How to Identify a Northern Pike (Esox lucius)

• Body shape: A duckbill-shaped snout, a large mouth with many sharp teeth, and a single dorsal fin.
• Body markings: Light spots against a darker background; the upper parts are green or blue-gray, with numerous roundish yellow spots.
• Cheek and gill-cover scales: The cheek is fully scaled, but the gill cover is scaled only on the upper half, and there is a row of 5 sensory pores along each side of the lower jaw.

The northern pike's cheek is fully scaled while the gill cover is scaled only on the upper half, and its sides show light, bean-shaped spots on a darker background. The muskellunge has both cheek and gill cover scaled only on the upper half, and its sides usually show dark bars or spots on a lighter background. See the Muskellunge page for its full mark list.

The northern pike's gill cover is scaled only on the upper half, while the chain pickerel's cheek and gill cover are both fully scaled — the most direct way to tell them apart. See the Chain Pickerel page for its full mark list.

A freshwater fish found in lakes, reservoirs, and large streams as well as borrow pits and drainage ditches; it avoids strong currents and prefers waters with dense vegetation. Found in North America from Labrador west to Alaska, south to Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Nebraska.

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.

Esox is the genus of the pikes and pickerels, and the northern pike, Esox lucius, is its best-known member. FishBase lists seven species, all in the family Esocidae; Wikipedia splits them into two subgenera. Maximum lengths are from FishBase, ranges from Wikipedia:

• Northern pike, E. lucius: 150 cm; freshwater around the Northern Hemisphere, from Britain and northern Europe to Canada and the US
• Muskellunge, E. masquinongy: 183 cm, the largest; Great Lakes region to northern Canada. See muskellunge
• Amur pike, E. reichertii: 115 cm; the Amur River system in northeast Asia
• Southern pike, E. cisalpinus: 103 cm; Italy, southeastern France and Switzerland, described in 2011
• Aquitanian pike, E. aquitanicus: 41.6 cm standard length; southwestern France, described in 2014
• Chain pickerel, E. niger: 99 cm; southern Canada to Florida and Texas. See chain pickerel
• American pickerel, E. americanus: 39.4 cm; St. Lawrence drainage to the Gulf Coast. Anglers know its two forms as redfin and grass pickerel, and KOAW's Esox guide gives each its own ID page

The first five are the pikes (subgenus Esox); the last two are the pickerels (subgenus Kenoza). Wikipedia traces the genus back to the Early Paleocene, with the oldest fossils dating from about 70,000 years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.

Hybrids. The tiger muskellunge is a cross between northern pike and muskellunge. The Wisconsin DNR describes it as having irregular light vertical bands on a dark background and rounded tail, pectoral and pelvic fins; Wikipedia adds that the males are always sterile. KOAW also covers redfin x chain pickerel hybrids. Wisconsin also has rare silver pike, a solid silver or grey mutant of the northern pike without its usual spots (Wisconsin DNR).

Wikipedia derives Esox from the Greek isox, a word for a large fish, which appears to be related to Celtic languages. The species name lucius comes from 'luce', an older English name for the pike (Wikipedia).

The English names have their own logic. 'Pike' comes from 'pike-fish', after its pointed head, the same root as the pole weapon, and 'pickerel' began as a diminutive for young pike (Wikipedia). In Wisconsin the city of Kenosha takes its name from the Native American word for the northern pike, 'Kinoje' or 'Ke-no-shay' (Wisconsin DNR).

Yes, and plenty of them. The Wisconsin DNR describes two kinds: conical, pointed canines ringing the wide lower jaw, and short, sharp, brush-like teeth lining the roof of the mouth and the tongue. Wikipedia notes that the teeth point backwards, so prey that is seized can only go one way.

A common angling belief is that pike shed all their teeth in the 'dog days' of summer, which is why they bite less. The Wisconsin DNR says careful observation shows otherwise: worn or broken teeth are replaced one at a time by new teeth growing alongside the old ones. Pike bite less in August because food is plentiful and they move to cooler, deeper water.

Those teeth are what cuts anglers. Unhook a pike with long-nosed pliers rather than your fingers; our handling and release guide covers the rest.

Towards prey, very. Wikipedia calls the northern pike a relatively aggressive species, especially when feeding. Points from the sources:

• Ambush hunter: it waits alone in weed beds, then lunges out; the Wisconsin DNR puts its speed at 8 to 10 miles per hour
• Eats almost anything: the Wisconsin DNR says it will take perch, suckers, frogs and shrews, and even squirrels and sandpipers, and that pike have choked on prey too large to swallow
• Cannibal: larger pike eat smaller pike (Wisconsin DNR); Wikipedia says cannibalism starts in some populations when the fish are about five weeks old
• Easy to hook: the Wisconsin DNR estimates about eight hours of fishing to hook a northern pike, against nearly 100 hours to see a muskellunge

Towards people, attacks are exceptionally rare but not unheard of (Wikipedia).

Eating pike. Pike are predators, and Minnesota's statewide guidelines (Minnesota Department of Health, updated 12 August 2026) advise 1 serving a week for most adults. For children under 15 and anyone pregnant or who may become pregnant, the guideline is 1 serving a month for pike shorter than 28 inches, and to avoid pike 28 inches or longer entirely. Check the advisory for your own state and lake.