Giant pike: size, weight. The biggest pike caught

Many men, and women, too, tend to spend their weekend in the bosom of nature. However, not all citizens like just walking through the forest or "quiet hunt". Many on weekends want to take a fishing rod and tackle to spend time on fishing. Of course, one can not do without boasting without boasting. Fishing for pike on the river is an interesting and fascinating activity, besides, the catch can be simply stunning. In this article we will talk about a giant river predator - a pike.

Some scientific information

Any pupil knows that the pike belongs to river predatory fish and can grow to huge sizes. In addition, scientists have long studied the habitat, external and internal structure, food preferences and the peculiarities of catching toothy predators. According to the classification in the textbook of biology, pikes belong to the animal kingdom, the type of chordates, the class of ray-finned, a group of pike-shaped. Pike are freshwater fish. The body of the river predator is elongated, and there are a lot of sharp teeth in the mouth, while the lower jaw thrusts forward considerably. Scientists have found that pike on average lives more than 30 years, while its growth continues throughout life. Fish can reach huge sizes. The size of the pike in a quiet backwater can reach 2 meters in length, and the weight of such a fish is 30-35 kg. Predator likes quiet silt creeks and calm ponds, so biologists do not recommend swimming in forest ponds. Where does the pike live? The habitat of this fish is Europe, Siberia and even North America.

Stories of veterans

It's no secret that anglers like to talk about their adventures. Many inveterate fishermen not only embellish the size of the caught fish, but also exaggerate the weight of the caught catch. For many years among fishermen there are various legends and tales about pike-giants. A large pike in nature is not uncommon, but it can be very difficult to catch it.

Fantasy played out ...

Fishing is an exciting and exciting activity that men and women like, children and old people, boys and girls like to do. In this case, every fisherman in the reserve has a few dozen stories about a missed catch or a giant fish caught by him. To ensure that a large pike without any difficulty caught on the hook of an angler, it is necessary to pick up suitable equipment, buy bait and choose the best place for fishing.

Many fishermen were lucky enough to catch a pike up to 1 meter long and weighing more than 15 kg. However, there are many fishing stories that tell of a larger catch. Giant pike is the main character of such stories.

The predator was ringed - her age was recognized

The greatest pikes are truly fantastic stories and stories. According to one of the popular legends, the giant pike was caught in Germany in 1497, and its weight was 140 kg. The length of the toothy predator exceeded 5.5 meters, and the age of the fish was 270 years. How did you know the age of the pike? Everything is very simple - in 1230, by order of the Emperor of the Roman Empire, Frederick II, a special ring with a date was worn on the river predator. It was on the ring that scientists were able to determine the age of the fish. The skeleton of a giant pike was placed in a museum in Mannheim, where for several years it was an exhibit. Eyewitnesses claim that the entire scales of the pike were white. All melanin completely disappeared from the body because of age. Subsequently, biologists conducted a study of the skeleton and found that the giant pike was collected from the bones of several fish. Thus, the story of the huge predator has not received scientific confirmation and has become a fishery fiction.

And how are things in Russia?

In our country there is no less interesting legend about the giant river predator. History says that when the King's Ponds were cleared in 1794, fishermen managed to catch a huge fish. The giant pike was ringed with a gold ring, while it clearly shows the mark of the Russian Tsar Boris Fedorovich. The length of this river predator almost reached the 2-meter mark, and its weight exceeded 60 kg. Judging by the mark on the ring, the age of the caught fish was about 190 years. However, there is no evidence of catching the river predator, except for references in the documents. But, as the people say, "paper will endure all". To trust the data that the biggest caught pike lived in Russia, it is not necessary.

Official Information

In addition to fishing baits, there are scientific proofs that pike-giant live in nature. Biologists have long proven that in North America there is a special subspecies of pike - masking. It looks very similar to the usual pike, but by dimensions, weight and age, it is much ahead of it. Giant pike was caught in 1660 in North America. Its weight was 75 kg, and the length of the fish reached 200 cm. However, the photos of this giant did not survive, because it was a long time ago, and phototechnology was not developed. Modern representatives of this subspecies are much smaller. Scientists report that in our time such large pike is no longer found. The maximum weight of a pike can reach 45 kg, but this is enough for fishing stories.

Record catch

In addition to fishing stories and legends, there are officially confirmed facts of the capture of giant fish.

• The largest caught pike in our country was caught in 1930. In Lake Ilmen, the fisherman managed to catch a toothy predator weighing 35 kg and 1.9 meters in length. Many anglers say that their catch weighed much more, but they did not want to advertise this fact.
• In 1957 in North America in the St. Lawrence River was caught a huge fish - masking, its weight was 32 kg.
• Another giant pike was caught near the town of Sortavala. Her weight exceeded the mark of 49 kg. Such a large specimen was caught thanks to the bait, while in its role there was another, smaller pike, with a body weight of 5 kg.
• In addition to the above facts, there are also other recorded catches of river predators-giants. In the Ukraine in Lake Ladoga, locals catch huge fish. How many live pike in these places, scientists could not find out. Many fishermen claim that the age of caught fish exceeds 30-year mark. But this fact can neither be confirmed nor refuted.

How to catch a predator?

Almost every angler knows that the pike has rather strong and large jaws, so the fishing tackle must be powerful and strong. In addition, when a pike bites, the fisherman risks remaining without gear. Therefore, more experienced anglers prefer to use a wire lead instead of a conventional leash. What other tricks do seasoned fishermen use while fishing for pike?

• In order to catch a huge fish, you need a big bait. Fishermen know that the bait on the pike should be at least 30 grams, otherwise the toothy predator will not want to eat it.
• To catch a larger specimen, the fisherman should go fishing in secluded and quiet backwaters. Predator does not like loud sounds, so when pecking, do not talk loudly or scream.
• A toothy pike likes a warm season. The best time for fishing for this fish is late autumn or spring. It is worth noting that in the heat of the river predator trying to swim to the depth and wait for the optimal ambient temperature.
• In places where the pike lives, it is usually full of snags and mud, because this fish likes to hide and watch its prey from the shelter. When preparing the gear, special attention should be given to the bait. Pike is a typical predator, so he prefers to eat live fish. In addition to the bait, as a bait, you can use a shiny wobbler or a lure.

Gorgeous catch today

Do not think that in our time, the catches of giant pike are no longer recorded. The largest predators were not only caught by our contemporaries, but also photographed for memory. Records of recent years:

• In 2011, in Canada, lucky fishermen caught a fish 118 cm in length.
• In the same year 2011, a record of Canadian fishermen was beaten, and a 130 cm long pike was caught in the St. Lawrence River.
• In 2013, a fisherman from America, Mark Carlson, was photographed with a huge toothy fish. Pike weighed as much as 27 kg, and its length exceeded the mark of 1 m 30 cm.
• In 2016, our compatriot Stepan Smolinuk from Ufa was able to record his catch on the photo. He managed to catch in the river White predator weighing almost 3 kg, the length of the fish reaches a meter mark.

Attack of the carnivore on animals

Pike is a fairly large carnivorous fish, for which it is not difficult to catch a small animal or a bird. And can a pike catch and eat a larger beast? Theoretically, this possibility can not be excluded. Of course, it's not easy to catch young and strong animals, but there are wounded and sick animals in nature. Animals that bleed are a special prey for toothy fish. Pike, like any other predator, perfectly smells blood and sees from afar its victim. It is better not to cross the podranku through the pond in which the fish of the pike family live. Can a pike attack large animals? Unequivocally the answer will be positive.

Pit-eater: myth or reality?

Old-timers say that in the reservoirs of Siberia there are giant fish that periodically eat people. According to them, such huge individuals can easily break through ice and even sink a fishing boat. Numerous stories about the pike eating people can be found among the various indigenous peoples of Siberia: the Nenets, the Chukchi, the Yakuts and others. For example, in the Chukchi there is a legend that the "fusillous fish" (the so-called pike-eating people) managed to swallow a young fisherman, while the fish completely destroyed his boat. Local residents even managed to catch the monster, in a very original way: 4 carts were completely filled with carcasses of deer and placed on the bottom of the reservoir. The toothy predator with such an appetite began to absorb food, that did not notice the wooden wagons under the venison. The teeth of the giant pike were completely stuck in the tree, and the fishermen were able to pull the monster to the surface.

According to the legend of the Eskimos, the giant fish managed to swallow two fishermen traveling along the lake in an easy shuttle. At the same time, their comrade was present, but he was unable to help his friends. Depriving two men, the monster decided to eat the third fisherman. The surviving man so quickly began rowing with oars that the giant cannibal monster did not have time behind the boat. As soon as the boat reached the shore, the fisher ran into the forest. Subsequently, the victim argued that a huge fish was just a pike.

However, biologists do not agree with such legends. According to scientific information, the maximum size of an ordinary pike can not be more than 2.5 meters. A fish of this length is unlikely to cope with an adult and will be able to eat it. Whatever it was, but the locals do not recommend coming close to some water bodies and backwaters.

A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it ...

Whether or not giant giant cannibal fish are found in nature, nobody knows. However, many researchers describe in their scientific works the fact of existence of fish with huge size and weight. For example, in the book Essays on the Narym Territory N. Grigorovsky mentions giant pikes that occur in remote Siberian reservoirs. Ethnographers Kulemzin and Lukin narrate about the pike jaw, seen in the home of one of the Khants. The jaw was so large that it was used as a hanger for outerwear.

Almost all the legends are composed of lake pikes, river birds are much smaller in size. In quiet and unexplored reservoirs of Siberia, any fish can reach truly huge sizes. The thing is that there is nothing to be afraid of in pike lakes: there are no fishermen here, and large predators in these places are rare. But there is a lot of food for predators.

Let's sum up ...

How many live pike? What size can a giant lake fish have? How many toothy predators can weigh as much as possible? Do monstrous cannibals actually live in our river bodies of water? Questions, questions, questions ...

Let's hope that at least one huge pike will be caught in the near future, and scientists will finally be able to solve all the natural puzzles about these predatory fish.