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Old 07-09-2010, 01:29 PM
SushiUnagi SushiUnagi is offline
 
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Unhappy Whats in a name? Pickerel vs Pickel vs Walleye vs Pike?!?

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.



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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:41 PM
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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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:42 PM
The Taxidermy Consultant The Taxidermy Consultant is offline
 
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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
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:45 PM
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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.

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Old 07-09-2010, 01:46 PM
SushiUnagi SushiUnagi is offline
 
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Smile any pickerels/pickels in AB?

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?
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:48 PM
The Taxidermy Consultant The Taxidermy Consultant is offline
 
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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
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:48 PM
SushiUnagi SushiUnagi is offline
 
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Ohhh thanks very much for the post, fishforlife! Just saw it after I post my further reply.
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:48 PM
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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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:50 PM
SushiUnagi SushiUnagi is offline
 
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Great! Thanks very much everyone!
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SushiUnagi View Post
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.


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Old 07-09-2010, 01:55 PM
The Taxidermy Consultant The Taxidermy Consultant is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SushiUnagi View Post

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....
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Old 07-09-2010, 01:56 PM
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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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 02:19 PM
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Default !!!

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......
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Old 07-09-2010, 02:35 PM
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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
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Old 07-09-2010, 02:48 PM
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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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 04:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter49 View Post
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.



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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 04:52 PM
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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)
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Old 07-09-2010, 05:01 PM
New Hunter Okotoks New Hunter Okotoks is offline
 
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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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 06:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkAisling View Post
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.
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Old 07-09-2010, 06:56 PM
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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
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Old 07-09-2010, 07:32 PM
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Perchy piker picked a pack of pickled Pickeral Pectorals
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  #22  
Old 07-09-2010, 08:07 PM
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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.

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  #23  
Old 07-09-2010, 11:27 PM
SushiUnagi SushiUnagi is offline
 
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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
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  #24  
Old 07-10-2010, 12:24 AM
BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FishingForLife View Post
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.

X 2 makes me batty , and down right anoys me . Mainly people from the east calling Walleye Pickrell . THEY ARE FRIGGEN WALLEYE .
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  #25  
Old 07-10-2010, 10:58 AM
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ya there is chain pickeral in the florida lakes also and they look the same as the species in eastern canada
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  #26  
Old 07-10-2010, 11:10 PM
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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
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Old 07-11-2010, 07:58 AM
Mr Hawken Mr Hawken is offline
 
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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
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Old 07-11-2010, 09:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Hawken View Post
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 and are very limited in their distribution in AB.... I think mainly found in Milk River..
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Old 07-12-2010, 10:12 AM
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Here's a little diagram for Sauger/Walleye:
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Old 07-12-2010, 12:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckBrat View Post
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.
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