Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Help me identify this surpise fish

I pulled this out of my pond which was stocked with a LMB/BG/RES/CC mix. It is clearly in the pike family, but I'm not too familiar with Pikes and I don't know what kind. Northern? Muskie? Chain Pickeral?

Warning: First time posting a pic, may not work.... Here goes:

I sure don't know what kind of Esox it is, either.

Neat looking, though. I hope you don't have a whole bunch of them if you didn't plan on them.

I definitely didn't plan on them. I assume these are not good news for my intended fish mix and I should cull every one I catch?

Anybody have a theory on how it might have made it in? Could it have been mixed in with the original batch of stockers? That was Fall 2007, this one looks kind of small to be that long ago. BTW, I'm in central Virginia and a few Pike species are native.

Looks like a Chain Pickerel, Esox niger to me. See what you think.

http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/families/chainpick.html

I'm pretty sure it's a chain pickerel. These things make their way into all different kinds of BOW in the MD/VA area. They are typically about that length, but much fatter. I've never seen them overtake a BOW, but I don't know much about their spawning habits/tendencies.

I don't know how it made it into your pond, but we would catch these in all rivers leading to the bay as well as many different lakes across the Annapolis area growing up.

100% chain pickerel... The only other fish similar to that found with any regularity in VA is the redfin pickerel. They rarely reach 8" in size and have reddish fins hence the name. They do not compete well with other predatory fish like bass so they are often only found in very small streams and shallow swamps where bass and chain pickerel aren't found. Northern pike, musky and tiger musky are very rare in even most lakes where they are stocked by the VDGIF with no lakes I know of with naturally reproducing populations and only three rivers in VA with naturally reproducing musky populations, the James, the New and the Potomac Rivers...

Chain pickerel are extremely common in weedy areas of rivers and areas with logs as well. We catch them regularly in the stream behind our hunting cabin in PA. We have caught them up to 26" and nearly 6 lbs and I saw one last week when I was up there that was pushing 30" and 8 lbs. They often do well in acidic creeks where they out compete bass who are not as adapted to that water chemistry.

I have never seen them get overly abundant in man made ponds. Their numbers tend to stay low because bass love to eat them. They are so cigar shaped bass can eat them even when they get a good length to them. If you want to have something different to catch every now and then I wouldn't stress about that fact that they are in your pond. They will prey on bass and sunfish just like a large bass would, but they don't commonly reach sizes much bigger than about 16"-18" so they rarely cause issues in small ponds like northern pike or tiger musky might.

If you are concerned about them competing with your bass then you can keep all that you catch out of your pond, but I think they are a neat little addition IMO...

That's good news then! I will stop stressing and enjoy the diversity. Thanks everybody!

Does any know where you can get pickerel for stocking? I do not see them around here. We have lots of northern and muskie, both which I don't want in my small pond, but would like to have a couple of the pickerel in there. I have never seen them listed on a price list from the local fisheries.

Coach,

I also know of no one in our region that sells them. It's also possible they are not on the list of fish you are allowed to have in Michigan as they are not native to Michigan as far as I know. Michigan is quite touchy about nonnative species if you didn't know that.

Coach, Cecil is right and chain pickerel are not native to the upper Midwest. I cannot think of any hatcheries I have seen that sell them and I know others have asked on here with little luck. Fortunately they are rather common in my neck of the woods so they would be easy to collect for introduction to one's pond if it was desired. I think they make an interesting addition and it would warrant some study to see how they would be as additional predator in a pond.

I am actually planning on adding a limited number of CP to my pond this year or next. They are highly unlikely to cause any problems, and they are fantastic fighters.

I'd like to HAVE your mystery fish MarcN.

I agree with you Wiessguy, CP are great fighters but a pain when bass fishing when you hook a big one, they just cut your line right off...

Very true CJBS2003. Of course, I used to go out in the early morning and fish for NP in the shallows using a fly rod and 8# mono as a leader when I was a kid living in MN. I used to catch some BIG ones... lost a lot too. hehe

I love fighting pickerel and pike, but the smell of that slime won't come off your hands for a solid week I swear. Boy that stuff stinks! But the fight those fish have in them makes it worth it to me.... not the wife though. hehe

HAHA, been there... As long as they don't swallow the lure too far, you can land them. In places I know they exist I just fish a bit different to prevent the bite offs.

You may say fish stink, but from a life long muskie and pike hunter, that is perfume!! I do concur that the wife disagrees.

I appreciate that my state is wary of foreign species (see alewives, gobies and the like), but sometimes it is a bit frustrating!

Wow I thought it was just me...CP our crazy slimy. They also do have the uncanny ability to swallow a spinner that's hauling arse through the water.

I mean I understand if your fishing bait, but how does that even happen fast fishing a lure???

The other strange thing about CP is they don't spook.

In high school I took my girlfriend at the time fishing who had never once touched a rod before let alone catch a fish. I spotted one in three feet of water just hanging out staring at us. She proceeded to throw her first cast 10' right of the fish and hooked a stick that she drug across the river practically hitting the fish in the face. He didn't seem to care at all, he was just waiting for the bait to come to him. After 15 minutes, two epic tangles and a short motivational speech she dropped the lure right in front of him and he nailed it. It was a great day. In fact if it hadn't been for that CP my ex would of never given it another try. Three years later I had her catching barracuda and dolphin in the FL Keys.

Definitely a quality novelty fish to add to a fishery.

Funny story, Black Bass!