Age and Weight Chart

[pelada trochu]

Here is a chart I found online

Note the section on age. You will see that for large pike, their size change per year drops off dramatically after 23 years.

Harvesting any fish in this size class gives you an idea of how long you gotta wait to start a new one.

Sure there is one right behind it so harvesting it has no impact right??? If you use that logic then the lake should be full of just as many big ones as it has small ones.

Its a huge importance that the survivability of these fish continue for genetic reasons (disease resistance, etc).

If your catching these fish and releasing them, good on you. If your catching them taking a picture and then posting where you caught them. You might as well have taken them home and never mentioned it. Recent polls on here suggest that most fishermen would bring that big girl home.

happy angling at lake abracadabra!

[pelada trochu]

one more point:

i find it interesting that the pike male female ratio reverses

is this due to feeding aggresiveness?

slot sizes could have a negative impact on this ratio... any thoughts???

[gundawg]

one more point:

i find it interesting that the pike male female ratio reverses

is this due to feeding aggresiveness?

slot sizes could have a negative impact on this ratio... any thoughts???

I noticed this same trend for the walleye as well! At 9 years of age the walleye seem to be 50/50 exactly but then the gender ratio shifts dramatically, just as the pike do. Under the chart the author suggests that in both cases, females mature later, grow much faster, and live longer than the males.

Maybe the gender difference is because the females just become bigger, stronger, and out compete the males around age nine?

Thanks for the chart, it got my mind rolling this morning!

[Who Da Fisherman]

from what i see this info would only be specific to this lake.
a friend of mine caught a 27lb pike out of a southern reservoir, F&W took the jawbone and confirmed it to be 12.5yrs old.

[dodgeboy1979]

fish will grow slower in more northern lakes, this is a good bit of info on the two species though interesting in how the ratios of male to females change.

[EZM]

from what i see this info would only be specific to this lake.
a friend of mine caught a 27lb pike out of a southern reservoir, F&W took the jawbone and confirmed it to be 12.5yrs old.

Agreed,

Charts like these are a decent reference, but again, only a reference.

Even within the same lake;

36" 11lbs

35" 14.5lbs

Same season, same area of the lake.

Either way ..... interesting info for sure ........

[pelada trochu]

Agreed,

Charts like these are a decent reference, but again, only a reference.

Even within the same lake;

36" 11lbs

35" 14.5lbs

Same season, same area of the lake.

Either way ..... interesting info for sure ........

Would this be male vs female possibly.

[Mutter87]

This is why its important to release the big fish. They are old and produce a lot of eggs. I wish people would educate themselves with these charts and clue in we need to let the big ones go.

[GregT]

im a little humbled, I never realized how old some of these fish we catch are.

[pelada trochu]

im a little humbled, I never realized how old some of these fish we catch are.

Cool to hear you say that. That was the message i was trying to get out. I was suprised how many people would keep a big breeder fish. We got video web chat forums. Lcd picture frames. No need anymore to throw a real fish on the wall. Lots of discussion lately about dropping to yearly fish limits per license yet some how we think its okay to keep the big breeders.

Love fishing and catching big fish. Never bothered me a bit to put one back.

Have fun at lake abracadabra!

[tacklerunner]

We must be lucky or at least our pike are lucky to have a lot to eat here in Alberta in their first 20 yrs of life.

Pike I weighed in the last week.

30.5" 5lb 11oz (chart says 4lb)
32.5" 9lb 4oz (chart says 6.3lb)
36.5" 15lb 3oz (chart says 12lb)

Personal best:

42" 20lb 3oz (chart says 23+lb so this one was light)

Buddy's personal best:

46" 24lb (chart says 31lb. Also light)

So this tells me that our pike in AB grow slower which is in line with a Northern climate and they grow heavier faster rather than longer generally speaking.

I can also surmise that although our pike are heavier in their early years, once they reach about 40" the trend reverses and they are actually lighter than the ones found in Wabatongushi Lake.

Maybe it an East/West thing or climate as the lake the chart references is located around the 49th parallel which is not that much further south than the Southern AB lakes I fish.

Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

[ganderblaster]

Cool to hear you say that. That was the message i was trying to get out. I was suprised how many people would keep a big breeder fish. We got video web chat forums. Lcd picture frames. No need anymore to throw a real fish on the wall. Lots of discussion lately about dropping to yearly fish limits per license yet some how we think its okay to keep the big breeders.

Love fishing and catching big fish. Never bothered me a bit to put one back.

Have fun at lake abracadabra!

How many little fish does a big fish eat a year?

[pelada trochu]

How many little fish does a big fish eat a year?

thats a very good point and im glad you brought it up. its good to see people thinking about this. i certainly have alot to learn and am glad this forum exists. there has been some good additional information shared on this thread

here are some points to consider.

first these monsters are likely eating the size class that we should be targetting for food. im sure there are way less of them than there are of us.

second, these old fish are good breeders. so they spawn better. one could ask is there a difference besides the genetic advantage of 10 poor small spawners vs one large one???

another point to consider is that big pike for example are lazy old grandmothers as evidence by their slower growth rates. think about your 18 year old son vs 60 year old dad. they eat you out of house and home. the younger fish's metabolizm is much higher. they spend most of their time sitting on the bottom somewhere without fear of being eaten as they are now top of the food chain. they spend as little energy as possible feeding. then relax. so i would say they eat less than a young fish which is ripping through the metabolizm and running scared of being eaten itself.


food for thought so to speak.

now, if i ever happen to land that 54" beast, i already have a plan. Im going to hop in the water next to it. Hold up my fishing rod and video me saying. couldnt have caught this fish without shimano, best reels on the planet. then grab a spool of trilene and do the same, etc. then a final clip of me releasing the fish and saying thankyou to each sponsor and go buy some stuff so you can catch this one. ka-ching $$$

[208prov]

Ok in 1974 my dad caught a 22 lb walleye in a net on primrose lake, Wonder how old it was.

[Bush]

How many little fish does a big fish eat a year?

I have read from a couple deferent sources that your answer is 2.5x to 5x there own body weight per year

[Zip-in-Z]

Ok in 1974 my dad caught a 22 lb walleye in a net on primrose lake, Wonder how old it was.

No pic's .... no glory .... dreaming!

[pelada trochu]

No pic's .... no glory .... dreaming!

wouldnt that be nice....

[Zip-in-Z]

What's the chance an Alberta lake can break one of the following ice fishing records? These are big fish would be a challenge to get it in & out of the hole. At least they were released to live another day!
Zip


World Record Fishing Walleye Caught in Saskatchewan!

On January 5, 2011, Tim Geni of Wilcox Saskatchewan caught and released a 33-3/4-inch (86-cm) walleye with a robust 19-3/8-inch girth at Last Mountain Lake. Up to that point, the current catch and release record ice walleye was a 32 inch walleye that was previously caught and released at Tobin Lake in 1998.

On February 23, 2011, Geni got word that his whopper walleye was officially recognized as the World Record Live Release Winter Walleye in Division #4 Line/Pole-Ice Fishing category.

On January 4, 2005, Father Mariusz Zajac from Carrot River caught an 18.30 lb (8.30 kg) walleye while ice fishing on Tobin Lake. This walleye stands as the world record for ice fishing and had a girth of 22.5 in (57 cm) and was 36.5 in (93 cm) in length. (Silent on being released)