Whats in a name? Pickerel vs Pickel vs Walleye vs Pike?!?

[SushiUnagi]

Hope you all can shed some light on this:

I've caught and know how Walleye and Northern Pikes look like... Friends have told me they have caught pickel/pickle (sp?) and that it is a totally different species than Walleyes and Pikes. Gf's mom showed me a fish and claimed it is a pickel. Which is definitely a walleye. I've also seen websites talking about pickerels and that is part of the pike family. People do refer to Pikes as 'slew sharks, hammer handles, and pickerels'. The website also mentioned people often mistakenly called walleyes as pickerels as well.

:angry3:

Please help and shed some light! What are pickerels and pickels? Are they one in the same?!? Are walleyes really pickels?!?

I tried google search and image search but couldn't find much help.

[TexasTornado]

No Walleye are not Pickeral's...........lots of guys refer to them as that though same as Jack for Northern Pike. A Pikeral actually looks a lot like a Northern Pike.

It's Walleye & Northern Pike, ignore any other names you hear.

[The Taxidermy Consultant]

Here is some Info on Pickeral...

They have same shape as Northern Pike,..But much smaller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_pickerel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_pickerel

[FishingForLife]

From what i've seen. Most people who use the word "Pickerel" are from the east some where. And I usually slap them. There are NO Pickerel in Alberta. They have Pickerel in Sask. and further east. But NONE in Alberta. Here's a pic I did for all my "Eastner" friends.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs061.ash2/36404_10150225936685501_517520500_13561284_845317_ n.jpg

[SushiUnagi]

Thanks very much guys! Sure looks like pikes!

One thing I forgot to mention too is studying the 2009 and 2010 regulations there's this 2-side page (middle of the book) showing all the sport fish in AB. I couldn't find these 'pickerels' or 'pickels' at all in it... do they exist in AB waters naturally?

[The Taxidermy Consultant]

Here is Walleye and Northern Pike for comparison of all of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walleye

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_pike

[SushiUnagi]

Ohhh thanks very much for the post, fishforlife! Just saw it after I post my further reply.

[catnthehat]

Pickeral are memebrs of the pike family, walleye are
members of the perch family - simple like dat:)
Many refer to the walleye as a pickeral, but it is a slang term, same as walleyed perch, pike-perch, white tail, etc.
Cat

[SushiUnagi]

Great! Thanks very much everyone!

[hunter49]

Thanks very much guys! Sure looks like pikes!

One thing I forgot to mention too is studying the 2009 and 2010 regulations there's this 2-side page (middle of the book) showing all the sport fish in AB. I couldn't find these 'pickerels' or 'pickels' at all in it... do they exist in AB waters naturally?

FOR THE RECORD

pickeral are people refering to WALLEYE(refering incorrectly)
pike are pike
pickeral in reality stands for CHAIN PICKERAL

We dont have ANY chain pickeral in AB,Sask,MB, I think Ontario has some.

Not sure where youve heard pickel, but a pickle is shown in the picture below.
http://thesportboys.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/pickle.jpg

:sHa_sarcasticlol:

[The Taxidermy Consultant]

do they exist in AB waters naturally?


They,...Pickeral,... are an eastern Fish mostly the eastern States....

There are some Chain Pickeral in Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick....

[nicemustang]

As mentioned, its for some reason an old timer/saskatchewan thing. Pickeral = walleye and jack = northern pike when you hear that. Although both terms are technically wrong.

Ex: if you were in sk locals would refer to them there fish in dat lake as pickeral and jack. Who knows why.

[wildman]

ask yer buddies if they know the difference between jacks and pike, then tell them pickeral look the same as pike and sit back and enjoy the confusion...... :thinking-006:

[aulrich]

The terms Jack and Pickerl were user in Manitoba too when I was young, I remember oldtimers looking at me sidways when I called them walleye's

[DarkAisling]

This is something that gets me tearing my hair out.

We have guests from Ontario right now, and the gentleman and I spent a good half hour talking about this. Apparently lots of folks in Ontario refer to walleye as pickeral as well (though he isn't one of them, and it annoys him too).

As an aside, he couldn't believe how few species of game fish we have in Alberta. My jaw dropped when he started rattling off all of the different species they have in Ontario.

[DuckBrat]

FOR THE RECORD

pickeral are people refering to WALLEYE(refering incorrectly)
pike are pike
pickeral in reality stands for CHAIN PICKERAL

We dont have ANY chain pickeral in AB,Sask,MB, I think Ontario has some.

Not sure where youve heard pickel, but a pickle is shown in the picture below.
http://thesportboys.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/pickle.jpg

:sHa_sarcasticlol:


More confusion. The pickel in the picture is actually a cucumber and only a pickel when it is softened and lightend by a few months in a jar with vinegar and salt. You could also throw all these fish in the jar and end up up with pickeled pike, pickled pickeral, etc.

[aulrich]

A lot of those old timers were german it very well may have been pickels they were talking about. The walleyes they took home were about the right size (thank god for slot limits and harsh fines) :)

[New Hunter Okotoks]

I grew up in Northern Ontario and the only people who called a walleye a walleye were American.(we always said pickerel).I do find it funny though that at Safeway and Costco in Calgary they refer to Walleye fillets as Pickerel fillets.

[WayneChristie]

This is something that gets me tearing my hair out.

We have guests from Ontario right now, and the gentleman and I spent a good half hour talking about this. Apparently lots of folks in Ontario refer to walleye as pickeral as well (though he isn't one of them, and it annoys him too).

As an aside, he couldn't believe how few species of game fish we have in Alberta. My jaw dropped when he started rattling off all of the different species they have in Ontario.

THeres a few lakes in BC that have most of the ontario species as well. We just didnt get so lucky.

[WayneChristie]

Sushi there are also a lot of people who call mountain whitefish grayling, they look similar except the dorsal fin, but they are different fish. used to drive me crazy too. now Im well past crazy so I dont care anymore :bad_boys_20:

[DuckBrat]

Perchy piker picked a pack of pickled Pickeral Pectorals

[Caper28]

From what I understand the name pickeral for waleye originated in Ontario, but I could be wrong. We have them back in NS unfortianatly. Here's a picture of some chain pickeral that a buddy of mine took out of a lake in Cape Breton. They don't grow very big, the record for NS is around 7Lb.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_jfAizm9Cbms/TDfXFbEGYiI/AAAAAAAAAYk/4yWsDqtILu0/s720/Picture488.jpg

[SushiUnagi]

Ahh thanks very much everyone! Great pics illustrating the different species too. Now I can stand proudly knowing the difference between them all.

Really have no idea that there's so much history behind these names. I'm glad I posted and asked this question. Thanks for all the insightful responses.

Hunter & Duck: Thanks for the light humor as well ;)

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

From what i've seen. Most people who use the word "Pickerel" are from the east some where. And I usually slap them. There are NO Pickerel in Alberta. They have Pickerel in Sask. and further east. But NONE in Alberta. Here's a pic I did for all my "Eastner" friends.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs061.ash2/36404_10150225936685501_517520500_13561284_845317_ n.jpg

X 2 makes me batty , and down right anoys me . Mainly people from the east calling Walleye Pickrell . THEY ARE FRIGGEN WALLEYE .

[whitewolf]

ya there is chain pickeral in the florida lakes also and they look the same as the species in eastern canada

[ice]

I don't understand why people get all worked up about this
If someone wants to call a pike a jack let them call it a jack
If they wanna call a walleye a pickerel let them call them a pickerel
Aslong as you know what they're talking about such I'm sure you
All do that's what counts..
That's just like someone calling me nick
An me being like
MY NAME ISNT NICK
It's Nicholas

[Mr Hawken]

so i guess im guilty i remember as a kid fishing and catching what dad thought were pickerel now i know but what about sauger vs wallaye is there a big diffrence in appearence i guess i should know but i always catch and release

[H380]

so i guess im guilty i remember as a kid fishing and catching what dad thought were pickerel now i know but what about sauger vs wallaye is there a big diffrence in appearence i guess i should know but i always catch and release Yes,big difference... look quite similar but different coloring,I'm sure someone can post their photos.. sauger don't get as big as pickerel,I mean walleye :sHa_shakeshout: and are very limited in their distribution in AB.... I think mainly found in Milk River..

[FishingForLife]

Here's a little diagram for Sauger/Walleye:
http://www.iowadnr.gov/fish/iafish/images/differnt.gif

[Darren N]

More confusion. The pickel in the picture is actually a cucumber and only a pickel when it is softened and lightend by a few months in a jar with vinegar and salt. You could also throw all these fish in the jar and end up up with pickeled pike, pickled pickeral, etc.

I thought that was a picture of a zucchini! now i'm really confused. Here is another one - Do you pronounce it RA-PALA or RAP-ALA? I grew up saying RA-PALA only to hear it different on the fishing shows.

[Sundancefisher]

slang terms or regional terms can be confusing!

How many names are there for pike in Alberta alone? I can think of 9!

Pike
Northern Pike
Northerns
Hammer handles
Slough sharks
Jacks
Jackfish
Alberta Aligators

any ones I missed?

[SushiUnagi]

That's just like someone calling me nick
An me being like
MY NAME ISNT NICK
It's Nicholas

haha ok thanks James :bad_boys_20:

[SushiUnagi]

Here is another one - Do you pronounce it RA-PALA or RAP-ALA? I grew up saying RA-PALA only to hear it different on the fishing shows.

I call it RA-PALA too... but then I guess its a po-tay-toe vs po-tar-toe thing...
Unless the founder of Rapala corrects you otherwise, its fair to say its pronounced either way.

I remember a girl I used to work with gets soooo annoyed when people pronounce her name incorrectly, and it happens very often too.
Unfortunately everyone then did it on purpose just to get her on her nerves...but she was right to have corrected us as her name is hers and she is the only one that decides how it is to be pronounced.

I'm happy to have got so much insights from all of you to the names of these fish we're catching at our lakes.

[Darren N]

slang terms or regional terms can be confusing!

How many names are there for pike in Alberta alone? I can think of 9!

Pike
Northern Pike
Northerns
Hammer handles
Slough sharks
Jacks
Jackfish
Alberta Aligators

any ones I missed?

I've heard them get called "snot rockets" on a Sask fishing show.

[AxeMan]

slang terms or regional terms can be confusing!

How many names are there for pike in Alberta alone? I can think of 9!

Pike
Northern Pike
Northerns
Hammer handles
Slough sharks
Jacks
Jackfish
Alberta Aligators

any ones I missed?

You missed a few:

Snot Rockets
Esox lucius
Water wolves
Snakes

[TexasTornado]

I am going to start calling Rainbow Trout "Colorful Trout"

[Darren N]

I am going to start calling Rainbow Trout "Colorful Trout"

Then 20 years from now someone will start on a 3 page thread saying "rainbows? colorful trout which is right?" I have to admit this thread has some good entertainment value.

[luckyme]

Not sure where youve heard pickel, but a pickle is shown in the picture below.
http://thesportboys.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/pickle.jpg

:sHa_sarcasticlol:

that is sure one nice looking pickel.:scared0018:

[fishnut9]

Then 20 years from now someone will start on a 3 page thread saying "rainbows? colorful trout which is right?" I have to admit this thread has some good entertainment value.

then its gonna be called pot of gold trout, then leprecaun trout

[HunterDave]

I grew up in Northern Ontario and the only people who called a walleye a walleye were American.(we always said pickerel).I do find it funny though that at Safeway and Costco in Calgary they refer to Walleye fillets as Pickerel fillets.

x2 on calling them pickerel in Ontario. In Quebec they call them Dore (Pronounced "Doory"). I've never heard a pike called anything different until I came to Alberta. Speared a pickle out of the jar with a fork this weekend.

[TexasTornado]

then its gonna be called pot of gold trout, then leprecaun trout

Cutthroat Trout will be called Chuck Norris Trout

[SkytopBrewster]

I grew up in MB, usually when you are talking to a Manitoban they refer to Walleye as a Pickeril, I was the same till I moved to AB. I know it is completely wrong but that is just the way it is for some reason.

[Tredeb]

I thought that was a picture of a zucchini! now i'm really confused. Here is another one - Do you pronounce it RA-PALA or RAP-ALA? I grew up saying RA-PALA only to hear it different on the fishing shows.

A lot of those guys on fishing shows put "awl" in their engine and "Greeez" in their Grease guns so I wouldn't put too much stock in the way they say things.:)

[lavigne25]

its the guys from ontario who call walleyes pickerels ,i use to work with a guy from windsor ont he argued with me all the time . i showed him a picture of a pickerel and he called it a northern pike or a walleye ,he said they have 2 names for them . he tried to tell me walleye was just an american term for a pickerel lol.there are no pickerel in ontario they have northern pike and walley but for some retarded reason they like to call walleye pickerel lol.there are only pickerel in the maritimes

[whitewolf]

Known in Europe as «Sandre», or walleye, pickerel is a freshwater, white fish found in abundance in lakes and rivers all over Quebec as well as in Scandinavia, England and continental Europe.......this quote is right of a website......

[whitewolf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esox look at that page and tell me...do they mean it is refering to a group of different fish and they come under the name pickerels...