What is the biggest pike in the world. Size, weight. Biggest pike ever caught. Documented records

The common pike is one of the largest freshwater predatory fish in Europe. According to confirmed facts, its length can reach 1.5 meters, weight up to 35 kg - it was caught on Lake Ilmen in Russia. According to unconfirmed, giant pikes weighing up to 65 kg were caught in the Northern Dvina and Dnieper.

Biological features

The shape of the body of the pike is swept, almost cylindrical, the dorsal and anal fins are carried far back. The body is covered with small dense scales and a layer of mucus. The head is large, elongated with a strongly elongated and flattened snout, the lower jaw protrudes forward. Numerous sharp teeth are located in the mouth; on the lower jaw they are larger and rarer. The gill rakers are short and thick, with a flattened apex. The eyes of the fish are large and mobile. The color of the body is often grayish-green, the back is darker, the sides are lighter, with brown spots, sometimes merging into dark transverse stripes, the belly is white.

Depending on the habitat, body color can vary quite a lot. In silty lakes with brown muddy water it is dark, in rivers with clean and transparent - gray-greenish, gray-yellow or gray-brown. The color of the pike changes with age and becomes darker. The pectoral and ventral fins are yellowish-red, the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are yellowish-gray with brown or blackish spots.

Facts about the capture of huge pike by anglers

In 1930, the first largest pike in Russia was recorded, and the fact of catching a pike, which weighed 35 kg, was also officially registered for the first time. The place where the fish was caught turned out to be Lake Ilmen, see Wikipedia. Many fishermen say that these are not isolated cases, but they simply keep silent about the success because they are afraid of unnecessary noise and confiscation of the catch.
In the state of New York, a maskinong pike, weighing 32 kg, was caught on the St. Lawrence River, the fishermen could not pull the catch on their own, so they had to help with a boat.
In Sortavala, the fact of catching the largest pike weighing 49 kg was recorded, live bait was used as bait, the pike is also not small in size, to be more precise, 5 kg.
In Lake Uvldach, which is located in the north, a huge pike was caught, the weight of which was 56 kg.
There are also facts of catching a significant pike on Lake Ladoga and in Ukraine, but its weight is not very impressive, which cannot be said about its age. Official sources report that the oldest pike in the world lived for about 33 years.
An interesting case is that occurred in the Netherlands, where a predator was caught there, the length of which was 120 cm, and it took only 10 minutes to pull it out. The fish was released into its native element immediately after photography and measurements.
And relatively recently, in 2011, in Canada, the fact of catching a pike 118 cm long was recorded, which literally a few days later was beaten by anglers on the St. Lawrence River, catching a predator 130 cm long.

The biggest pike in the world

The huge pike has always been and will be the subject of fables, legends and stories that anglers have been compiling for several centuries. The most notorious legend says that the largest pike in the world was caught in Germany. Its weight was 140 kg, and the length was 5.7 meters. It also mentions the record age of the fish, which was 270 years; this was based on the data obtained about the ring, which was put on the fish in 1230 by order of Emperor Frederick II.

The skeleton of this fish was in the museum of the city of Mannheim for quite a long time, pleasing the eyes of tourists and not disturbing anyone. But one fine day, scientists decided to check the authenticity of the exhibit. And they proved that this is just an assembly of the bones of several dozen smaller predatory fish. So it's nothing more than a legend.

Giant pike caught in Russia

The record pikes in Russia are considered to be predators who lived to be 20 years old and weigh from 16 kilograms. Most often, such trophies come across on Lake Ladoga. But the fishermen are constantly silent about them, motivated by the fact that the fish will be taken away, and we will not get anything.

The largest pike caught in Russia was caught and officially registered on the Ladoga lake mentioned above near the city of Sortavala, the fish weighed as much as 49 kilograms 200 grams, and was caught on live bait - a pike weighing 5 kg, which had just been caught on a wobbler and dragged to the shore.

Habitat of common pike

This species is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and North America. Pike was first brought to the Crimea in the middle of the last century by amateur fishermen and released into the Alma reservoir.

Its influence on the ichthyofauna of this reservoir was recognized as negative, after which the reservoir was lowered and the pike were exterminated there, but this did not stop its penetration into the peninsula. At present, these fish live in almost all riverbed and off-stream reservoirs; occasionally they are also found in rivers (for example, Chernaya, Belbek, Biyuk-Karasu), where they stick to creeks and deep areas with a weak current, and are common in the SCC. Pike is also found in some isolated reservoirs, where, obviously, unauthorized fishermen are introduced.

Habits and reproduction

Pike usually prefer quiet areas with thickets of underwater vegetation, where juveniles of other fish species are numerous. Large pike keeps in deep creeks, pits, near rifts, medium and small pike - near the edge of aquatic vegetation, under snags and branches hanging into the water. Fish do not make large migrations.

As a rule, its feeding grounds are located near the spawning grounds. The fry feed on zooplankton crustaceans until reaching a length of 12-15 mm, then they begin to eat fry and, when they reach a length of 5 cm, they completely switch to feeding on juvenile fish. Adult pikes also feed mainly on fish, in addition to eating worms, tadpoles, frogs, small waterfowl and rodents. As a rule, all animals of this reservoir are found in their diet. The peculiarities of the pike's lifestyle are well characterized by its Latin scientific name, which means "hungry wolf" in translation.

Pike begin to breed at the age of 2-3 years, their spawning is very early, occurs immediately after ice melts in shallow waters, in the conditions of the European part of Russia - usually in February - March, once. Large individuals begin to spawn first, then medium-sized individuals, and the smallest ones, spawning for the first time, complete the mating games. One female is accompanied by several males for spawning, the eggs are deposited on coastal vegetation. Caviar is large, 2.5-3 mm in diameter, amber-yellow color. The fecundity of fish ranges from 13.8 to 384 thousand eggs. The female, 91 cm long and weighing 7.8 kg, had 2595 thousand eggs.

Conclusion: Somewhere deep under the water column slowly floats along its own hunting grounds old giant pike, smart and careful. If there is a lucky angler who can outwit this predator, and he has enough strength and endurance to pull a huge fish ashore, then the world will know about the next Russian record ... And he will understand how underestimated the toothy one was.

Surely the angler is interested, but what is the largest pike in the world was caught? Fishing is one of the most exciting and popular activities for men. Men are ready to spend a lot of time looking for the best professional equipment for a big catch, they read a lot of thematic literature, which is why fishing turns not just a hobby, but becomes a real way of life.

For the sake of his favorite business, the fisherman is ready to go to distant lakes and rivers for his best trophy. It is because of such enthusiasts that incredible stories about the capture of the largest fish appear in the world. For example, the largest pike was caught in the 15th century.

The biggest pike

There are many legends about the largest pikes that a person managed to catch. If you believe the facts, then the heaviest pike in history was caught back in the 15th century, namely in 1497. It was necessary to pull the giant fish with the help of a seine. The fishermen managed to establish the age of the pike, which was approximately 270 years old. The age of the pike was determined thanks to a unique ring, a kind of mark of Emperor Frederick II, who ruled at that time in the Roman Empire.

The ringing of the giant pike took place around 1230, after which it was released into its natural habitat, where it managed to live for another two centuries.

Length the largest and oldest pike was approximately 5.7 meters, and it weighed a little more than 140 kilograms. An old legend about this unique pike says that the fish was completely white at the time of capture, because of old age there was no pigment left in its scales. There is also information that after the death of the pike, the still massive skeleton was transferred to the German Museum in Mannheim. But modern experts say that the skeleton is completely fake and supposedly assembled from the vertebrae and bones of different pikes. Also, experts do not believe the fact that the pike managed to live 270 years, because the maximum age of the pike is about 33 years.

If you do not trust the legends, then it is probably time to turn to the facts. The biggest pike currently lives in North America. Pike belongs to the most massive subspecies - masking . It is worth noting that this subspecies is not much different in appearance from the usual pike. Basically, masking is much more enduring, it is distinguished by large dimensions and life expectancy.

Muskinongs themselves are the largest subspecies of the pike family. Pike have a lot of similar and consonant names - tiger muski, masking, maskalong and, in fact, masking. Basically, all subspecies with a similar name have an elongated body and a width six times greater than that of a standard pike. Muskinongs and other similar subspecies adore calm and shallow water bodies, with rich coastal vegetation.

Facts about the largest pikes

Now let's turn to the documented facts. Back in 1979 in England, fishermen started a whole cadastral book, which included data on the most gigantic pike caught. There is not a single representative of pike in the book that would weigh less than 14 kg. Well and the very first officially caught and measured big pike in Russia got hooked back in 1930. Her weight was 35 kilograms.

This monster, found in Russian waters, was caught on Lake Ilmen. Well, according to unconfirmed reports, in Russia and other CIS countries, cases of catching huge individuals of pike, whose weight reached 45 kilograms, were recorded. But the fishermen did not talk about their catches, so as not to make a fuss, but simply quietly carried the catch home.

America is also a big country, and can easily boast of its records, no worse than others. For example, back in 1957, the Americans managed to catch a maskinong weighing 32 kilograms. The giant pike was caught on the St. Lawrence River, which is located in the state of New York. The masking specimen had to be caught using a boat.

And the largest common pike was also caught in America, but, however, in another reservoir, which was located near the St. Lawrence River. It happened earlier, in 1940. The weight of the largest common pike in the world was more than 25 kilograms.

The common pike in America and Canada is also referred to as "jack" or "jackfish" . These names are mainly distributed in central Alaska and in the fishing areas of Canada. Culinary specialists do not use common pike much in their dishes, because of its bony meat.

And as for pike hunting, you should always choose sparsely populated places, because it is known that pikes love peace and quiet. The most suitable seasons for pike fishing can be considered the end of spring, as well as the beginning of autumn, before the first frosts appear. The most unsuitable month for pike fishing is August, because it is at the end of summer that pikes hide in deep layers of water, where they wait for the temperature to drop.

Many men, and women too, tend to spend their weekends in the bosom of nature. However, not all citizens like just walks in the woods or "quiet hunting". Many people want to take a fishing rod and tackle on the weekends to spend time fishing. Of course, you can’t do without showing off your catch. Pike fishing on the river is an interesting and exciting activity, in addition, the catch can be simply amazing. In this article we will talk about the giant river predator - pike.

Some scientific information

Any student knows that the pike belongs to the river predatory fish and can grow to enormous sizes. In addition, scientists have long studied the habitat, external and internal structure, food preferences and features of catching a toothy predator. In accordance with the classification in the biology textbook, pikes belong to the animal kingdom, the class of ray-finned animals, and the pike-like order. Pikes are freshwater fish. The body of the river predator is elongated, and there are many sharp teeth in the mouth, while the lower jaw protrudes significantly forward. Scientists have found that pike live on average for more than 30 years, while its growth continues throughout life. Fish can reach simply huge sizes. The size of a pike in a quiet backwater can reach 2 meters in length, and the weight of such a fish is 30-35 kg. The predator likes quiet muddy backwaters and calm waters, so biologists do not recommend swimming in forest ponds. Where is pike found? The habitat of this fish is Europe, Siberia and even North America.

Experienced stories

It's no secret that anglers love to talk about their adventures. Many avid fishermen not only embellish the size of the fish they catch, but also exaggerate the weight of the catch. For many years, there have been various legends and tales about giant pike among anglers. Large pike in nature are not uncommon, but it can be very difficult to catch them.

Fantasy unleashed...

Fishing is a fascinating and exciting activity that is loved by men and women, children and old people, boys and girls. At the same time, each angler has several dozen stories about a lost catch or a giant fish caught by him. In order for a big pike to easily fall on the hook of an angler, you need to choose the right equipment, purchase baits and choose the best place for fishing.

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

They ringed the predator - they found out her age

There are truly fantastic stories and stories about the biggest pikes. According to one of the popular legends, a giant pike was caught in Germany in 1497, and its weight was 140 kg. The length of the toothy predator exceeded the mark of 5.5 meters, and the age of the fish was 270 years. How did you find out 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 put on the river predator. It was by 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 the city of Mannheim, where it was on display for several years. Eyewitnesses claim that all pike scales were white. All melanin, due to age, completely disappeared from the body of the fish. 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 about a huge predator did not receive scientific confirmation and passed into the category of fishing fiction.

And how are things in Russia?

In our country, there is no less about the giant river predator. The story goes that when cleaning the Tsar's Ponds in 1794, the fishermen managed to catch a huge fish. The giant pike was ringed with a gold ring, while the mark of the Russian Tsar Boris Fedorovich is clearly visible on it. The length of this river predator has almost reached the 2-meter mark, and its weight has exceeded 60 kg. Judging by the mark on the ring, the age of the caught fish was about 190 years old. However, no evidence has been preserved of the capture of the river predator, except for references in documents. But, as the people say, "paper will endure everything." It is not worth trusting the data that the largest pike caught lived in Russia.

Official information

In addition to fishing tales, there is also scientific evidence that giant pikes live in nature. Biologists have long proven that a special subspecies of pike, the maskinong, lives in North America. He's on appearance very similar to the pike we are used to, but in size, weight and age it is much ahead of it. The giant pike was caught in 1660 in North America. Its weight was 75 kg, and the length of the fish reached 200 cm. However, no photographs of this giant have been preserved, because it was a very long time ago, and photographic technologies were not developed. Modern representatives of this subspecies are much smaller. Scientists report that in our time such large pikes are no longer found. Weight Limit 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 catching giant fish.

The largest pike caught in our country was caught in 1930. 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, a huge fish was caught in North America - 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 individual was caught thanks to bait, while another, smaller pike, with a body weight of 5 kg, acted in its role.
In addition to the above facts, there are also other recorded catches of giant river predators. In Ukraine in Lake Ladoga locals catch big fish. How many pikes live in these places, scientists have not been able to find out. Many fishermen claim that the age of the caught fish exceeds the 30-year mark. But this fact can neither be confirmed nor denied.

How to catch a predator?

Almost every angler knows that pike have quite strong and large jaws, so fishing gear must be strong and strong. In addition, when a pike bites, the fisherman runs the risk of being left without gear. Therefore, more experienced anglers prefer to use a wire leash instead of a regular leash. What other tricks do seasoned fishermen use when catching pike?

In order to catch a huge fish, you need a big bait. Fishermen know that the bait for pike must be at least 30 grams, otherwise the toothy predator will not want to feast on it.
To catch a larger specimen, the angler should go fishing in secluded and quiet backwaters. The predator does not like loud sounds, so when a pike bites, you should not talk loudly or scream.
Toothy pike loves the warm season. Most optimum time for fishing for this fish, late autumn or spring is considered. It is worth noting that in the heat the river predator tries to swim to the depth and wait optimal temperature environment.
In places where pike is found, it is usually full of snags and mud, because this fish loves to hide and watch its prey from cover. When preparing gear Special attention bait should be given. Pike is a typical predator, therefore it prefers to eat live fish. In addition to bait, you can use a shiny wobbler or a playing lure as bait.

Great catch these days

You should not think that in our time catches of giant pikes 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 long.
In the same 2011, the record of Canadian anglers was broken, and a pike 130 cm long was caught in the St. Lawrence River.
In 2013, American fisherman Mark Carlson was photographed with a huge toothy fish. The pike weighed as much as 27 kg, and its length exceeded 1 m 30 cm.
In 2016, our compatriot Stepan Smolinyuk from Ufa was able to capture his catch in a photograph. He managed to catch a predator weighing almost 3 kg in the Belaya River, the fish reaches a meter mark in length.

Predator attack on animals

The pike is quite large predatory fish, for which it will not be difficult to catch a small animal or bird. Can a pike catch and eat a larger animal? Theoretically, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Of course, it is not easy to catch young and strong animals, but there are wounded and sick animals in nature. Bleeding animals are special prey for toothy fish. The pike, like any other predator, perfectly smells the blood and sees its prey from afar. It is better not for a wounded animal to cross a pond in which a fish of the pike family lives. Can pike attack large animals? The answer will definitely be positive.

Pike-cannibals: myth or reality?

Old-timers say that giant fish are found in the reservoirs of Siberia, which periodically eat people. According to them, such huge individuals are able to break through the ice without much difficulty and even sink a fishing boat. Numerous stories about pikes eating people can be found among various indigenous peoples of Siberia: Nenets, Chukchi, Yakuts and others. For example, there is a legend among the Chukchi that a "biting fish" (this is how the representatives of the nationality call the man-eating pike) managed to swallow a young fisherman, while the fish completely destroyed his boat. Local residents even managed to catch the monster, and in a very original way: 4 wagons were completely filled with deer carcasses and placed on the bottom of the reservoir. The toothy predator with such an appetite began to absorb food that she did not notice the wooden carts under the venison. The teeth of the giant pike were completely stuck in the thick of the tree, and the anglers were able to pull the monster to the surface.

According to the legend of the Eskimos, a giant fish managed to swallow two fishermen traveling across the lake in a light shuttle. At the same time, their friend was present, but he was not able to help his friends. Having dealt with two men, the monster decided to eat the third fisherman as well. The surviving man began to row with oars so quickly that the giant man-eating monster did not have time for the boat. As soon as the boat reached the shore, the fisherman ran into the forest. Subsequently, the victim claimed that it was the pike that was the huge fish.

However, biologists do not agree with such legends. According to scientific information, maximum size cannot be more than 2.5 meters. A fish of this length is unlikely to cope with an adult and be able to eat him. Be that as it may, but the locals do not recommend coming close to some reservoirs and backwaters.

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

Meet or not in nature no one knows. However, many researchers describe in their scientific works the fact of the existence of fish with huge sizes and weights. For example, in the book "Essays of the Narym Territory" N. Grigorovsky mentions giant pikes that are found in remote Siberian reservoirs. Ethnographers Kulemzin and Lukina tell about a pike jaw seen in the dwelling of one of the Khanty. The jaw of the fish was so large that it was used as a coat hanger.

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

Let's summarize...

How long do pike live? What sizes can a giant lake fish have? How much can a toothy predator weigh as much as possible? Do man-eating monsters really live in our river reservoirs? 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 mysteries regarding these predatory fish.

A fisherman without fishing is hard. It's not just a hobby, it's a way of life. Like any passionate person, the fisherman loves to share his stories. And you will be very unlucky if you allow yourself to doubt, even for a moment, that it was your counterpart who caught, for example, the largest pike. You will immediately be offered to immediately go to that very place and interview the local population as witnesses. And, you can rest assured, they will confirm. And the photos will be shown with the caption “My biggest pike”. And the newspaper will be presented with the article "The most successful fisherman of our region." And a link will be given to a note about the most successful catch.

Fishing tales have long been part of the culture. According to them, you can study history and geography and the basics of linguistics. But you are deeply mistaken if you think that fishing is easy. Shore, fishing rod, fisherman. It would be too primitive. He is an avid fisherman and reads special literature, and he has professional equipment, and he is subscribed to a bunch of forums, and constantly shares information, experience, and pictures. How can you resist and not boast of the biggest pike!

Biggest pike ever caught

The skeleton of the largest pike is kept in the Mainheim Museum. True, evil tongues say that this is a fake. But who will listen to them?

It is much more interesting to listen to the history of this largest pike caught. Back in 1497 I fell for the bait big fish. It was possible to pull it out with the help of a net with great difficulty. She was practically white. Gray-haired, as eyewitnesses said. She weighed 140 kg, and up to six meters she was only 30 cm short. The miracle fish caused a big stir. A gold ring engraved with the year 1230 was found on it. Just think, this fish has been swimming for 267 years. But how did this ring get to her?

According to the existing legend, the emperor of Rome, Frederick II, caught a small pike in Lake Beckingen and put a ring on its fin, on which was his engraving. But we can safely assume that he was a passionate person, not indifferent to fishing, and thus his act was not spontaneous, but rather a planned scientific action.

However, one cannot discount the research of historians who unearthed Interesting Facts. For example, that in 1230 Frederick II could not be near the port of Heilbronn, because he was in Italy without a break. Skeptics also argue that in fact the skeleton of the largest pike caught is made up of the vertebrae of five fish. Whether this is a historical fact or a funny falsification, everyone reserves the right to choose.

But the imperial pike is not the only fish known to the whole world. There is also a royal pike. True, it is much more modest than the first. They say that in 1794, when the royal ponds were being cleaned, a two-meter pike was discovered, the weight of which reached 60 kg. And allegedly the Russian Tsar Boris Fedorovich himself ringed her, evidence of this is a ring found in fish gills. The age of the fish is approximately 190 years. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to support this legend.

Currently, the age of the oldest pike of our time has been established. He is much more modest than the royal and imperial, only thirty years and three years.

Pike from Lake Ilmen

The largest pike caught in Russia weighing 34 kg. was caught in the waters of Lake Ilmen in 1934. Nothing is known about her age, and the name of the lucky fisherman has not been preserved. Since then, many have tried to beat or at least repeat this record, but, alas. That only gives excitement to the fishermen.

Pike from Lake Broadaud

If we turn to the Guinness Book of Records, we will find out that the largest pike weighing 43.54 kg. was caught in Ireland, in the waters of Lake Broadaud. In general, Ireland is the undoubted leader in catching the largest pike. According to the same record book, Ireland accounts for 31% of the total.

The biggest pike in the world - masqueng

Distinctive features of Muskinong are endurance, size and long lifespan. The largest representatives of Musketonga inhabit the waters of North America. Distinguish ordinary, spotted, pure and brindle masking. The fish is able to reach 30 cm in just 4 months.

Another either a legend or a reliable story says that the French naturalist Pierre Espirito Radisson caught a two-meter masquetong weighing 75 kg. Unfortunately, no evidence has been preserved, but based on the real capabilities of this fish, it is possible to believe in this story.

However, the world record holder is considered to be a 32-kilogram maskinong, which was caught in 1957 in the St. Lawrence River basin. The record weight of a common pike caught in this region is over 21 kg. It was recorded in 1940 in the waters of the Sakandaga reservoir.

The largest representative of the pike family is Muskitong. There are more than fifty items (mascalong, masking, tiger muski, etc.). Maskitongs settle in rivers, lakes, sometimes they take a fancy to small streams, they best of all inhabit calm reservoirs of medium depth with predominant areas of bottom vegetation. The presence of a hard, bony mouth in pikes and muskies leads to the fact that the fish most often easily breaks off if you do not cut it in time, driving the sting of the hook with a strong movement. Large specimens should be removed from the water with improvised means - a gaff or a landing net on a long handle.

Pike Museum

In the state of Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Hayward, there is a huge museum under open sky. It presents giant models of all kinds of fish, stuffed animals of all sorts of rare catches, all kinds of tackle and even an imitation of the life of fishermen. There are jokes there as well. Like, for example, a bull pike. The pike's head with horns is so skillfully made that many visitors take this information seriously.

The main decoration of the complex is a concrete model of a pike with an observation deck in its mouth. It was built in 1976, its length is 44 meters, and its height is as high as a five-story building. Under the pike pond with live fish. And if you wish, you can even go fishing, but with one prerequisite that all fish caught will be released back.

Fishing is quite an exciting business. Especially, of course, men love her. And then the world adds stories about who caught the biggest pike in the world.

And for the majority, fishing becomes not just a pleasant pastime, but a real hobby, to which whole days are allocated. Inveterate fishermen specially buy professional equipment, study literature, go to distant rivers and lakes and sit on the shore for hours. And every fishing enthusiast has his own trophies, the so-called records, about which they tell everyone around for a long time and colorfully. It is no less interesting to hear about the prey that shocked the entire fishing world.

The biggest pike in the world

The heaviest pike ever caught are already legendary. According to one version, the biggest pike fell for the bait in 1497. She was pulled ashore with a net. And the fish had a rather impressive age, namely, 270 years.

Pike - monsters, Giant siberian pike .wmv

And to determine the age of the pike, the ring that was put on it by decree of the emperor of the Roman Empire, Frederick II, helped. It happened in 1230. Most likely, the fish was ringed in the 13th century and released into its native element, after which it managed to live for more than two and a half centuries. The length of the long-lived pike was 5.7 meters, the weight was 140 kilograms. The legend says that the fish was completely white, since there was no pigment left in the scales from old age. There is also information that the skeleton of the captured giant was transferred to the museum of the German city of Mannheim. However, according to other sources, this skeleton has already been analyzed by experts. They allegedly concluded that the exhibit was fake and was assembled from the spines of several pikes.

It is worth adding that the officially confirmed age of the oldest pike is thirty-three years. From this we can conclude that about three hundred years is an unrealistic age for fish.

According to another interesting legend, at the end of the nineteenth century, a pike with a gold ring was caught. On the decoration there was an inscription that said that the Russian Tsar Boris Fedorovich had ringed the fish. An individual has gained 60 kilograms in her life and has grown to two meters. The pike was caught during the cleaning of the Tsarskiye Ponds in 1794. And the golden ring was right in the gills of the fish. And judging by the inscription, since Godunov was in power from 1598 to 1605, the fish was about 190 years old. But these data still remain a legend, as they do not have official confirmation.

And, of course, it is worth turning to facts, not fiction. So, the big pike itself today lives in North America. Its name is masking. The species is very similar to that of the common pike. It differs from relatives masking in that it is much more enduring, has the largest size and long life expectancy. In 1660, one of the fish record holders was caught by a French explorer, Pierre Espiritu Radisson. The catch had two meters in length and 75 kilograms of weight. However, photographs and the skeleton have not survived to this day. But the data can be trusted, because even now American predators weigh up to 45 kilograms.

Of the entire family of pike, masconongs are the largest. In this form, there are a total of more than 50 consonant names, for example, masking, tiger muski, maskalong and others. All of them have an elongated body, like an ordinary pike, the width of the length is less than six times. Muskinongs are found in rivers, lakes and small streams, preferring shallow and calm waters, with coastal or bottom vegetation.

Well, as for documented pikes, in 1979 a special cadastral book appeared in England, where they began to record all the data on caught giant pikes. The document provides information on fish that weigh more than 14 kilograms. Well, in Russia they officially measured a large pike in 1930. She weighed 34 kilograms. And the result of that legendary catch can be seen in a black and white photograph. Therefore, it is possible to declare the reliability of the size of the fish. A monster pike was caught on Lake Ilmen. Well, in general, in Russia and the CIS countries, a number of cases are known when fishermen took home huge individuals, weighing from 15 to 45 kilograms.

For example, such giants periodically peck on Lake Ladoga and in Ukraine. In the area of the city of Sortavala, a pike weighing about 49 kilograms pecked. In this fishing in the form of live bait, a smaller pike weighing five kilograms was used. Another case was recorded when a unique specimen was caught in the north of Lake Uvildy - the scales showed 56 kilograms when weighed.

Since America occupies the same latitudes as Russia, there are records for pike catches here too. For example, in 1957, a masking was caught weighing 32 kilograms. Pulled fish in the state of New York on the St. Lawrence River. Moreover, the specimen was caught from a boat. A large common pike was caught in 1940 in the same state, however, on a different reservoir, in the Sakandaga reservoir. The weight of the fish was 21 kilograms.

Pike 25 kg Perm

In these cases, we are talking about the common pike. The fish is also called jackfish or jack. But the names are common only in Siberia, Canada or Central Alaska. By the way, this fish is not very popular among cooks. This is because she has very bony meat.

Well, as for the method of catching pike. They are not original and are similar to the methods of catching any other fish. Only now the equipment should be an order of magnitude stronger than, for example, perch fishing. The pike has powerful teeth, so anglers put a wire leash between the bait and the line so that the fish does not break the line and bite. The bait must be large, weighing at least 30 grams. Often pikes manage to get off the hook because they have a bony, hard mouth. In order to prevent this from happening, it is better to make a powerful cut in time so that the hook is driven deeper. Well, a large pike is most often taken out of the water with the help of a landing net with a long handle or a gaff.

And it is worth noting that pike hunting involves a trip to uninhabited places where the probability of catching big fish a lot more. The most suitable season for this is the end of spring, as well as autumn, until the first frosts. In August, pike biting stops, as individuals hide in deep layers of water and wait for the temperature to drop.
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