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Pike markings - very unusual fish


pegasus bridge
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What do the PW piking fraternity think about this fish? I should add - i didnt catch this fish.. i have caught many many pike, some light, some dark, but none with this patterning - this looks to me more like a musky type pattern. what does everyone think? I did put this onto a dedicated piking website - but didnt get a response,, I would be very interested to hear other pikers thoughts on this!

 

the fish came from a canal in Yorkshire apparently..

 

post-9454-0-80611700-1414768759_thumb.png

 

just as a reminder - this is pretty much the pattern that I've seen before on UK Pike, some light, some dark - but the pattern is generally this;

 

post-9454-0-86651200-1414768906_thumb.png

 

 

 

 

 

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Mike

 

I have seen a few variations of note was pike in Ardley reservoir with very bold markings..... also seen Black foxes and White Fezants and Stags so nature can and will have oddities I guess this is one of them

 

PS I have a mate works in a Zoo and he says they have a black and white striped horse...yea right :lol:

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Had this one a few years ago. Made Neville Fickling very excited. LOL Some of the Italian pike have similar markings.

 

timkellypike2.jpg

 

Muskie are quite different looking, often with virtually no markings.

 

Tim44.jpg

 

The pike from Canada and places like Sweden often have really bold markings like the one you showed. Often the markings extend right round their bellies too! Usually fish with the strongest markings come from the clearest water, the murkier it is the paler and more indistinct they seem to be.

Edited by Tim Kelly
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Thanks Tim, very interesting - according to Wikipedia, there is a separate species of pike 'the southern pike'- as you mention native in Italy that has very similar markings, either way, lovely looking fish, in going to have a go at catching one!

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esox_cisalpinus

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Environment dependant! Clear water /murky water, weedy or rock. muddy. Pike from some big Lakes and lochs have different colourations taken from bays than those out over deeper water. If you want to see colour variation happen before your eyes store fish in a white tank and they usually lighten up in colour

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Thanks for the input gents, I know that water conditions can effect the colour hugely- and I mentined this in my opening post, but this pike has a completely different pattern! Look at the first two pics carefully, the pattern is very different. very similar to the 'southern pike' which had only just been recognised in 2011, but is apparently restricted to Italy .

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It is certainly unusual , looks like it may be a snub nose too.

 

I have caught a number over the years with vivid marking and the markings can vary dramatically even in the same water , as the picture Tim put up shows , I bet every fish in that river does not look like that !

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Thanks for the input gents, I know that water conditions can effect the colour hugely- and I mentined this in my opening post, but this pike has a completely different pattern! Look at the first two pics carefully, the pattern is very different. very similar to the 'southern pike' which had only just been recognised in 2011, but is apparently restricted to Italy .

 

Within the same water they can have their own favourite haunts, this creates an environment within an environment. I saw a chocolate coloured Hare this year (just like a Lab of the same dark liver colour) I wont be claiming a new species. Remembering one water were a 28lb Pike favoured a very small area on a BIG water, it was almost a guaranteed catch if you did a few sessions there in its spot, Brown Trout are also known for their variations in a given water for similar reasons.

We have recognised individual fish from variations in markings for years, this is a good one but really nothing new in my experiance

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Just as a thought to entertain, how experienced is the angler in question? I agree with everyone else that local conditions will change the colors on a fish quite considerably, and it is a shame the picture doesn't show the whole fish. However, what are the chances it is actually a trout instead? The coloration looks an awful lot like a tiger trout (which also range in color and pattern, but commonly have that patterning from the top picture):

 

tigerc08052011.jpg

 

 

BTW, the markings are called vermiculations. Loosely translated it means worm-like markings.

 

thanks,

rick

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