Is this a pike?

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

A friend of mine caught this fish. Is it just a normal pike? His friends are saying it is a pickerel, but the spotting seems off.

Thanks for your help.

[leech~~]

It's a rare Wellispike!

[OnAFly]

Yes, with a bad case of neascus.

[20lbSloughShark]

Just for future reference northern pike have less than 5 pores on their lower jaw, muskies have 6-9 (but usually 7), and pickerel usually have 8.

[Nick Kuhn]

Yes, with a bad case of neascus.

Yep, I caught one like that before. I knew it was a pike, but I didn't know what neascus was so I asked the DNR what was wrong with it. They replied rather promptly and said it wasn't a big deal.

[minky]

So still good to eat?

Otherwise the fish looked healthy.

[20lbSloughShark]

I've never got a pike that had it that bad, but I've eaten plenty of perch like that.

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

Thanks for the responses guys. Never seen a fish with this bad of neascus.

[leech~~]

I don't think it is Neascus at all. It just looks like a abnormal pigment mutation because it is so even across the whole body!

[Mike_Bennewitz]

Looks like a Walleyed Pike! No really though, I noticed the pattern and thought "whoa! a Northern Pike with Walleye markings!"

[ThunderLund78]

Definitely not Neascus, but a very unique color mutation. Cool fish!

[leech~~]

Definitely not Neascus, but a very unique color mutation. Cool fish!

Is there an echo in this thread? Read three up!

[CANOPY SAM]

Actually I think it is Neascus. You can even see some of the parasites on the pike's fins. Poor little guy musta just been laying in the shallows right in a hatching nest of these little parasitic buggers.

And relax Leech. The world will keep turning if someone else says the same thing you do here. That's called a Democracy.

[20lbSloughShark]

Just for reference, here is a pike with neascus. Its the worst I've seen on one besides the OP's. Usually its panfish that get it the worst it seems.

The fact that the OP's fish has weird light colored sides kind of makes me think it is just a skin mutation.

[Nick Kuhn]

Here is a picture of the one I caught, and the DNR response saying it was neascus.

Quote:

Benike, Heath M - DNR <[email protected]>

9/29/10

Looks like your pike has blackspot. You will see it mostly in panfish, but it will affect pike at times and I have even seen it in brook trout. Nothing to worry about.

[ThunderLund78]

Not going to say the DNR is wrong, they know more than I do. But I've caught some fish with horrible neascus before and they looked nothing like this. Neascus looks like poppy seeds. These fish just look like they have freckles. Maybe they can get it so bad that it affects them differently.

[CForar]

Wow that's crazy! It looks more like a mutation rather than neascus. But what do I know.. Those are beautiful pike though. Has anyone ever caught a silver phase pike? I caught one a few years ago that was nearly all silver!

[pikerliker]

Not going to say the DNR is wrong, they know more than I do. But I've caught some fish with horrible neascus before and they looked nothing like this. Neascus looks like poppy seeds. These fish just look like they have freckles. Maybe they can get it so bad that it affects them differently.

I agree with you Thunder. It looks like a color pattern to me and I have seen fish with Neascus. I don't think this pike looks like that. Now the 2nd pike further down the thread looks more like Neascus to me, but the 2 fish don't look the same to me. My 2 cents...