Pike
Pike (Esox lucius)
Pike

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"Pike about to Strike" from a painting by David Miller
Features: The pike's body is streamlined, olive green with a white belly. They have a large mouth containing many rows of backward pointing sharp teeth.
Spawning: They spawn between February and April when water temperatures are less than 8 C. They attach their adhesive eggs to flooded grass, reeds and other vegetation.
Fecundity: Adult pike produce between 9,000 and 20,000 eggs/kg.
Longevity (age): Pike rarely live beyond 15 years of age.
Diet: Adult pike are pisciverous, feeding on available fish species, but invertebrates (aquatic insects and bottom dwelling life) are an important part of the diet of smaller pike. Male pike rarely exceed 4.5 kg or 10lbs in weight and occasionally become the diet of larger female pike.
Best Angling Methods: Spinning, trolling and fly fishing:- float fishing, ledgering and sink and draw a range of deadbaits.
  Best Baits: A range of plugs, spoons, spinners, jerk baits, pike flies and a range of small deadbaits including mackerel, herring, smelt, sprat and other sea deadbaits.
  Specimen Weight: 9.1 kg (20lbs) river and 13.6 kg (30lbs) Lake
     
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Country Sports and Country Life is indebted to David Miller for permision to reproduce examples of his fine paintings. To view further examples of his work visit his web site www.davidmillerart.co.uk