Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Fish identification..

Hi, I am in NYC takingh care of my mom right now. This past weekend I got out to go fishing for the fist time in 15 years. I was on a lake in Pa. and caught 1 fish about 10-12 inches long. I am not sure which of the three it really was. pike,pickerel or musky. Can somebody point me to how to id the pike from a musky at such a small size ? it was mostly green to dark green. Big mouth and lots of small pointy teeth. I thought pike tended to be more a gray and molttled color but I am not sure.

Cornell University and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation have a joint web page on the fishes of New York.

Here is the page for the pike, pickerel, and musky.

http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Esocidae/esocidae.html

Here is the front page.

http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/fish.html

Thanks I'd have to say the grass pickerel looks like the right fish. Never caught one before in my life.

They are cool little guys, aren't they? If you stay away from the mouth, of course.

Wish I could of caught a few of them. Next time I'll have a tacklebox and a pair of gloves and a needle nose plyer or so poked my finger trying to get my Mepps spinner out of his mouth.

What lake in PA Ebonbetta?

Chain pickerel are fairly common in many lakes in PA. Musky and pike are not quite so common, but are still found scattered around the state. Redfin pickerel are rare in my collecting experience. I have only collected them twice in PA. Pickerel when smaller make very cool aquarium fish. When you put a feeder fish in the tank, they almost start to glow with color and then watch out!

It's called Larsen Lake. It is near Gouldboro, Pa. . Not a particulary large lake, but I was on a small dock that extended 30 ft into the lake and I could see a lot of alge and water plants in the water.

Sounds like an interesting lake... You'll have to get some photos next time you're out.