water affect at age, with a decrease in the concentration of O 2 to 3 mg/l, the fish die.

Usually, deaths occur in winter in small closed biotopes, in which a sharp decrease in oxygen is caused by the establishment of an ice cover. In small bioresources, freezing through "through", the death of the biocenosis occurs due to icing.

Peculiaritiespike structures

Bodyfishes

The pike is the most voracious predator of our reservoirs, leading a secretive, sedentary lifestyle. It mainly hunts at close range from an ambush, guarding its prey while in hiding. But during the period of active zhora, she changes her hunting tactics, patrols her lands, and, having found a target, aggressively pursues it.

The cannibalism characteristic of her does not allow her to be in the company of her own kind, which is why the toothy one leads a lonely existence. Only for the spawning period, our freshwater sharks form small groups of 4-5 individuals.

The almost cylindrical elongated body of the Shch. with single fins related to the tail testifies to its ability to develop lightning speed.
All plumage is well developed, has a paddle-shaped - rounded shape, which also has a positive effect on the hydrodynamics of the animal.

Closely adjacent to each other, small scales form a dense monolithic cover throughout the body, protecting its mistress from the sharp teeth of insatiable relatives and other predators.

Mouth, vision, sense organs

The flattened wedge-shaped snout of the pike opens up an additional field of view, increasing the sector of the binocular - frontal field of view, with which the pike estimates the speed of moving objects and the distance to them.
Thanks to this feature of the structure of the skull and high-set eyes, Shch can view the water area above him as well as from the side, and it’s good to see oncoming objects below him.
But the wide mouth reduces the viewing angle of the lower space, interfering she can see the target at close range if it is below her level.

Anglers who know this feature try not to “feed” baits close to the bottom and use spinning baits based on this.
It should be noted that the predator also hears well as it sees. Thanks to the lateral line, it can hunt even in muddy water, catching the source of the slightest fluctuations in the aquatic environment from a great distance.
An experiment with a blind individual that has been successfully obtaining food for itself for many years indicates how developed and sensitive this organ is in pikes.

The snout, wide and elongated, like that of a crocodile, has a significant capture area, and the peculiarity of the structure of the gill membranes, disconnected from each other, does not prevent the predator from opening its mouth wide, which allows it to swallow food of large sizes.
The pike is the only freshwater fish capable of completely swallowing a representative of its own species 2/3 of its length in size. Based on this fact, you should not avoid large baits, especially during the autumn zhora.

Predator teeth and their change

Half the length of the huge head is the mouth, which is literally dotted with sharp teeth. Some of them are located on the jaws and consist of sharp fangs of different sizes, planted at a small distance from each other. On the tongue and palate there are bristle teeth representing a fleecy cover
from needle-shaped formations resembling the bristles of toothbrushes stacked in rows.

Shch's teeth do not take part in the chewing process; they serve to hold prey. This main weapon of a predator causes serious injuries to inexperienced anglers who do not know how to properly handle it.
Even scratches from the small teeth of a small pike are very painful and heal for a long time, and besides this, the sharp edges of its gill covers can easily cut a finger or hand.

Fish should be taken out of the water with a net, taken only with special protective gloves with a durable coating. Before the exhalation of the bait, the mouth of the pike must be fixed with a yawner; extractor, while the head of the fish is gently held with one hand under the gills, pressing it to a hard surface, it is possible to the ground.

The gluttonous inhabitant of our fresh waters "watches her mouth" and regularly changes her old and damaged teeth.

Many anglers assume that the change of teeth occurs after spawning, as well as on the full moon, arguing that Sh. because of this, stops feeding and pecking at this time.

The change of teeth in pikes is not periodic, but is a continuous process that occurs throughout their lives, naturally, they do not stop eating during this, which means they can be successfully caught.

The absence of biting immediately after breeding is explained by the decline in the strength of an animal exhausted by spawning, and by no means by the renewal of teeth.

Body coloration

Camouflage - destructive coloration using a camouflage pattern in the form of light transverse stripes and spots located almost all over the body, except for the belly, allows the pike to go unnoticed anywhere in the reservoir, regardless of its landscape.

It is especially effective in places with dense vegetation and snags. The "camouflage robe" of the toothy predator is such that it is difficult to say which color is the background and which one belongs to the drawing.
Its tone depends on the age of the fish, the water environment, the food supply and some other factors that affect the formation of biological pigment.

Young pikes - grassworts have a lighter color, it darkens with age. In closed, silty water bodies, the high content of carbon dioxide and nitrogen affects the excretory properties of alkaline, which darkens their color.

The most common coloration, characteristic of most common pikes, is a gray-green background with olive spots and stripes on it. The back is usually dark, the belly is light yellow or grayish-white with gray speckles. The fins are gray, covered with light stains and stripes.

Spawning

Pike spawns the very first of all freshwater fish. Females spawn upon reaching the age of three and a body length of 35-40 cm, males, inferior to them in size, become suitable for breeding 1.5-2 g later.

Spawning time in the southern regions falls at the end of February - beginning of March, after the ice melts, with the onset of floods. In lakes, spawning occurs a little later, since the ice cover lasts longer in them.
The water temperature in this case corresponds to 3-7 ˚ C.

Unlike other fish spawning by seniority, our heroines follow the reverse order - from the youngest, spawning first, to the oldest, completing the four-week cycle of pike spawning.

For spawning, river Shch. enter floodplain floods, tributaries, choosing shallow areas with a quiet current in them.

Lake pikes toss the game in shallow coastal waters, where the depth does not exceed 1 m.
The fertility of predators depends on age and size, ranging from 50 pcs. up to 180 thousand eggs. Group spawning, allowing almost all eggs to be fertilized, there are 2-4 males per female. The time of the incubation period of eggs is related to the water temperature, at 6-7˚ C it takes from 10 to 14 days.

In the first days, the larvae feed on zooplankton, grow rapidly, begin to eat insects, worms, caviar, fish larvae, and very soon the grown-up squints turn to small fish.

Food and nutritionpike

A hungry pike loses all caution, grabs everything that turns up to her: small rodents, frogs, molting crayfish, waterfowl, even just shiny objects. But basically her food consists of live fish, and not just any.

Despite its voracity, our freshwater shark is wary of ruffs, perches, pike perches that can injure it with their sharp plumage, does not like tench and burbot for their unpleasant mucus. She squeezes the caught ruff or perch in her teeth for a long time until she feels that he cannot resist.

Food in the stomach of freshwater predators is digested very slowly, this explains their insatiability, forcing voracious fish to feed to failure - until the entire digestive tract is completely filled.

During the spring zhor, which comes with the first melting of ice, you can see how the tail of the caught fish sticks out of the pike's mouth, indicating that its stomach is full. Unable to digest the scales and hard parts of the food she has eaten, she regurgitates them.

The process of feeding in Sh. is irregular - after eating, they digest what they eat for several days, without even thinking about food.
Active feeding in populations of Shch. is observed three times a year: spring - pre-spawning zhor, then fattening after spawning, occurring in April or May, and autumn zhor, starting with the first cold snap.

The period of active zhora of a pike can be determined by its behavior. At this time, she often jumps out of the water, during the "fight" of the fish, pursues and greedily grabs the catches pulled by the fishermen, being carried away by the pursuit of them, often jumps ashore.

Eyewitnesses noted the following fact: a pike, which grabbed a large goose by the leg, did not let it go even on the shore, where it hardly managed to get out.
Shield grabs its prey as it will, then turns it head first, if it is not possible to swallow it completely, waits for the swallowed part to be digested, then swallows the rest. In winter, toothy feeds rarely, saves energy.

Wayspike fishing

The pike is the record holder for the number of gear, devices and methods of catching invented for the sake of catching it. It is fished with spinning rods, bottom and float fishing rods, samolov, vents, mugs, hooks and other bells and whistles, but bottom tackle using live bait is considered the most effective fishing for Shch from the shore.

The pike does not swallow live bait immediately, so you should not rush to hook, you should wait a bit until 3-4 m of fishing line is etched or leave 2 m of allowance in the form of sag on gear without a reel.

In the summer, the most productive fishing takes place in the morning and evening hours, in autumn it is not necessary to rush to the pond, you can wait until the water warms up.
Rotating and oscillating baubles used with spinning have proven themselves well for catching spears.

In overgrown - impassable places for baits, pike are caught with surface wobblers: poppers, walkers, gliders, crawlers, throwing them into windows clean from vegetation.

It is not always possible to catch a toothy predator near the surface of the biotope - only in the warm season, in cold water it is inactive, it is in the lower layers of the reservoir and hunts only from ambush, attacks the target swimming close, almost not reacting to what is happening near the surface.

The toothy huntress usually guards her prey by standing in a thicket at the border of vegetation with clear water or at a section of stagnant water with a current, but even in this case she needs shelter, and in a calm environment.
Cloudy days are considered the best weather for catching Shch in open water.

Many anglers fish this fish in the winter in a vertical way, using winter spinners and balancers.
Despite its torpedo-shaped body, which allows the pike to develop great speed, in winter it does not resort to its sprinting abilities, it moves little and slowly - only when it is urgently needed.

Low-fat pike meat is considered a valuable dietary product, revered by nutritionists and recommended for overweight people.

The common pike belongs to the pike family. It is common in many fresh water bodies of Eurasia, as well as North America. Often, along with the common pike, in some water bodies, there are some of its subspecies. Most often, pike adheres to coastal zones. Here she finds shelter from the sun's rays, and also organizes an ambush for small fish. This fish is also found in some areas of the seas, in those areas where large freshwater rivers flow into the seas. Pike tolerate slightly brackish water. But if the water is not very saturated with oxygen, then respiratory depression occurs and the fish dies. This explains the fact that in many stagnant water bodies, pike die in winter if there is no access to oxygen.

Pike are easy to distinguish from other freshwater predatory fish, primarily due to their elongated, arrow-shaped body. The head is also elongated, which is why it is often compared to a fox. The lower jaw protrudes slightly forward. There are dozens of teeth on the lower jaw. In this case, the teeth, most often, have a different size. Thanks to this feature, the pike is able to hold fish of almost any size. The upper jaw, tongue, and some bones of the mouth also have teeth, but they are smaller than those found in the lower jaw. The teeth are directed with sharp parts to the pharynx. If necessary, they are immersed in the mucous membrane. Thanks to this, the prey passes into the throat without resistance. But if the fish tries to escape, the teeth pierce the body. The mouth of a pike is capable of holding prey only half its own size.

It has been scientifically proven that the pike changes teeth in the lower jaw. So in the soft tissue are the replacement teeth. In the event that the main tooth is lost, then a replacement tooth quickly becomes in its place.

The change of teeth occurs during the year as needed, which means that it does not affect the intensity of biting.

The dorsal fin of the pike is shifted towards the tail. This is another feature that distinguishes it from other fish. As for the color of the pike, it depends on the environment in which the predator lives. The color is dominated by green and gray colors. The back is even black. Whereas the belly is white or yellow. The sides of the fish are green and decorated with brown and olive spots. Sometimes the spots even form transverse stripes on the body of the fish. But the masking, which is a close relative of the pike, has a silvery body.

Muskinong is the largest representative of the pike family. The size of an adult can exceed 30 kg. Lives in North America.

Vision and other senses

The pike has excellent eyesight and is able to spot prey from a distance. The viewing angle of the eyes is wide, thanks to which it follows the prey located from any direction.

The predator distinguishes colors and is able to change the shade of its own body depending on the surrounding background. Fishermen have long used pike's love for certain colors to their own advantage. Most of all, toothy loves colors that remind her of a natural fish. It is these baits that are often used by spinningists. In addition, you can seduce a toothy one with bright red or yellow shades. The fact is that bright colors arouse her banal interest, and also provoke a predator. Lures of these colors often work in cloudy weather.

But to a greater extent, pike, when hunting, relies on the lateral line. This is a special sense organ of fish that allows you to feel the vibration. The movements made by the fish passing by become a source of vibration, to which the predator reacts.

Also, when hunting, the pike is guided by the sense of smell. True, this sense organ is far from being in the first place. Sometimes the predator spits out the artificial bait immediately after the grip. This is partly due to the fact that artificial bait does not smell like natural fish. But even if the artificial bait has a natural smell, then the attack occurs more often. It is for this reason that spinningists often put pieces of fresh fish on the tee of artificial spinners.

Uses pike and hearing. Quite often, an attack occurs immediately after splashing down the bait. In this case, the freshwater torpedo is guided by the splash.

Pike lifestyle

Pike leads an active lifestyle throughout the year. At the end of spawning, the green predator stands for some time not far from the spawning areas, waiting for the fish here. At this time, she actively feeds, restoring her strength after spawning. Then it gradually begins to roll down to the places of summer camps. Here toothy is caught until autumn. And it is worth remembering that if the water temperature rises to a level above 25 degrees, then it practically stops eating. In the summer heat, fishing often does not bring results. You can achieve success at such a time with the help of superficial baits, which tritely provoke a toothy one to attack with their impudent behavior.

With the first cold snaps, the green torpedo begins to actively feed, preparing for the winter period. In the first half of autumn, it stands in the places of summer parking. But when the water temperature drops below 10 degrees, it begins to slide to deeper areas. For this reason, pike fishing in late autumn is more effective when the angler is fishing from a boat. In winter, toothy keeps in relatively deep areas. It does not feed as intensively as in open water, but at the same time it does not fall into a state of suspended animation. In winter, the angler can also count on a bite. Well, after the ice melts, the pike goes to spawning grounds.

Pike activity also varies depending on the time of day. It is known that the peak of biting occurs in the morning and evening. This statement is true for the time when the temperature is high. In summer, you should catch in the morning and evening dawns, during the day the pike practically does not bite. But when the water temperature drops a little, this gradation loses its relevance. At low water temperatures, the peaks of biting are not so pronounced, which means that you can catch a freshwater shark throughout the daylight hours.

Novice anglers often ask the question, is it worth trying to catch pike at night? The answer to this question is exclusively negative. Unlike such nocturnal predators as catfish and burbot, pike do not feed at night. And even accidental bites are extremely rare. So it's better to forget about the idea of ​​catching pike at night.

Pike size and lifespan

The maximum length of a pike reaches a mark of one and a half meters. In this case, the weight can reach up to 30 kg. But more often there are individuals up to 1 m 30 cm long and weighing up to 15 kg. Pike lives on average up to 20-25 years. Of course, in some old fishing books you can find information about individuals that are simply amazing, over 200 years old. But these data are rather a myth and should not be taken seriously.

By the end of the first year of life, the pike has a length of 15 - 25 cm. The size and weight directly depend on the habitat. The presence of a good food base has a positive effect on the growth rate of fish. The same can be said about the appropriate temperature. Therefore, in the southern regions it grows much faster than in the northern regions. Reaches sexual maturity in the third year of life. By this time, its length fluctuates between 32 - 41 cm. In the tenth year of life, the pike usually takes the mark of 1 meter. From that moment on, it is considered a truly trophy copy.

Pike breeding

Pike spawning in shallow water.

In the southern regions, pike spawning sometimes begins under the ice. But usually she starts spawning when the ice melts. In this case, the water temperature is usually in the range of 4 - 7 degrees. As a spawning ground, the fish chooses shallow water areas with a depth of 0.3 -0.8 m. The smallest individuals usually spawn first. Then medium-sized pikes come out to spawn, and large ones spawn last. During spawning, pikes are kept in groups consisting of several males and one female. Moreover, if the female is very large, then she is accompanied by up to eight males. The spawning process of pike is quite noisy. At spawning grounds, dorsal and caudal fins can be observed. When spawning, fish rub against each other, as well as various water obstacles, such as reed stalks, tree roots and branches fallen into the water. During spawning, the toothy never stands in one place. The group quickly moves throughout the spawning ground.

Females that spawn for the first time can lay as many as 15,000 eggs. And large individuals are capable of laying several hundred thousand eggs at a time. Pike caviar is quite large. Usually the egg has a size of 3 mm. You can find caviar on aquatic vegetation. For three days, the eggs cling to aquatic vegetation, and then the stickiness disappears, the eggs fall off the plants. After that, a new life can be considered fully begun. For the normal development of caviar, a high concentration of oxygen is needed. And the higher the oxygen concentration, the less eggs will die.

Pike often spawn in water meadows and other areas that are only temporarily filled with water. In such a situation, a lot of eggs die when the water level in the reservoir drops. After all, a large amount of caviar simply dries up. This invariably negatively affects the overall population of pike in the pond.

Features of pike hunting

Young squirrels very often stand in shallow waters overgrown with grass. Hiding in ambush, they wait for the right moment for a lightning attack. Large individuals live mainly at depth, choosing various bottom anomalies for ambush.

The pike leads a solitary life and does not stray into flocks, like perch or zander. The only exception is the spawning period. But at this time, pikes also do not hunt together. Usually one large predator occupies an area of ​​several tens of square meters. This water area is its hunting grounds. The freshwater shark prefers to ambush hunt. Usually she stands in the bushes of aquatic vegetation, hides under a flooded tree, or chooses another point for an ambush. After that, the predator simply waits for the fish to swim past the parking lot. If the prey falls into the reach zone, then the pike makes a lightning attack.

Under water, it is capable of reaching speeds of more than 30 km per hour. At the same time, you should not count on the fact that the fish will chase the bait for a long time. When attacking, the pike sprints to a length of only a few meters. If a pike is caught, then usually it is no longer necessary to count on a bite in the same place. Although sometimes this happens. Usually, after catching a pike, its area is occupied by another predator in a few days. Therefore, casting here should be done only after this time period.

Factors affecting pike biting

There are a huge number of various factors that directly or indirectly affect the activity of pike and biting. Let's consider the most significant of them.

If the water at the place of fishing is saturated with oxygen, then the pike bites quite actively. But with a decrease in saturation, the biting subsides. Usually, such a dependence can be observed in the dead winter months and at the height of summer. The fact is that in winter the reservoir is completely covered with ice, which makes it difficult for oxygen to enter the water. At the same time, water often blooms in stagnant reservoirs in summer. The flowering process is directly related to the decrease in the amount of oxygen in the water. After all, the flowering of water is the reproduction of microalgae that devour oxygen. Of course, during this period, the pike's appetite drops dramatically.

The temperature of the water also affects the intensity of pike biting. At cold temperatures, the intensity decreases, but the bite does not disappear completely. But in the summer heat, the fish may stop eating.

In general, in the summer it is worth catching a predator in the so-called thermocline zone. The term refers to the water horizon located between the upper warm layer of water and the lower cold layer. It is in the thermocline zone that the pike usually keeps, and here it is easiest to catch it.

Even novice anglers know that atmospheric pressure has a strong influence on the intensity of fish biting. And the point here is often not whether the pressure is high or low, but the shift itself. The fact is that the fish need to get used to changing the level of pressure. And if you go fishing during a change in atmospheric pressure, then most likely you will return home empty-handed. Pike need an average of two days to get used to a particular level of pressure. So for fishing it is better to choose a calm period without sudden changes in atmospheric pressure.

Ways to catch pike

In recreational fishing, there are several ways to catch pike. Each of them is worth dwelling on in detail.

Fishing for pike on a float rod is typical for small reservoirs or for a variety of bays and oxbow lakes. It is inconvenient to catch it with a float rod in high water. When fishing with a rod, the exact same equipment is usually used as when fishing for any other fish. But at the same time, all the components of the equipment are large in size. Another significant difference from the usual float fishing rod is the presence of a metal or fluorocarbon leash, which protects the hook from being cut by sharp pike teeth. Live bait is usually used as bait. A fry of crucian carp, minnow, minnow or roach is perfect. If there is a zhor at a pike, it grabs any fish indiscriminately.

Fishing for mugs

The second most popular way of catching pike can be called fishing with fishing circles. The equipment of the mug resembles a float equipment. But instead of a float in circle tackle, a foam or plastic disc is used, with a groove on the side face. In addition, the circle is equipped with a characteristic mast, which is used to set up gear. The circle is delivered to the point of fishing by means of a boat. Therefore, fishing on mugs without a swimming tool is simply impossible. The circle can have an intermediate or end sinker. An intermediate sinker is used in cases where a large area is being fished. In this case, the wind or current is used as the driving force.

A circle with an end sinker allows you to catch pike at a specific perspective point. A stationary circle is used in the windows among the thickets of aquatic vegetation and in other difficult areas of the reservoir, where it is impossible to throw the usual equipment. At the time of the bite, the circle turns over and instead of the mast, the angler sees a signaling flag. At the same time, the disc of the mug is painted white on one side, and red on the other side. Thanks to this, the bite is visible even from a long distance. Only live bait is used as bait.

Fishing for bait

Catch on winter vents.

Catch pike and zherlitsy. In the classical sense, a zherlitsa is a special spear on which a fishing line with a snap is wound. The zherlitsa does not require the presence of a fisherman, and therefore it can be installed even for a day. After biting, the fishing line easily comes off the vent, without preventing the bait from being swallowed. The fisherman can only check the vents some time after installation. Especially here one can single out the so-called winter vents. Winter girders have their own design features. This is due to the fact that they are installed on ice. But the principle of operation is the same as in the case of summer vents. The angler determines the moment of pike bite by the raised flag.

They also catch pike with the help of bottom gear. But such tackle is suitable for those places where the bottom is relatively clean. Since the live bait located at the bottom usually very quickly finds a shelter for itself and confuses the equipment. To avoid this effect, a couple of pieces of foam are put on the hook and slightly lifted along the fishing line. Styrofoam will raise the live bait above the bottom, but it will not arouse the suspicion of the predator.

The most popular way is fishing with the use of spinning gear. Moreover, this fishing cannot be described within one paragraph, since there are a huge number of postings and lures. However, let's touch on the surface of each of the methods of catching pike on spinning.

Lure fishing

Spinner fishing is ideal for beginner anglers. With such fishing, a small lure is used as bait, which has a special petal. It then rotates during wiring, creating tangible resistance and vibration in the water. Because of this feature, a whole class of spinners got its name. Fishing with spinners is notable for its simplicity. Lead the bait should be a simple uniform wiring. But every novice angler will cope with this.

Turntables have an interesting feature. In most cases, they are still inferior to other pike baits, but when their day comes, they go ahead by a wide margin. Therefore, it is necessary to have several of these baits in stock!

Fishing for oscillating baubles is also extremely simple. The bait is thrown to the selected point and lead with uniform wiring, or with the help of wiring with pauses. Pike loves spinners for their amplitude game, and therefore often attacks such baits.

jig fishing

But the appearance of such baits as vibrotail and twister led to the emergence of a separate type of spinning fishing. It's about jig fishing. With this type of fishing, specific wiring is used. The bait is thrown to the selected point and allowed to sink to the bottom. After that, with a couple of sharp turns of the reel handle, the bait is raised above the bottom, and then again allowed to sink. After that, the cycle repeats again. Thus, the bait follows a trajectory resembling steps. For pike, this bait resembles a feeding fish. Of course, the green torpedo does not lose the ability to attack the bait.

In the case of fishing with silicone lures, the spinning player has one trump card in stock. An angler can use edible rubber. Edible silicone is called baits made of silicone or rubber with the addition of special attractans.

This flavor reproduces the smell of natural fish and even imitates its taste. After the attack, the pike does not feel a dirty trick at all, since the material of the bait is soft and has a natural smell. Of course, the angler has more time to make a successful strike.

Wobbler fishing

Catching on wobblers, with the help of spinning gear, also has several varieties. Firstly, the angler can use ordinary wobblers such as shad and fat when fishing. In this case, any universal spinning rod will be enough for him. It is possible to conduct a shad and fat type wobbler with the help of uniform wiring and with pauses, or by pulling, followed by winding the fishing line. In short, these lures do not require the angler to have special skills and knowledge.

The situation with fishing for twitching is somewhat different. In the case of fishing for twitching, minnow-type wobblers are used as bait. These are special wobblers with an elongated narrow body. Often such wobblers do not have their own game, and the angler himself is forced to animate the bait using a rod and reel. It will be difficult for a beginner to find a common language with twitching gear. But experienced anglers greatly appreciate twitching for individuality.

When fishing for twitching, the fisherman can show his skill to the greatest extent. The peculiarity of fishing for twitching is that sensitive gear is needed for such fishing. After all, the angler must feel every movement of the bait in order to make its behavior more natural.

Trolling

Trolling fishing cannot be called sports, but this method allows you to catch the largest trophies.

With the help of large wobblers, pike are caught for trolling. Trolling is fishing with a motorized boat. The wobbler is thrown several tens of meters, after which the spinning is simply installed in the holder. Now the angler must simply set the required speed of the boat and select the route. Of course, you should strive to ensure that in the process of fishing the bait passes over promising areas. When trolling, use up to four rods at the same time. But often two rods are enough. Of course, when trolling fishing, they also put other baits in addition to the wobbler, but it is the wobbler that is most convenient in this case.

The best lures and baits for pike

Above, we have already analyzed in detail the most effective artificial lures for catching pike on spinning in open water - rotating and oscillating lures, as well as wobblers and soft silicone lures. This also includes poppers and walkers. These are specific baits designed for pike fishing on the surface of the water.

As far as baits of a natural nature are concerned, in fact, only one bait is suitable. This is a simple bait. Of course, there are nuances in the choice of live bait. In some waters, pike prefer perch. In other water bodies, it prefers rudd. Be that as it may, it is better to choose as a live bait the fish that is the usual food object for pike in a particular reservoir. In this case, it is quite realistic to count on a bite.

Lures for catching pike from ice stand apart. With such fishing, winter vertical baubles are used. The freshwater shark responds well to them. The balancer shows itself even better during winter fishing. But the wiring of the balancer is very different from any other, and therefore requires a separate study.

In order to find out what pike eats in different habitats, you should immediately remember what it is. Regardless of whether it lives in a river or is bred in a pond, this species does not feed on vegetable protein. In most cases, the prey of a voracious predator is a smaller fish that lives in a reservoir. This "robber" can also profit from amphibians and reptiles, grabs small waterfowl and rodents, does not disdain carrion and garbage.

View features

The pike does not hibernate for the winter, it feeds all year round, although in the cold season the feeding intensity is much lower. Individuals that have reached sexual maturity (at three to five years old) do not form large flocks. They live either alone or in small homogeneous groups. In females, caviar ripens from autumn all winter. They toss it in early spring. After that, intense zhor begins.

What does pike eat during this period? Everything that catches your eye: insects and their larvae, frogs, lizards, rodents that have fallen into the water. In addition to good eyesight, this predator has a developed sense of smell, so sometimes not only a moving object, but also rotting carrion can be missed.

With a length of 70 cm, the weight of an ordinary pike is about two (up to three) kilograms. Record specimens reach a size of one and a half meters and can weigh up to 35 kg if they live up to 30 years. According to the structure of the body, individuals living in the river have a long and narrow body, in the pond they are thicker and shorter.

Although pikes are considered voracious predators, their digestion is poorly developed. A well-fed "robber" can digest swallowed food for several days, or even weeks. At this point, she is indifferent to any prey in her mouth. The stomach of this predator is very elastic, it can double in size, while its walls become thinner to such an extent that they become translucent.

Nutrition of young animals

After spawning, pike, covered with a glue-like mass, is fixed on snags, vegetation and stones. A few days later, this substance dissolves, and individual eggs settle to the bottom, where their development continues for one to two weeks. As a result, larvae are born. In the first days they are stuck with sticky threads to the bottom vegetation and feed on the contents of their own. Their length is about 7 mm.

What does pike eat during this and subsequent periods of growth? When they run out, they begin to feed on small zooplankton: cyclops and daphnia. The size of the larvae during this period is about 1 cm. Having increased in size up to 1.5 cm, pike fry can already hunt young carp fish. Although this is rare. Basically, their prey is chiromonid larvae, mayflies. Having reached a size of 5 cm, pike juveniles switch to feeding on fish. This process is natural and mandatory, since a growing organism requires energy, and insect larvae and crustaceans can no longer replenish them.

The diet of a predator directly depends on the habitat and prevailing in the reservoir. In reservoirs and lakes, it usually consists of roach, bream, silver bream, perch, and ruff. In the river, its prey, in addition, can be minnows, minnows, loaches, gobies. In the pond, besides crucian carp, she enjoys eating tadpoles and adult frogs, but she will throw out the toad she has caught.

What does pike eat during spring and autumn zhor? With a lack of fish, she can grab even when she is physically unable to swallow it. There are times when a pike dies after swallowing too large a duck or goose, choking on feathers and down.

Mice, rats, moles and other rodents that have fallen into the water, as well as lizards, if there is a hungry “robber” nearby, risk paying with their lives, becoming its prey. Smaller individuals may grab worms and leeches. Pike will take rotting carrion and "asleep" fish only when it is especially hungry and cannot find a more worthy prey.

This fish leads an exclusively predatory lifestyle, so it simply cannot eat plant foods. Even when there are no fish at all in the reservoir and there is no way to get other living creatures, it will not eat algae. It has been noted that up to 20% of the diet of this predator can be smaller pike. Cannibalism for this species is a common occurrence. Therefore, to the question of what the pike eats in the pond, when there are no fish at all, the answer will be - their fellows.

This feature is most clearly manifested in the floodplains of the rivers, when the water subsides after the spill and the reservoir becomes cut off from the main channel. Fish of other species in them quickly ends, and juvenile pike begin to eat each other. In such places, the development of the species is uneven. Large individuals are more than twice as large as young animals, since it is their food. Pike keeps in such places in very homogeneous groups to reduce the desire and ability to eat each other.

Habitat and hunting features

Pike lives everywhere. It is less common in mountain rivers, replete with rifts and rapids. It does not survive in water bodies freezing to the bottom. There is never a lot of pike in reservoirs, the conditions for its spawning in such places are not particularly favorable.

Most often it lives in the coastal zone, often hiding in dense thickets of aquatic vegetation or in the shade of snags. What does a pike eat in such an environment and how does it find its prey? With an abundance of food, she shows legibility. In some places he does not like crucian carp, he disdains tench and burbot. In the presence of a large number of carp fish, it pays little attention to perches and ruffs.

At the sight of a suitable object for attack, the pike slowly turns in its direction, carefully working with one or two fins. Then comes the jerk. Its length can be up to several sizes of her body. The pike will not pursue the rapidly floating prey. She is the representative of ambush hunting, so most often she stops an unsuccessful chase and returns to her place to wait for another victim.

Pike- This is a large predatory fish up to one and a half meters long. The fish has an elongated body and a large head. The main color is usually grayish, with a brown, yellow or green tint, the back is darker, and large greenish or brownish spots are scattered on the sides. Pike with silvery coloring live in some reservoirs. The fins are rounded and colored in orange, greyish-yellow and brownish.

Spreading

Pike live in fresh water bodies of Europe, North America and Asia. Sometimes these fish are found in sea bays with almost fresh water, for example, in some bays of the Baltic and Azov Seas.

Pike prefer to settle in ponds with stagnant water, or in low-flowing reservoirs.

Pike lifestyle and nutrition

The pike is a predator. To catch its prey, it hides in thickets of underwater plants, and hiding there, it motionlessly waits for a careless fish. Seeing a suitable victim, the pike abruptly rushes at it, grabs it with its sharp teeth and swallows it whole.

Pike have a good appetite, they easily swallow fish, the size of which reaches half of its own length. Most often, perch, minnows, ruffs, roach, bream and other fish become prey for pike. A hungry pike can swallow another smaller pike than it is.

These predatory voracious fish can also prey on other aquatic inhabitants - frogs, crayfish and even ducklings and adult ducks, and on occasion they can grab a rat, squirrel or mouse swimming across a pond.

Pike breeding

In early spring, as soon as the ice on the pond melts, the pikes begin to spawn. To do this, they swim closer to the shore to a depth of about one meter. During spawning, one pike can lay up to 215 thousand eggs. The size of the eggs is quite large - about 3 mm in diameter. Eggs first stick to the stems and leaves of aquatic plants, and then gradually settle to the bottom - there their subsequent development takes place.

It takes 8 days to 2 weeks for a larva to emerge from an egg. After the completion of this period, tiny larvae are born, the length of which is approximately 7 mm. They gradually grow and at first feed on small crustaceans, and then, when they reach a length of 5 cm, they switch to another type of food - they start hunting for fry of other fish.

• Pike is a valuable commercial fish. They catch it with spinning.
• There are known cases of catching pikes weighing more than 40 kg.
• Pike is the heroine of many fairy tales and stories.

Brief information about the pike.