The longer a pike lives, the more impressive its size becomes. And although the taste of large and middle-aged individuals is small, the fact of catching such a predator is proof of the fishing skill and dexterity.
There is an anecdote about how the fisherman's hands were tied so that he could not spread them to the sides, showing the size of the pike. He quickly clenched his fists and declared that this was the size of that pike's eyes. This joke, it turns out, is not so far from the truth. The record size of one of the most valuable fishing trophies has been recorded by the fishermen themselves, as well as by trustworthy biologists and naturalists around the world.
Pike of Eurasia
The common predator for Eurasian fresh water bodies is the common pike (Esox lucius). In the Amur basin and Sakhalin rivers, the Amur pike (Esox reicherti) is found, which is noticeably different from the usual color and has a smaller maximum size. The scientific world distinguishes the southern pike (Esox cisalpinus), an inhabitant of the reservoirs of central and northern Italy, as a separate species.
The most famous Russian zoologist of the 19th century L. P. Sabaneev, author of the wonderful work “Fish of Russia. Life and Fishing (Snacking) of Our Freshwater Fish”tells that mature pike individuals calmly reach a length of 2 meters, fattening more than 48 kg of weight. After studying eyewitness testimonies and records in the monastery books, Leonid Petrovich cites cases of the capture of 64 and even 80 kg specimens.
There is a story dedicated to the two-hundred-year-old pike of Boris Godunov, "identified" by the royal ring with an engraving, stuck in the gills.
In the same work, the author mentions cases of exceptional longevity of the toothy predator, based on the legends of the pike of Emperor Frederick II Barbarossa, whose spine is kept in the Museum of Mannheim to this day. Having reached the age of 270 years, turned white with old age, she weighed 140 kg with a length of 5.7 meters.
Unfortunately, the legend and the evidence stored on it after studies of the giant's skeleton by modern naturalists were attributed to a hoax. There is also no documentary evidence of the case of the capture of the "pike of the Russian Tsar."
Pike of america
In fresh water bodies of the American continent (its northern part), in addition to common pike, there are three more: American (red-finned and grass), black (or striped) and maskinong.
The Muskinong, or Muscellunge (in the language of the Indians), is the largest member of the pike family, which is less and less common and lives in the Great Lakes and nearby rivers. The size-age statistics for it, however, are close to those for the domestic toothy. The rest of the relatives are much more modest in weight and life expectancy.
What other pikes are there
On the American continent, in the rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico and in the Mississippi River basin, there are 2 more species of pike belonging to the carapace family - carapace pike and carapace. The maximum length of a spotted carapace pike is 1.2 meters, weight is 4.5 kg. Mississippi carapace, aka alligator pike, can reach 3 m and weigh more than 130 kg. Brackish water can also serve as a habitat for these fish.
Since 2008, there have been meetings with alligator pikes outside the American continent - in Turkmenistan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The “name” of the freshwater predator duplicates the names of two marine inhabitants for their similarity in appearance, as well as in their gastronomic and behavioral habits. The most famous is the thermophilic barracuda, which grows up to 2 meters, weighing a maximum of 50 kg (Sphyraena afra species) and is informally called a pike. Less known is the molva, which grows up to 1.8 meters and weighs 40 kg, living in the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, officially called "sea pike".
