Nebraskaland

16 Nebraskaland • March 2026 IN THE FIELD With its big alligator-like mouth, torpedo-shaped body and a striking olive-green-and-white-scale pattern, the northern pike has a way of standing out on Nebraska's fishing scene. Suited to colder climates, most of Nebraska's northern pike live in the north-central and northwestern parts of the state. They do especially well in the Sandhills lakes. These predators aren't picky about what they eat, and consequently will bite on a variety of lures, baits and presentations. The pike's diet consists of about anything that moves, and even the dead things that once did. Fish, including other pike, amphibians, aquatic crustaceans and sometimes even birds fall victim to the pike's jaws and its hundreds of sharp teeth. The pike is considered to be one of the fastest freshwater fish, as it can sprint toward prey at 10 mph. With large sensory pores on its head, its lateral line excels at detecting movement of prey. Such a gluttonous appetite often produces a big fish. The pike grows most rapidly in the first few years of its life, when it puts on about 7 inches per year. At just 3 years old, a pike measures about 18 inches long — the "hammer handle," as it's often called. Nebraska's record for northern pike dates back to fall 1997 in the Panhandle; the fish measured 47 inches and weighed 30 pounds and 1 ounce. Steven Morris of Scottsbluff caught it at Terry's Pit on a twister tail. Pike thrive in areas of heavy vegetation, both for spawning and hunting, and can be caught from the bank. Not long after ice-out, when the water temperature is 34-50 F, each female pike lays as many as half a million eggs in the shallows. The eggs, which survive by attaching to sedges, grasses and bulrushes, are fertilized by males and hatch in about two weeks. The new recruits start by eating zooplankton and insect larvae and work their way up to bigger fare. Pike are subject to some ire from anglers because of their tendency to eat popular panfish species and the perception that they are hard to prepare for the table. They have a set of y-bones branching from their spine, not present in an easily-filleted walleye or bluegill. Many anglers find their big fillets of white, flaky meat to be just as tasty as those species, though, and cutting around the bones isn't difficult with practice. Pike anglers often use medium-action spinning or baitcasting rods with strong 10- to 20-pound line and big lures that produce vibration. They're also a popular target beneath the ice, with either live bait on tip-ups or jigging lures. The statewide bag limit for pike is three, only one of which can exceed 34 inches. Because management goals vary where pike are present, many of Nebraska's waters have special regulations for the species. Check the Nebraska Fishing Guide at OutdoorNebraska.gov for those rules and the list of waters with pike in them. Regardless whether or not a pike is targeted, even the haters don't seem to mind reeling one in. In fact, deep down, they surely enjoy it. A FEROCIOUS FISH By Justin Haag The northern pike is a sport fish that knows how to make a splash. JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND

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