Northern pike

Long, torpedo-shaped fish with a flat duck-bill snout full of sharp teeth; olive-green body with rows of pale bean-shaped spots, and the dorsal fin set far back near the tail.

20–30 in (2–6 lb).

About 4½ ft and over 45 lb.

Fish of almost any kind (including other pike), plus frogs, ducklings and mice.

Ambush hunter that lies still in weeds and shallow bays, then strikes with a fast burst.

Found from Alaska, Canadian Prairies, Northern Ontario, Quebec, Yukon, NWT & Nunavut and Hudson Bay & Labrador. Weedy lakes, slow rivers and sloughs across Canada and interior Alaska, from Quebec to the Yukon.

Weedy lakes, slow rivers and sloughs across Canada and interior Alaska, from Quebec to the Yukon.

2–15 ft.

2–15 ft in weedy bays and sloughs; deeper weed edges in summer.

Right after ice-out in shallow bays, and again in fall.

All day in spring; mornings and evenings in summer.

No tide.

Overcast, windy days push pike to the edges of the weeds.

Whole dead herring, smelt or cisco under a float or on the bottom where bait is legal.

Red-and-white spoons, big inline spinners, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and topwater baits.

7 ft medium-heavy spinning or baitcasting rod.

Single or treble hooks on spoons, spinnerbaits and swimbaits; long-nose pliers to unhook.

20–50 lb braid.

Wire or 60–80 lb fluorocarbon leader, 12–18 in — pike teeth cut regular line.

Cast spoons and spinnerbaits along weed edges and into shallow bays, retrieving steadily. After a follow, make a figure-8 at the boat; pike often strike at the last second.

Always use a leader. A pike will bite through 30-lb line like thread, and you'll lose the fish and the lure.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Good eating when fresh.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

Firm, white, sweet meat, among the best freshwater eating, but it has extra 'Y-bones'. Learn the boneless fillet cut, or pickle the fillets so the bones soften.

Razor-sharp teeth and gill rakers — never put your fingers in the mouth; use jaw spreaders and long pliers.

In Southcentral Alaska (around Anchorage, the Susitna and the Kenai Peninsula) pike are an invasive species: there is no limit, the state asks anglers to keep every pike they catch, and moving live pike is illegal. In their native range, Canadian lakes often have trophy rules that require releasing big fish. In Alaska, rules are set by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (adfg.alaska.gov); in Canada, by each province and territory. Many trout and char waters are single-hook, artificial-lure or catch-and-release only — check before you go.

Keep only what you'll eat, release the rest quickly, and follow size and bag limits.