Pickerel: Chain Pickerel ID, Walleye Mix-Up and Eating

• Body shape: A duckbill-shaped snout, a large mouth with many sharp teeth, and a single dorsal fin — traits shared across the pike family.
• Body markings: Olive or yellowish-brown, with a chainlike pattern made up of dark, horizontal lines.
• Cheek and gill-cover scales: Both the cheek and gill cover are fully scaled, unlike the northern pike (gill cover only half-scaled) or the muskellunge (both only half-scaled).
• Body markings: There is a distinct black vertical bar beneath the eye (a sub-ocular bar), stretching from the bottom of the eye to near the rear margin of the jaw — an important mark distinguishing it from the muskellunge.

The chain pickerel's cheek and gill cover are fully scaled; the northern pike's gill cover is scaled only on the upper half, which sets them apart. See the Northern Pike page for its full mark list.

The chain pickerel has a distinct black bar beneath the eye that the muskellunge lacks. See the Muskellunge page for its full mark list.

A freshwater fish that prefers clear, quiet waters where aquatic vegetation is abundant, particularly in backwater sloughs. Native to freshwaters of eastern North America, mainly along the Atlantic Slope from southern Maine to Florida and along the Gulf Slope from Florida west to eastern Texas, including the lower Mississippi River.

Lay the fish flat on its side in even light and photograph the whole body first, then the details below. Photograph the gill cover and cheek straight on so the ear flap and scale rows are visible. Shoot the side of the body before the fish dries; spots and stripes fade fast out of water. The app reads the photo and names the likely species; use the marks on this page to confirm it.

Size and daily limits for this species differ by state and by water, and some waters are catch-and-release only. Check the current regulations for where you are fishing before keeping any fish; if you are unsure of the species, release it.

In the United States, pickerel means the small pike-family fish of the genus Esox: the chain pickerel and the redfin and grass pickerels (Wikipedia). In much of English-speaking Canada, pickerel is the everyday name for the walleye, Sander vitreus, which Americans call walleye (Watersheds Canada; Wikipedia).

The two are not related. The walleye is a member of the perch family, a deeper-water fish named for its pearly eyes; the true pickerels are pikes with a duckbill snout and a single dorsal fin. Watersheds Canada, a freshwater conservation charity, sums it up as a cultural preference rather than right or wrong, but when you check fishing regulations, use the name your agency uses. It also notes that the grass pickerel is a species of special concern in Canada.

A quick check if you are not sure which one you have: a walleye has two separate dorsal fins and prominent teeth; a pickerel has one dorsal fin and a chain or bar pattern on the sides. See the Walleye page for its marks.

Same family, different species. Both are in Esox, and Wikipedia says the chain pickerel's outline resembles the northern pike's, which is why it carries names like southern pike, grass pike, mud pike and jackfish. The difference is in the scales on the head: a chain pickerel's cheeks and gill covers are fully scaled, while a northern pike's gill cover is scaled only on the upper half.

Other names Wikipedia lists include jack, gunny, eastern pickerel and, in central Florida, gatorfish; Orvis adds federation pike, and says anglers in the South often call them jacks or jack fish.

The all-tackle world record is 9 lb 6 oz (4.25 kg), caught by Baxley McQuaig Jr. at Homerville, Georgia, on 17 February 1961 (Orvis; Wikipedia). MeatEater rounds it to 9.6 lb, but the other sources agree on 9 lb 6 oz. The length record is a 65 cm (26 in) fish from Henderson Harbor on Lake Ontario, New York, caught on 4 November 2019 (Wikipedia).

Most fish are much smaller. Wikipedia gives a typical 24 in and 3 lb, with most caught under 2 lb; fish reach 78.7 cm only rarely, and they live about 8 years. MeatEater's point is that a 20-inch pickerel is as much a trophy as a 40-inch pike or muskie.

Toward prey, very. MeatEater calls chain pickerel far more aggressive than pike or muskie and says they will eat almost anything that fits in the mouth, from baitfish and frogs to mice, small snakes and turtles. Orvis describes splashy, violent strikes. A diet study cited by Wikipedia found golden shiners in 47.3% of stomachs and crayfish in 42%.

That appetite has a cost where the fish is not native: Wikipedia says the chain pickerel is considered invasive in Nova Scotia, where native fish stocks have been severely impacted.

They are not a danger to people, but the mouth is full of sharp teeth. Use pliers to unhook them and keep your fingers out of the mouth.

It can be. MeatEater says pickerel make excellent eating for an angler willing to pick around the bones. For any fish you keep, check your state's size and bag limits and the consumption advisory for that water first.

• When: MeatEater says early spring, in the pre-spawn period, is the best time
• Winter: jig bright spoons, or set tip-ups with shiners through the ice (MeatEater)
• Summer and fall: crankbaits, spinners, soft plastics and topwater lures (MeatEater)
• Fly fishing: topwater divers and gurglers, or baitfish patterns and bunny streamers (Orvis)
• The strike: Orvis says pickerel often miss or slap the fly first and then come back, so wait before setting the hook

Wikipedia notes they spawn in flooded vegetation at the end of winter or start of spring, in water of 2 to 22°C, and a female can release up to 50,000 eggs.