Pike perch - Features and habits

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Pike perch is a medium-sized ray-finned fish. Zoologists assign them to the perch family. These representatives of marine flora and fauna are subject to fishing on an industrial scale. This type of fish is the basis for preparing many dishes. These representatives of the perch family live everywhere, widely distributed in Russia, as well as in the most diverse regions of Europe and Asia. Distributed mainly in fresh water bodies. Fishermen catch pike perch at any time of the year, regardless of temperature and weather conditions.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Sudak

Pike perch belongs to the chordates, divided into the class ray-finned fish, the order Perciformes, the perch family, the genus pike perch, and the species common pike perch. Fans of fish dishes prepared with pike perch do not assume that they are eating one of the most ancient representatives of flora and fauna living on earth. Surprisingly, scientists believe that the ancient ancestors of pike perch appeared about 25 million years ago. Over the last 4-5 million years of their existence, they have not changed at all in appearance.

Video: Sudak

The ancient ancestors of modern pike perch were fish that lived in the depths of the sea. The period of their appearance is called the Oligocene period, 33-23 million years ago. Numerous DNA examinations of the discovered remains revealed that modern pike perch appeared during the Pliocene period, approximately 5.5 million years ago. Siberia is considered the birthplace of modern fish.

Numerous studies have made it possible to determine that centuries-old evolution has had virtually no effect on the appearance of this fish. However, in the process of evolution, this species of freshwater representatives of the perch family has significantly expanded its habitat region. From Siberia, pike perch has spread almost throughout the world. There are several types of pike perch. Three species live on the territory of the Russian Federation: common, Volga and marine.

Largest peaceful fish

crucian carp

One of the most common fish living in fresh water. But in reservoirs located near housing, crucian carp rarely manage to grow. In the immediate vicinity of large cities, crucian carp weighing 1 kg is very rare. In reservoirs located far from civilization, it grows to the size of a “big fish”.

In the last century, Lake Chukhloma, located in the river basin, was famous for its large crucian carp. Kostroma. There, in the thirties, there were still crucian carp weighing up to 4 kg. In our time, according to Internet sources, the largest crucian carp caught in Lake Osyno (Sebezh region) weighed 5.5 kg.

In the Pskov region and in the Belarusian lakes bordering this region, they catch crucian carp weighing about 3 kg, although all fishermen note that it is no longer possible to eat this. Big fish is rarely tasty

For comparison:

• Latvian record – 3.15 kg;
• Polish record - 1.97 kg.

By the way, if you are planning to go fishing for crucian carp, you can prepare bait for crucian carp with your own hands according to our recipe and then you will be the one who can become the owner of a record specimen!

Tench

The big fish is a cautious fish, lives in warm water bodies overgrown with aquatic plants, and grows quite slowly. Its meat is tasty, which is why fishermen hunt tench with special care. Catching tench is good luck.

Tench grows slowly, and the ponds where tench are most often found are cleaned quite often, so tench rarely grow to record sizes.

Sabaneev wrote in 1911: “The largest tench, generally speaking, are apparently found in the Trans-Ural Bashkir lakes, especially in the southern part of the Yekaterinburg district, where in some places the 7-8-pound “kara-balyk” is not at all uncommon; Sometimes tench and more than ten (4 kg) pounds are found here; Thus, I know of one case where on Lake Okunkule two tench of 13 lb each were “taken care of,” that is, caught in a botanical net. (5.3 kg) each. But usually these fish are rarely more than 5 pounds.”

Nowadays, the largest fish of the family of this order of carp caught in the European part is considered to be a specimen from Lake. Vishtinetskoe in the Kaliningrad region. He reached a weight of 4.5 kg. In the Braslav Lakes (Belarus) tench are caught (and even hunters catch them) weighing up to 2.5 kg.

For comparison:

• Polish record -3.45 kg;
• Latvian record – 3 kg.

Carp

It’s difficult to talk about carp. The fish, which were artificially bred, have colonized almost all bodies of water, except for cold, fast rivers. Carp grows quite quickly, so it reaches large sizes. Carp weighing 20 kg is not very uncommon in paid ponds and warm Ukrainian lakes.

The biggest fish

which is officially considered a world record, was caught in Romania at the Sarulesti reservoir. Her weight reached 37.3 kg.

In Russia, the largest carp was caught on a fishing rod in the Kurchatov Reservoir. He weighed 31 kg.

For comparison:

• Polish record - 24.6 kg;
• Belarus record – 32 kg.

Bream

One of the most common fish living in rivers. There are a lot of bream, but there is relatively little food for them. If in the last and century before last bream weighing 10 kg were a common catch in all major rivers of the East European Plain, today a bream caught weighing 8 kg is already considered a large fish.

“The largest bream seem to be found in the lakes of Scotland, where they are said to sometimes weigh up to 30 (12.3 kg), even 40 (16.4 kg) pounds in weight, but we also have similar giants. At least Terletsky testifies that in Lake Virovlya, Gorodetsky district, Vitebsk province, he happened to see bream weighing a pound. Such seasoned bream are always covered with significant warts and growths, especially on the head and fins, and their scales are dark red in color and in places covered with gray moss, probably algae. Hence it goes without saying that the life expectancy of bream should be significantly more than 8-9 years, as Haeckel believes, based on the words of Danube fishermen. Usually only in the 3rd or 4th year does bream reach a size of 2 pounds, but in feeding lakes it grows much faster,” Sabaneev wrote in 1911.

Nowadays, really large bream (about 10 kg) are found in the deltas of the Volga, Dnieper, Danube and Don. Lakes Seliger and Lymzheozero are famous for their large bream.

The largest bream caught in European Russia is considered to be the bream caught in the Pskov region in Lake Peipsi. He weighed 7.0 kg.

For comparison:

• Belarus record – 7.4 kg;
• Polish record – 5.1 kg.

Appearance and features

Photo: Zander fish

The size of pike perch directly depends on the region where it lives. The average body length of a pike perch is 50-70 centimeters, and its weight is 2-2.3 kilograms. He has a long, elongated, laterally compressed body. A characteristic feature of this type of fish is the structure of the oral apparatus. Fish have many sharp, fang-shaped long teeth that are slightly curved inward into the oral cavity. With the help of these teeth, the pike perch pierces its prey when captured. In the spaces between the long fangs there are still many small teeth. The incision in the oral cavity reaches eye level.

Interesting fact: In some regions, the body length of one fish exceeds a meter and weighs more than 15 kilograms.

Gills are located on the side surface of the head. The gill covers are partially covered by scales. The gills may be red or pinkish in color. The color of the gill slits is not always uniform. The eyes also have structural features. They contain a reflective layer, which provides excellent vision in the dark. The upper part of the body in the area of ​​the head, back and tail is greenish-gray, the belly area is off-white. The scales are crossed by dark, almost black stripes. The fins on the back and tail of the body complement the dark spots. The anal fin is different from the others and has a light yellow color.

There are two fins in the back area. The fin located immediately behind the head has sharp rays. After a short gap, there is another fin on the back, which is slightly higher than the first and does not have sharp feathers. Marine fish have external distinctive features compared to freshwater ones. They have a visually smaller eye diameter and no scales in the cheek area. Fish are naturally endowed with a very acute sense of smell. She is able to recognize a very wide range of different odors, even at a great distance.

Now you know what pike perch fish is, sea or freshwater. Let's see where pike perch live in their natural environment.

The biggest pike perch

Hi all!

As a big fan of fishing, and spinning fishing in particular, I have always been interested in where and when was the largest pike perch caught? After immersing myself in this topic, I realized that it would not be possible to get a definite answer to this question, because all published data have “relative” reliability. If some amateur fisherman Pupkin catches a pike perch monster on the lower Volga, he will not rush to register it in the Guinness Book of Records, but at best, take a photo or video with the trophy and report its weight (I hope without exaggeration). I consider the most reliable information to be published in periodicals and recorded by their independent representatives. This is especially true for the pedantic Finns, who regularly record record catches.

About zander

If anyone doesn’t know that this predator is an amazing delicacy, I’ll tell you now.

This is a freshwater fish that lives in rivers flowing into the Baltic, Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral Seas, as well as in many lakes.

Pike perch is a predator, its favorite food is sprat and bleak; wider species of fish have difficulty passing through its narrow throat.

Interesting! The pike perch has a reflective layer behind the retina, thanks to which it sees excellently in the dark.

It is very sensitive to the purity of water, so it loves sandy and rocky bottoms.

Pike perch is very resistant to disease; you will never see black spots of post-diplostomosis on its body, like on perch.

About the delicacy

The minimum fat content of pike perch meat, with a protein content of more than 18%, allows it to be considered a dietary product. The taste of this fish is simply amazing, there is no cod nearby, but may sea fish lovers forgive me for such a bold statement. And considering that the composition of pike perch meat includes all the main 20 amino acids, of which 8 are essential, that is, our body does not produce them, as well as minerals - potassium, phosphorus, molybdenum, manganese and a bunch of other things - makes it attractive not only in gastronomically, but also a very useful product for our health.

About record weights

Now, actually, about the topic of the article. Here are the main facts that we managed to dig up:

- Finnish national record - 14.095 kg. A pike perch was caught using an HK-Varma wobbler, the lake is kept a secret (as if we were all going to rush there in a flock).

— Marc Amureni set a national record in Italy with a trophy weight of 11.580 kg.

— in Belarus, according to unofficial data, a pike perch weighing 18 kg was caught.

- amateurs and poachers are not far behind us with their nets; a pike perch weighing 22 kg was sold at one of the markets

- and the largest pike perch of all time, according to unverified data, was caught in the Lower Volga in the 90s of the last century, and its weight was about 40 kg.

That's all for today.

Good luck to all!

Where does pike perch live?

Photo: Pike perch under water

Pike perch is a fishery object on an industrial scale. It is widespread in Eastern Europe and various regions of the Russian Federation. The most optimal depth at which pike perch feels comfortable is five meters. In winter, with the onset of cold weather, the fish sinks to the bottom, covered with pebbles, and seeks shelter. Most often it is a stump, a snag, or simply a depression in the bottom surface.

As a habitat, fish prefer exclusively clean fresh or sea waters with a high level of oxygen saturation. There are varieties of pike perch, for example, the Black Sea, which get along well in both fresh and salt sea water. However, neither species will live in polluted regions or waters with insufficient oxygen.

Geographical regions of pike perch habitat:

• Black Sea;
• Caspian Sea;
• Sea of ​​Azov;
• Aral Sea;
• Baltic basin;
• rivers of Siberia;
• large Russian lakes - Seliger, Ladoga, Onega, Ilmen, Karelia, Lake Peipsi;
• Ural;
• reservoirs of the Far East;
• major rivers of Russia - Don, Volga, Kuban, Oka.

Many large reservoirs of Eastern Europe, rivers of Belarus, Ukraine, and fresh reservoirs of various regions of Asia are no exception. Some species even live in Canada and North America. Pike perch are also found in some UK lakes.

Such a wide geographical distribution of marine life is due to the fact that at a certain period of time people settled fish in various parts of the world. For example, in the Mozhaisk reservoir, in Lake Cherbakul in the Chelyabinsk region, in the reservoir of the Moscow Canal, Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan, Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, fish are found exclusively due to human activity. Pike perch is very fond of reservoirs with pebble bottoms, deep sections of rivers and lakes with clean water. This type of fish is not found in shallow waters.

Largest predatory fish

Som

This is not just big, it is the largest fish living in our waters. Large catfish are also found nowadays. They are found in all large rivers and deep lakes.

But catfish weighing 20 kg, which we consider to be quite a decent catch, were considered “catfish” during the time of the same Sabaneev. The largest catfish caught to date is considered to be a catfish weighing 150 kg, which was caught by fishermen in northern Italy, in the Po River basin.

In our lands, large catfish are found in the Dnieper basin, especially in the area of ​​the Dnieper cascades. The weight of the fish reaches 100 kg. Russian Akhtuba does not lag behind the Dnieper basin. There, in 2001, a catfish weighing 105 kg was caught. In the countries of Central Asia, even larger specimens are found.

Burbot

Large burbot is a rarity. In Europe, burbot is actively caught only in Finland. Previously, it was believed that the largest burbots live exclusively in the Pechora River basin. There were specimens weighing about 30 kg. However, recently, anglers have reported catching large burbot on other Siberian rivers.

The northern regions of the Irtysh and Ob rivers, as well as the lakes included in the basins of these rivers, are famous for their large burbot. In the 80s of the twentieth century, a burbot weighing 29 kg was caught in Taimyr. This is currently a record for Russia.

In European Russia, large burbot also gravitate to the North and North-West of the country. Nowadays, a large burbot is considered a fish weighing 16 kg (this is the kind of burbot that was caught in Lake Onega in 1985).

What does pike perch eat?

Photo: Pike perch in the water

Pike perch belongs to the category of predators. Consequently, their diet consists entirely of smaller fish or crustaceans. Powerful, inwardly curved fangs leave no chance. When captured, the pike perch makes fatal punctures on the body of the victim, and the small teeth of the oral cavity tightly hold the prey, preventing it from slipping out.

A keen sense of smell and excellent vision allows pike perch to successfully hunt and find its prey even in complete darkness. It is very important that the shape of the hunted object has a long, elongated body. Only in this case will the pike perch be able to easily swallow the prey.

What serves as food source for fish:

• gudgeon;
• smelt;
• bulls;
• ruffs;
• small shellfish;
• smelt;
• small perches;
• anchovy;
• bleak;
• dace;
• crustaceans;
• frogs;
• river lamprey.

Pike perch is considered a skilled hunter. He uses special hunting tactics. It is unusual for him to pursue his prey. He uses a wait-and-see approach. Most often, the predator camouflages itself and remains motionless until the prey is within its reach. Then he pounces on her with lightning speed from his hiding place. Young animals can feed not only on small fish and shellfish, but also on various types of insects - bloodworms, leeches, various larvae, etc.

Pike perch is a rather voracious predator. Actively hunt both at night and during the day. Having been completely satiated, he hides in the chosen shelter and rests while digesting food. The predator is most active from the onset of spring until mid-autumn. During this period of time, he needs especially a lot of food. During the steel season, the activity of pike perch decreases and it consumes less food.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: River fish pike perch

Most often, pike perch lives in a school, although single individuals are found. The average number of fish in one school is 25-40. Young fish tend to form quite large schools, the number of which can reach hundreds of individuals. The predator is most active at night, although it can also hunt during the day. Pike perch is a fairly agile and fast fish that can reach high speeds.

Fish prefer to live at a depth of 3-5 meters; they are practically not found in shallow water. With the onset of autumn, they go down to the bottom and look for shelter to wait out the frosts and cold. Before this, the fish gather in numerous schools depending on age categories. However, it is unusual for them to hibernate. At the head of such a flock is the largest and strongest individual. At the end of the flock are the youngest individuals, for whom wintering will be the first time in their lives. After the end of winter, the flock stays together until the onset of spawning, then disperses into smaller groups and disperses in different directions.

Pike perch tend to be afraid of sunlight. Therefore, during the period when the sun rises high, fish hide in places where direct sunlight cannot reach them. It is unusual for pike perch, like other fish, to play in the water, splash around, or jump out of it. He leads a secretive, inconspicuous lifestyle. Pike perch are very fond of trees with abundant foliage that have fallen into the water. They avoid in every possible way and are almost never found in the deep sea with a muddy bottom.

The predator needs very little time to rest. Most often, this is only a few hours a day. When the fish is full, it hides in a reliable shelter and spends several hours there in secluded places - under snags, stones, etc. Pike perch can migrate over quite long distances.

Search for places

First of all, you need to find places in the reservoir with a significantly greater depth than the average values ​​​​on the main riverbed. Large pike perch prefers to live at depths from 7-9 to 10-12 m, but in some places there are local areas with depths from 12 to 15-17 m. In addition, in places where pike perch can be found, there must be a current that differs from the main direction river movements.

Read! Catching pike perch with a spinning rod at night

Pits where the side of the dump closest to the shore has a rip current are good for large pike perch to live in. There is a constant swirl of water there, which is especially noticeable in winter. The ice in such places is much thinner, and during thaws it often erodes, forming gullies. The chances of finding catchable places increase when noticeable differences in depth in the form of underwater mounds and ditches are found at the bottom. It’s good if there are remains of trees at the bottom. Such finds occur in pits, which is facilitated by a current directed at an angle to the coastal dump. After some distance, the river stream, on the contrary, begins to move away from the shore and also at an angle from it. Here the local hole, as a rule, ends, and in this place the river bed depths become average. This area serves as a kind of settling basin for everything that the current brings.

By the way, hunting for trophy pike perch from the shore is excluded for many reasons, although accidental catches are possible. For successful fishing, you must use a boat or boat equipped with an echo sounder.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Common pike perch

The breeding season begins the moment the water warms up enough. The average water temperature should reach 9-10 degrees. In the southern part of the Russian Federation, the predator’s mating season occurs in the first half of April; in European reservoirs, where climatic conditions are milder, in the middle or towards the end of April; in the northern regions of its habitat – late spring, early summer. Spawning occurs in areas that are favorite and well known to pike perch, most often at a depth of 4-6 meters. During the spawning period, the predator chooses places that are most quiet and calm.

During the breeding season, fish gather in small groups, which consist of several males, as well as one or two females. Before laying eggs, the female finds a suitable place and cleans it with her tail. Also, as a place for throwing eggs with the tail, a hole can be made at the bottom of the reservoir, which has a diameter of 40-60 centimeters and a depth of 10-15 centimeters.

Females tend to spawn exclusively at dawn. In the early morning, the female assumes a vertical position, with the head end down. Pike perch is considered a fairly prolific species of marine life.

Interesting fact: One female individual, whose weight is 7-8 kilograms, is capable of laying up to 1 ml of eggs.

The eggs are small in size, no more than 1 millimeter in diameter, and light yellow in color. The largest male from the flock is suitable to fertilize the laid eggs. He pours milk over the laid eggs in copious amounts. The main responsibilities of a male include not only fertilization, but also ensuring the safety of eggs. The second largest male of the pack may be suitable as a guard. He does not allow anyone near the masonry and ventilates the water around. Only when the young animals emerge from the eggs does the guard leave his post and move away.

After fertilization, approximately 10 days pass, and small fish are born, the size of which does not exceed 5-6 mm. They are not adapted to independent living and cannot feed themselves. After 3-5 days, the fish spread out in different directions and begin to eat plankton. Next, the larvae form into fry, the appearance and body shape of which resembles adults. The growth rate of fry depends on living conditions and the volume of food supply. Puberty occurs at approximately 3-4 years of age. The average life expectancy of pike perch is 13-17 years.

The largest freshwater fish. The biggest pike perch

Looking through various sites, I was never able to find what the largest officially registered pike perch was caught by fishermen. Therefore, for myself, I can consider it the largest pike perch caught by my fishermen friends on the Volga.

On September 26, 2012, a pike perch weighing 13 kilograms 200 grams was taken on a homemade mandula. After weighing and gutting, they found 300 grams of bersh in the belly. I don’t know how to calculate the weight of the record - with or without bersh.

In the photo, Alexander Mikhalych is the one who caught the fish. A fisherman I know who helped him pull out said that the pike perch didn’t fit into the net and I had to drag it into the boat with my bare hands, putting my finger in my mouth. Naturally, the pike perch closed its mouth and bit its finger, but at that moment the main task was not to miss the prey...

photo source https://forum.tatfish.com/

Natural enemies of pike perch

Photo: Zander fish

In its natural habitat, pike perch has quite a lot of enemies. Moreover, larger and faster marine predators are not averse to feasting on not only adults, but also fry and even caviar. In addition, in regions of natural habitat where there is insufficient food supply, the main food competitors of the predator can be safely called the top gazer and the aukhu.

It is worth noting that in most regions where pike perch lives, it is not in great danger and its numbers do not suffer from the fishing industry or from attacks by natural enemies. This is facilitated by the fact that fish stay in schools, which increases the chances of survival.

Enemies of pike perch in the wild:

• pike;
• catfish;
• large-breed perch;
• Ottoman;
• acne.

The majority of the above enemies pose a danger exclusively to young individuals or to clutches of eggs. Aquatic insects, mollusks, and crustaceans can also feed on caviar. The masonry is destroyed during water storms and sudden changes in climatic conditions. It is worth noting that the enemies of the predator include man and his activities. It poses a danger to fish numbers not only as a fisherman, but also as a destroyer of aquatic flora and fauna. Human activities pollute water sources and lead to the death of many marine life.

Population and species status

Photo: Pike perch in the lake

Researchers have identified several populations. One of them is the sedentary pike perch, which lives mainly in one territory. It tends to leave its usual habitats only in case of water pollution. In this case, the fish travels far, many tens and sometimes hundreds of kilometers.

Another population of predators is the migratory pike perch. It lives in reservoirs, estuaries and other freshwater bodies. With the onset of spring, this population of predators moves upstream to spawn. Migration can occur over several tens or even hundreds of kilometers. Afterwards it returns again to its usual and favorite places.

Today, the number of fish in some regions is rapidly declining. We are talking mainly about marine species of pike perch. The reasons for the decline in its numbers are water pollution, poaching on a particularly large scale, as well as a sharp change in climatic conditions in some regions. The presence of fish of this type indicates the true natural purity of the reservoir.

Methods of feeding and posting baits

I didn’t notice a constant preference for any bait by pike perch. I just have a certain set, and periodically I change baits when casting. It happens that vibrotails, which were in favor for two days, suddenly cease to cause any reaction from predators on the third. And slugs come first. Why this happens, I don’t know. So you shouldn’t rack your brains, but continue to use baits that catch fish here and now.

Read! River fishing for chub and perch using a drop shot

Of the most successful and effective retrieves, I will note one in which the bait moves from the place where it falls to the bottom to the boat along the shortest trajectory towards the current. A small angle to the right and left of this line will level out the flow. Before anchoring the boat, choose a place for such wiring. If there are trophy pike perch on the bottom near the selected tree, then the appearance of a potential victim will most likely provoke one of them. The second advantage of this type of fishing is the frequent bites when fishing vertically, which is typical only for pike perch. Demolition wiring is good, but since snagged areas are being explored, numerous snags are inevitable.

It should be remembered that the number of trophy fish in reservoirs is small, so bites are rare. In order to catch trophy fish, you need to protect water bodies and the fish in them. Otherwise, you will have to come to terms with the fact that there will be no such fish in the reservoir.