208 FISHES OF ILLINOIS 



waters of the Kankakee and in the small glacial lakes of the north- 

 eastern part of the state. It is also occasionally caught in the clearer 

 sloughs and lakes (usually fed by springs) of the Illinois, Rock, and 

 Green rivers. Several specimens of good size have recently been 

 taken by us from the lock pond at Henry, on the Illinois. 



It is a cosmopolitan species of the northern hemisphere, found in 

 the fresh waters of northern Europe, Asia, and North America, and 

 ranging as far south in Europe as Italy and Greece. In this country 

 it is abundant in suitable situations from Alaska southward through 

 Canada, and through the upper Mississippi Valley and the eastern 

 United States to the Potomac on the Atlantic slope and to the Mis- 

 souri and its branches in Iowa and Nebraska. 



The average weight of the pike taken from our region is not over 

 5 lb, but a specimen weighing 26^ pounds is reported by Dr. Jordan 

 to have been caught in the Kankakee. The record weight for Eu- 

 rope is 145 lb — that of a specimen taken at Bregenty in 1862. 



This fish is commonly called pickerel in Illinois, although its 

 more appropriate name of pike is also sometimes used. It prefers 

 clean, clear, cool water of a sluggish current, in which it remains 

 general y quiet by day. It is a strong and active swimmer, ex- 

 tremely voracious, and with senses remarkably acute. It launches 

 itself like an arrow upon its prey, seldom missing its aim, and fight- 

 ing courageously with others of its kind. It is purely carnivorous, 

 its food consisting of fishes among which we have noticed sunfish 

 and black bass, together with frogs, crawfishes, and the larger insects. 

 Mice, reptiles, and young ducks have been reported by various au- 

 thors to have been taken from the stomachs of pike. 



It spawns in March in our latitude, selecting shore water about a 

 foot and a half in depth. Professor Benecke of Konigsberg says of 

 this species, as quoted by Goode, that "it lives a hermit life, only 

 consorting in pairs during the spawning season. The pairs of fish 

 then resort to shallow places upon meadows and banks which have 

 been overflowed, and, rubbing violently upon each other, deposit 

 their spawn in the midst of powerful blows of their tails." The 

 spawning time in east Prussia falls in the months from February to 

 April, occasionally beginning before the departure of the ice. A 

 single female may deposit as many as a hundred thousand eggs. 

 The young hatch in about fourteen flays, and may reach a length 

 of a foot by the end of the first year. 



The flesh of the pike is of fairly good flavor, but is full of small 

 bones. It is not much prized in this country, but is generally more 

 esteemed in Europe. The voracity of this fish and its inferior 



