The chain pickerel ( Esox niger) is a freshwater fish belonging to the pike family (Esocidae) within the order Esociformes. French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur first described the chain pickerel in 1818. This article delves into the dietary habits of this fascinating and often underappreciated fish.
Identification and Range
The chain pickerel is easily identified by its distinctive, dark, chain-like pattern on its greenish sides, giving it its common name. Another key identifier is the vertical dark marking beneath the eye, distinguishing it from the redfin pickerel (Esox americanus americanus) and grass pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus), where the mark curves posteriorly. While its body outline resembles that of the northern pike (Esox lucius), the chain pickerel has fully scaled opercles and cheeks, unlike its northern cousin.
Nicknames for the chain pickerel include "southern pike", "grass pike", "jack", "jackfish", "gunny" and "eastern pickerel".
While they can reach lengths of up to 78.7 centimeters (31.0 in) on rare occasions, the average size for chain pickerel is around 24 inches (61 cm) and 3 pounds (1 1/2 kg). They typically live for about 8 years.
The chain pickerel's range extends along the eastern coast of North America, from southern Canada down to Florida, and westward to Texas. They inhabit both fresh and brackish water, including the Mississippi Valley, Lake Michigan, and the lower Great Lakes. In Canada, they are found in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where they are considered an invasive species in some northern regions, like Nova Scotia. In the New England, the species occurs in Maine and New Hampshire. Chain Pickerel are native to the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of North Carolina, as well as other Atlantic and Gulf Coast drainages from New England to western Louisiana.
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Feeding Habits
Like the northern pike, the chain pickerel is a voracious predator. Chain Pickerel are solitary fish that often hide in aquatic vegetation where they wait to ambush unsuspecting prey. Chain pickerel are aggressive predators for small-to-moderate-sized prey items. The Chain Pickerel is a top-level ambush predator within their environment. Their fanged vomer allows them to secure their prey by digging their teeth into their flesh, inflicting grave wounds right away.
Juvenile Diet
The young feed mainly on aquatic insects and crustaceans until they reach about 4 inches.
Adult Diet
As they mature, their diet shifts primarily to smaller fish. However, chain pickerel are opportunistic feeders and are known to consume a wide variety of other foods, including frogs, snakes, worms, mice and other small mammals, crayfish, and insects.
It is not unusual for them to leap out of the water to catch flying insects or even strike at dangling fishing lures.
A study conducted by Raney (1942) on chain pickerel in a New York pond revealed that golden shiners were found in the stomachs of 47.3% of the 234 chain pickerel examined. Other common food items included brown bullheads (13.8%) and pumpkinseed sunfish (13.2%).
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Individuals that shift to a diet of fish earliest tend to grow faster.
Habitat and Hunting Strategies
Chain pickerel prefer habitats with abundant aquatic vegetation and wood, which provides them with cover for ambushing prey. Chain Pickerel seek out areas with cover that are adjacent to open water. This includes slow-flowing streams, lakes, swamps, abandoned channels, backwaters, and floodplain wetlands of larger streams. They are often found in patches of aquatic vegetation. Chain Pickerels have a preference for vegetative lakes and swamps. They like slow waters and quiet pools but need the waters to be warm. They prefer waters that are not usually interrupted by the tides or not bothered as much. Interestingly, these Chain Pickerels like acidic waters.
Their body is made for an ambush. They lie motionless along the margins of aquatic vegetation or undercut banks. They wait to ambush large fish from cover with a rapid lunge and to secure it with its sharp teeth.
Diet and Fishing
The chain pickerel's diet plays a significant role in its popularity as a sport fish. Anglers often have success using lures that mimic their natural prey, such as live minnows, spinnerbaits, spoons, topwater lures, plugs, and flies. Flashy lures that imitate small forage fish are particularly effective. Practically any bass lure can be effective for pickerel. Dragging a plastic worm, lizard, frog, or other soft imitation can also be extremely effective. Methods are similar to those for bass, such as dragging a lure through weeds in shallow water and jerking it side-to-side to give it the look of injured prey.
Given their sharp teeth, a steel leader is often recommended when fishing for chain pickerel. It is also advisable to use 12- to 17-lb-test line on an open-faced spinning reel.
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Chain Pickerel as Food
Chain pickerel can be eaten. However, they are known to be bony. The reports do seem a bit mixed on the enjoyability though. Some find the taste decent, similar to Pike or Musky, while others find it remotely good.
Preparation methods vary, with some recommending pressure cooking to soften the bones, or scoring the fish to allow hot grease to crisp the small bones. Some people soak fillets in buttermilk overnight and it will disolve the tiny bones or make then so soft you won't know they are there. Others suggest smoking the fish and using the meat in salads or spreads.
It is important to note that some sources advise caution regarding the consumption of chain pickerel, particularly larger individuals, due to potential mercury contamination.
Conservation Status
Chain pickerel continue to be stable throughout their range. There are no significant conservation issues for this species.