Northern pike

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Beautiful fish, as for them being pests that's definitely true, a pike swimming in the waters will send any pan fish into hiding.
 
We actually have a major problem with them up here. They are native to parts of the state, but not the entire state of Alaska. Here in South Central Alaska they are NOT native but have some how been introduced and have killed off many lakes that were once great for Lake trout and other species now you can only find pike. If introduced into an ecosystem they are not native to they can and will be devastating. They are at the point where some lakes they have poisoned and then restocked to try to rid the lakes of the Northern pike. Unfortunately they have also now made there way into salmon bearing streams here and in the last few years we have had poor salmon returns and I wonder if the pike eating the young salmon on their way to the ocean is causing it.


They are a blast to catch though! The cool thing is you can be fishing in say 2-3 feet of water and you might catch a 12 incher, or a 36 incher! At least up here any way lol. My favorite spots are reed beds or shallow weed beds. Rubber frog or mouse is my favorite lure to use, cast to shore from a canoe then twitch it back out to you and BAM! :D I enjoy fishing if you cant tell lol.
 
I know all about how big a pike can grow but that's true of a lot of fish here and the love of monster fish is why we are here to start with, I've had him almost a year and his growth has been far slower than I expected and I think it will be along time until he is too big to deal with, right now his in a 180g which I can easily upgrade if needed and future plans could be a pond or large tank of some kind if it was ever needed,

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Where did you get him? I want one for my pond too!
 
He was wild caught about a year ago, we have no shortage of pike around here either, they take over most small ponds and lakes, I'm pretty sure he's a male in about the 2 year old range now, he hasn't grown as fast as I thought he would so I'm not worried about handling him for at least another few years then he might need a pond or something


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He is skinny! He will grow if you feed him more. We catch them through the ice and they have big fat bellies!

Yes, they can wolf down surprisingly large prey, there stomach is like elastic and it can really stretch.
I kept a tiger muskie, from 4in to around 18 inches in a 300 gal.

Started out with four, 4in tiger muskies and ended up with one fat one after about 6 months, he ate other muskies nearly his own size.
Very predatory and cannibalistic, not aggressive.
Mine did great at a temperature range between 60 to 78 degs, room temp.
I found it not to be that critical.

You will be needing a lg commercial aquarium, or some type of a pond soon, he will eventually start beating himself up in the 180gal, darting around.

You can check out my thread in cold water media lounge, search tiger muskie pics ?
Good luck with him.
 
Ya I was surprised when he ate a 12" pike I tried to add, I've had him almost a year and he hasn't grown much but when I move in the summer ill probably upgrade his tank while I have the chance


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