Pike (Esox lucius)

Specimen weight: 9.1 kg (20 lb), River and 13.6 kg (30 lb), Lake.
Record Weight: 42lb River Barrow, 1964. 42lb 12oz White Lough, 2005

The River Suck as Castlestrange produced this 26lb 14 oz pike for 11-year-old James Farrell in late March 2002.

Ireland has produced legendary pike; several fish over 50lbs have been caught. The rod and line records of 42lbs 12ozs for a lough fish, and 42lbs for a river fish, do not fully give the measure of the biggest Irish pike, for greater fish swim in Irish waters. Pike can be found in almost every part of the country and they may be sought from boat or bank, in very big waters and very small ones. They can be fished for in every season, and they can also be caught by a wide range of methods; recently fly-fishing for pike has become very popular. It is important to sustain the high quality of Irish pike fishing. For this reason conservation regulations have been introduced to encourage the live return of all bigger fish.

Features:
The pike's body is streamlined, olive green in colour 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 9,000-20,000 eggs/kg. Longevity (age): Pike rarely live beyond 15 years of age.

Diet:
Adult pike are pisciverous, feeding on available fish species, but invertebrates are an important part of the diet of smaller pike. Male pike rarely exceed 4.5 kg (10 lb) in weight and occasionally become part of the diet of larger female pike.

Best Angling Methods:
Spinning, trolling and fly fishing; float fishing, float ledger, 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 herring, mackerel, smelt, sprat and other sea deadbaits.