Sleek, powerful, awe-inspiring and unmistakable; the pike is the top line predator in most European fisheries and has been caught to weights approaching 70Ib (31.8kg) in Europe.

Pike lead solitary lives, waiting patiently and well camouflaged in snags, weeds or reeds waiting for an unsuspecting fish to come just that little bit too close. They are built for sudden surges of speed, with the dorsal and anal fins set well back near the tail, enabling the fish to propel itself from it's ambush site with frightening speed.

Prey fish are taken side on, and once grabbed in the jaws, the fish has virtually no chance of escape as the upper part of a pike's mouth is lined with countless tiny, backward-pointing teeth. The pike simply manouvers  the fish around before swallowing it head first.

Pike can swallow alarmingly large fish too, as their jaw is very flexible, allowing fish up to half that of the pikes weight to be swallowed whole. Indeed, there are several documented cases of pike choking to death after attempting to eat another pike of almost the same size as themselves.

Young 'Jack' pike up to about 12Ib in weight are fast and agile and able to take live prey fish with ease. However, bigger pike (all females) have more bulk to propel and will often turn to scavenging. They take dead, dying or diseased fish and so fulfill a vital role in maintaining a healthy fishery.