Often dubbed the ‘freshwater shark’, these voracious hunters are highly-prized delicacies on the Continent, but almost completely absent from British menus . . .
This is a pity because they are both abundant in our waters and most anglers loathe them, so even if one doesn’t fish oneself, asking around the local angling association can often yield results. These living torpedoes are blamed for depleting coarse fish stocks and over the years the predators have been linked to attacks on ducks, dogs – even humans. As a result, they are still branded ‘public enemy number one’ on many fisheries and ruthlessly persecuted.
In reality, however, their role in the river is much more ambivalent. Without doubt they are superb hunters, taking large numbers of coarse fish (particularly roach) and certainly they are not averse to the occasional frog, mouse or even duckling. That said, however, attacks on dogs or even children are at best incredibly rare, but are more usually mythical.
The reality is that they have been a perfectly natural part of our freshwater ecosystems since the last Ice Age. Within river or lake they are a top predator and just as wolves help keep reindeer herds healthy by picking off weaklings, so pike ‘weed’ the fish around them, leaving more food for the fittest. This allows the survivors to grow bigger and have greater breeding success. As with all food pyramids, those at the top depend on a broad base – if a pike were to eat too many of the small fish on its patch, then either it or its offspring would starve.
Pike are also not averse to cannibalism and their greatest natural enemy is their own kind (these make up 20% of their diet). Bigger pike are slower and concentrate mainly on diseased and dying fish, boosted by their smaller siblings which are targeted both for food and to defend their territory. Indeed, many of the victims are unsuccessful suitors during the spring breeding season when the females are shadowed by the smaller males (jacks). When she starts to shed her eggs, these swim perilously close to her nose, releasing milt to drift back towards her vent. Unfortunately for the males, all too often this behaviour triggers a hunting response – with fatal consequences reminiscent of spider mating behaviour.
Thus if man upsets the balance by removing big specimens, the number of smaller pike can rocket. These are more agile and so in turn eat a disproportionate number of young course fish, upsetting the river’s natural balance.
But as long as anglers continue to control their numbers – or to hunt down trophy specimens which can top 20kg – with luck even non-anglers may be able to track down what should be a prized delicacy. In common with most carnivorous fish, they have a fine meaty flesh that is faintly reminiscent of their marine equivalent of swordfish or even shark.
