Hybrid Pike/Pickerel

[mercman]

http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/news/rare-hybrid-fish-caught-on-tape-235475.aspx#.T7biz23d-Fw.facebook

 

Very cool looking fsih and very rare.

[Christopheraaron]

Awesome fish! I'll be targeting pickerel this summer, hope I get one of those!

[Billy Bob]

Thanks Merc.......very interesting article.......

[Muskieman]

If those are Hybrids then Nipissing's Cache Bay is full of 'em .... I'm not sure about this one ...

[davey buoy]

Just tuning in now,only 10 mins left,may of missed it..

[davey buoy]

Just tuning in now,only 10 mins left,may of missed it..

 

Caught it at the end,what a nice looking /angry/toothy fish. Very aggressive.

[dave524]

If those are Hybrids then Nipissing's Cache Bay is full of 'em .... I'm not sure about this one ...

 

Like to have it identified as such by a biologist, not uncommon for young pike to have barred markings changing to spots as they get older/bigger.

[Muskieman]

Bang on ! I've see that pattern often , Ray Carrignan is a good guy , but sometimes his producers make false claims , like his " Blue Walleye" show ...color phases are to blame sometimes I think .

[Mike the Pike]

Hey Paul,how was the pike fishing today?

[captpierre]

I'm no expert but when they are saying pickerel, they are referring to chain pickerel, not walleye.

 

I think a chain pickerel is a type of pike.

 

I don't think a northern pike and walleye could mate and reproduce successfully. Too different

 

Do we have chain pickerel in Ontario?

 

peter

[Joeytier]

Very cool...but I think I'd rather gouge my own eyes out than sit through an entire episode of Outdoor Passion

[lhousesoccer]

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Edited August 12, 2014 by vtbass

[Billy Bob]

Not that rare. They are everywhere in Lake Champlain, from the south end to the north end 120 miles away. I catch at least one just about every time I spend a day on the lake tossing bass or pike lures around. They also are found in pretty high frequency in other waters around Vermont where both chain pickerel and northern pike co-exist, like Lake Memphremagog. They are cool looking fish, for sure, but I think they are making a much bigger deal about the 'rarity' of the fish than it really is.

 

I don't know.......We have lots of areas/lakes that have both chain pickerel and N Pike and I have yet to see anything that looks like this specie..........but I have only been fishing 54 years so far.

[mercman]

Not that rare. They are everywhere in Lake Champlain, from the south end to the north end 120 miles away. I catch at least one just about every time I spend a day on the lake tossing bass or pike lures around. They also are found in pretty high frequency in other waters around Vermont where both chain pickerel and northern pike co-exist, like Lake Memphremagog. They are cool looking fish, for sure, but I think they are making a much bigger deal about the 'rarity' of the fish than it really is.

 

 

Actually, you appear to be right.I did some googling, and For some reason, norther lake Champlain and parts of Lake Magog seem to have a greater concentration of this fish than most other places.There is no doubt that they are a rare occurance in other areas, but not as rare as WFN made out. Scientists cant figure out why these locations have a higher amount of the Hybrid than other bodies of water.

[lhousesoccer]

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Edited August 12, 2014 by vtbass

[Garfisher]

I'm no expert but when they are saying pickerel, they are referring to chain pickerel, not walleye.

 

I think a chain pickerel is a type of pike.

 

I don't think a northern pike and walleye could mate and reproduce successfully. Too different

 

Do we have chain pickerel in Ontario?

 

peter

We have two types of Pickerel actually, Chain Pickerel have recently moved into Ontario waters from New York state, although you can only get them around Kingston and the St.Lawrence River. Our truly native Pickerel is Esox americanus vermiculatus, the Grass Pickerel. These guys are found in scattered populations throughout Southern Ontario, and the biggest size they get to is only 12-13" long. These fish can be mistaken for juvenile Pike when they are captured by anglers. They are a fish I want to target and catch. With respects to the hybrid, the way the head looks to me suggests it does have some Chain Pickerel in it (Ive caught one in Nova Scotia), although smaller Pike that are smaller than 20-24" can show the progression from juvenile barring to adult spotting (which I have gotten into an argument before because someone caught a juvenile pike but people thought it was a Musky because "Pike don't have barring, Muskies do").