The Pike Family 153 



anglers. On the whole, the eastern pickerel is 

 not half a bad fish, as English anglers would say. 

 One might go farther and fare worse. 



THE WESTERN PICKEREL 



(^Esox verffiiailatus) 



The western pickerel was first described by 

 Le Sueur from the Wabash River. He named 

 it vermiculatus, owing to the " wormlike " appear- 

 ance of its markings. He collected it about 

 18 1 8, but his description was not published until 

 1846. It inhabits the Mississippi Valley, south to 

 Arkansas and Mississippi, and the tributaries of 

 Lakes Erie and Michigan. It is not found east 

 of the Alleghanies. 



It is formed on the same general lines as the 

 other members of the pike family, but is rather 

 more slender and rounder, with a shorter head, 

 proportionally, but a larger eye. Its color is 

 olive-green, or grayish green, darker on the back, 

 and belly white. The sides are covered with 

 many dark curved streaks, inextricably mixed, 

 or forming reticulations. The coloration is quite 

 variable in different waters. A dark vertical bar 

 is usually present below the eye ; the sides of the 

 head are variegated. 



