Chain pickerel

[vinnimon]

We used to catch the odd one on the grand.markings of a pike,but looks like a pickerel.Does anyone know about this?I havent seen this species caught since I was a kid.Are they still around,a crossbreed? Any info woud be great. A blue pickerel perhaps?,That I heard from time to time.

[Fishing 24/7]

tehy dont exist!

[Roy]

I don't think that chain pickerel exist in the Grand. I don't know that they ever have. There are fair concentrations of them in the north eastern states and Quebec. I regularly catch them in Lake Memphremagog.

[Hellfish]

There apparently was a fishery for chain pickerel in erie at a point of time, first introduced in New York. I have only ever seen one caught and it was in a trib of lake erie

[vinnimon]

There apparently was a fishery for chain pickerel in erie at a point of time, first introduced in New York. I have only ever seen one caught and it was in a trib of lake erie

Ive seen seen a few caught,and they were localized in the trib,about30yrs ago.very localized.only caught in one spot.

[timmeh]

The fish you're describing sounds like a grass pickerel. They are found in the Southern end of Ontario and parts of L Erie. They resemble a small pike the marking on them are different. They're not common but they are around. They prefer warm, weedy areas so the mouth of tribs like the Grand would be a good spot to find them.

[John Bacon]

We used to catch the odd one on the grand.markings of a pike,but looks like a pickerel.Does anyone know about this?I havent seen this species caught since I was a kid.Are they still around,a crossbreed? Any info woud be great. A blue pickerel perhaps?,That I heard from time to time.

 

When you say it looked like a pickerel are your referring to walleye, aka yellow pickerel? I have never heard of a fish that is shaped like a walleye with the markings of a pike.

 

The other types of pickerel (chain, grass, and redfin) are shaped pike. Stating that it resembled one of these types of pickerel with the markings of a pike is basically stating that it is no different than a pike.

 

[Stern Rules]

I've never heard of any pickerel being in the Grand. You can debate the pickerel/walleye thing forever. They had a good article in Outdoor Canada on the difference of grass, chain, and an other type of pickerel. The chain pickerel is a member of the pike family. When you see a chain pickerel, you'll know why. It looks like a pike except for the markings. What I don't understand is why those pickerel resemble a pike but walleye are referred to sometimes as yellow pickerel. A walleye doesn't resemble pike/chain pickerel at all. So that's confusing. I've heard walleye also called pike/perch. But anyway, here's a pic of a chain pickerel from New Brunswick.

Edited December 8, 2009 by Stern Rules

[jediangler]

I've seen both chain and red fin pickeral caught in the Grand between Elora and Bloomingdale but that was many years ago now.

[lhousesoccer]

As someone correctly pointed out, "chain pickerel" is a member of the pike (Esocid) family. The other members are northern pike, muskie, and redfin pickerel, which is also known as "grass pickerel". So, chain pickerel and grass pickerel are two different fish, but both are from the pike family. Chain pickerel have the distinctive chain-link markings down their sides (which is where they get their name), whereas northern pike generally have bean-shaped white dots. Chain pickerel usually max out in size at around 5-6 pounds. Redfin (grass) pickerel, max out in size well under a pound. They only get 10-12 inches in length. Their colouration is very dark as well, with wavy vertical bars down their sides.

 

As you can see from the pictures below, the difference is distinct.

 

Also, someone asked about "crossbreeds". Chain pickerel definitely hybridize naturally with northern pike. Because both species spawn at apprpoximately the same time and use the same general areas of a lake, milt from one species will sometimes drift through the water and fertilize eggs from the other. The genetic assessments we've done recently seem to indicate that predominately it is milt from male chain pickerel fertilizing northern pike eggs. The result is something that would confuse even the best anglers in fish ID, where light vertical bars, interspersed with dots, appear down the sides of the fish.

 

Here is a series of pics I took showing a northern pike, a pike-pickerel hybrid, and an actual chain pickerel, for comparison ...

 

Top Fish - Northern Pike

Middle Fish - Northern Pike - Chain Pickerel Hybrid

Bottom Fish - Chain Pickerel

 

 

 

And here is a picture of a bigger hybrid pike-pickerel that I caught on a rod and reel. ....

 

 

And finally, here's a picture of a redfin pickerel, at about the maximum size that they get. It was caught through the ice by an angler, who sent me the picture, wondering what it was that he caught!

 

Redfin Pickerel

Edited December 8, 2009 by lhousesoccer

[jimmer]

Great pictures to settle the pike debate. Caught some of those chain pickeral down in Florida, but didn't realize there was a population close by.

Now people just have to call walleyes what they are, walleye, and that should solve the confusion of some about the two families.

[Jonny]

Now people just have to call walleyes what they are, walleye, and that should solve the confusion of some about the two families.

 

"Pickerel" is a heritage name in Ontario, particularly Northern Ontario. Not that Northern Ontario fishermen don't use the term "walleye" but when they say "pickerel" everybody knows what they're talking about.

 

[jimmer]

I used to call them pickeral as a kid, but the proper name is still walleye isn't it.

[Jonny]

I used to call them pickeral as a kid, but the proper name is still walleye isn't it.

 

Well the proper name for one of our common birds is a "Canada jay" but we call it a "whisky jack".

[Reelpro]

The Blue Pickerel - Blue Walleye is a strain of walleye that used to be prevalent in Ontario and Quebec.

 

Not sure about Ontario anymore, but there a many lakes in Quebec that have amazing populations of them.

 

From travelling and fishing in Ont's North it seems a lot of people still prefer to call walleye, pickerel.

 

In Quebec they have always been Dore.

 

Here is a pic of my PB Blue Walleye, Dore, Pickeral. 12Lbs 10oz

[jediangler]

The true blue doesn't grow as big as the yellow walleye and has a larger eye higher up on the head. Kinda like frog eyes.

Edited December 9, 2009 by jediangler

[vinnimon]

The true blue doesn't grow as big as the yellow walleye and has a larger eye higher up on the head. Kinda like frog eyes.

thats the puppy.We used to catch them on the grand,less than a lbs.But there were chain markings on the sides of them,from what I recall.Never seen them there in over 30 yrs.

[dave524]

I've noticed over the years that oldtimers spell the Canadian pickerAl with the A whereas the American pike related species is spelled pickerEl with the E. I'm a few months from 60, dad is 83 and he tells of catching the blue pickeral in the 40's out of Port Colborne and Port Maitland, my first recollestions of fishing where the late 50's there and by then they were gone/extinct. There is a bluish phase of Walleye native to some lakes but the true Blue Walleye was a separate species.

[vinnimon]

I've noticed over the years that oldtimers spell the Canadian pickerAl with the A whereas the American pike related species is spelled pickerEl with the E. I'm a few months from 60, dad is 83 and he tells of catching the blue pickeral in the 40's out of Port Colborne and Port Maitland, my first recollestions of fishing where the late 50's there and by then they were gone/extinct. There is a bluish phase of Walleye native to some lakes but the true Blue Walleye was a separate species.

It was in the mid to late 70s in caledonia where i seen them caught,only in one spot,and small.I havent seen them since.I may ask a friend to get the old pictures out from way back when.Im sure theres a blue pickerel in one of the pictures.

[Jonny]

I hope these jpg's come through OK (see next post too). They're taken from "Freshwater Fishes of Canada" (Scott and Crossman). If there's a better reference for the subject, I have yet to come across it.

 

If you click on the jpg's in order they should be readable... *** EDIT - read in order 2, 1, 3 *** (Uploading mixes up the order)...

Edited December 10, 2009 by Jocko

[Jonny]

Continuation... read 2 then 1...

Edited December 10, 2009 by Jocko

[Jonny]

The only other fish that could be confused with the walleye is the sauger. The body appearance is identical to the walleye except that it is gray-coloured and has half-moon shaped dark spots on the membrane between the dorsal fins. It also lacks the white spot on the lower lobe of the tail fin.

 

I used to catch a number of these on Nighthawk lake near Timmins. People who didn't pay close attention thought they were catching small walleye.

 

BTW, walleye catch and possession limits INCLUDE saugers.

[Roy]

The only other fish that could be confused with the walleye is the sauger.

BTW, walleye catch and possession limits INCLUDE saugers.

 

Saugeyes also.

[Stern Rules]

I've noticed over the years that oldtimers spell the Canadian pickerAl with the A whereas the American pike related species is spelled pickerEl with the E. I'm a few months from 60, dad is 83 and he tells of catching the blue pickeral in the 40's out of Port Colborne and Port Maitland, my first recollestions of fishing where the late 50's there and by then they were gone/extinct. There is a bluish phase of Walleye native to some lakes but the true Blue Walleye was a separate species.

I knew I've seen pickerel spelled with an A before. That's how I was spelling it then I started seeing it with an E and wondered why I was using an A. I knew I wasn't crazy. Some might argue that point.

[Stern Rules]

Continuation... read 2 then 1...

Interesting article Jocko. Thanks for sharing. I was right about the pike-perch reference.