FISHES OF PENNSYLVANIA. 91 


of the body. In adults the sides are often golden or olive yellow and have dark 
reticulations. A distinct dark band under the eye, 
The chain pickerel is known under other names; it is the jack of the 
South, the federation pike of Oneida Lake, New York, the green pike of 
the Great Lakes and the eastern pickerel of many writers. It does not 
occur west of the Alleghenies, but is found from Maine to Florida and 
Alabama east of this range of mountains. It lives in ponds, lakes and 
streams. 
This pickerel is the largest of its group, reaching a length of two feet 
and a weight, occasionally, of eight pounds, although this is much above 
the average. 
Like the pike, this is one of the tyrants among fishes, a fierce and 
hungry marauder, and yet it has been introduced b “ishermen into many 
waters in which it is not native and has greatly multiplied. In the 
Potomac, the Connecticut, the Delaware and other large rivers the pick- 
erel abounds; it is to be found in large numbers lying in wait among 
the river grasses or in ponds under the shelter of leafy water plants for 
the minnows which it consumes in enormous numbers, or some unlucky 
insect, frog or snake which attracts its voracious appetite. 
Spawning takes place in winter and early in the spring and the young 
soon become solitary and wolfish like their elders. 
As a food fish not much can be said in praise of the chain pickerel 
although it is eaten and doubtless liked by a good many people. The 
flesh is often coarse and watery and is always full of small bones. This 
fish, however, furnishes considerable sport to the angler since it is a 
very free biter and fights with great boldness and stubbornness when 
hooked. It is caught by trolling with the spoon or still-fishing with 
live shiners, pickerels, frogs and many other baits. A minnow gang is 
often very effective in pickerel fishing. The hooks must be tied on 
gimp as a protection for the line from the sharp teeth of the fish. 
SuBGENuS ESOX. 
The longest known and most widely distributed species of Hsomx is the 
common pike—the typical species of the genus. In the sub-division 
into groups this would be the sole representative of the Hsox group, 
which has the cheeks fully scaled and the lower half of opercles naked. 
The sides are pale spotted, on a darker ground and the size is very 
much larger than in the pickerels. Fossil remains of the pike have 
been found in quaternary deposits in Europe. 
106. Esox lucius Liyyzvs. 
The Pike. (Figure 56.) 
The pike has a stout, elongate body and along head, with broad and produced 
snout. The greatest depth is about one-fifth of the length without caudal. The cau- 
dal peduncle is nearly equal to one-half depth of body. The eye is nearly median 
and about one-sixth length of head, which is three-elevenths of total without caudal. 
The mouth is very large and strongly toothed. The tongue, roof of mouth, 
pharynx and gill arches bristle with teeth in card-like bands, giving the fish extra- 
