# Chain pickerel

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{{short description|Species of freshwater fish}}
{{speciesbox
| name          = Chain pickerel
| image         = FMIB 43021 Pickerel (Lucius reticulatus Le Sueur) From a Pond in Massachusetts.jpeg
| image_caption = Illustration of ''Esox niger''.
| image_upright = 1.1
| status        = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref    = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=NatureServe |date=2013 |title=''Esox niger'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T202402A15363088 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202402A15363088.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus         = Esox
| species       = niger
| authority     = [Lesueur](/source/Charles_Alexandre_Lesueur), 1818<ref>{{ITIS |id=162143 |taxon=Esox niger |access-date=5 December 2004}}</ref>
| synonyms      = ''Esox reticulatus'' (Lesueur, 1818)
| synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |website=FishBase|title=Synonyms of ''Esox niger''|author=dsantos|date=5 August 2014|url=https://www.fishbase.se/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=2712&SynCode=29963&GenusName=Esox&SpeciesName=niger|access-date=20 January 2023}}</ref>
}}
The '''chain pickerel''' ('''''Esox niger''''') is a [species](/source/species) of [freshwater fish](/source/freshwater_fish) in the pike [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) (family [Esocidae](/source/Esocidae)) of [order](/source/order_(biology)) [Esociformes](/source/Esociformes).<ref>{{FishBase_species|genus=Esox|species=niger|year=2004|month=October}}</ref> The chain pickerel and the [American pickerel](/source/American_pickerel) (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' [genus](/source/genus) of pike.<ref name=range/>

==Taxonomy==
French naturalist [Charles Alexandre Lesueur](/source/Charles_Alexandre_Lesueur) described the chain pickerel in 1818. Its species name is the [Latin](/source/Latin) word ''niger'' "black".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dniger1 |title=nĭger |encyclopedia=A Latin Dictionary|last1=Lewis|first1=Charlton T.|last2=Short|first2=Charles|access-date=10 December 2022|year=1879|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|via=[Perseus Digital Library](/source/Perseus_Digital_Library)}}</ref>

Nicknames include the "southern pike", "grass pike", "jack", "jackfish", "gunny" and "eastern pickerel". In central Florida the chain pickerel is known locally as "Gatorfish" <ref name="fuller">{{cite web |url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=681|title=''Esox niger'' (Chain Pickerel)|website=Nonindigenous Aquatic Species|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|last1=Fuller|first1=P.|last2=Larson|first2=J.|last3=Makled|first3=T.H.|last4=Lower|first4=E.|last5=Fusaro|first5=A.|date=12 September 2019|orig-date=Peer reviewed 30 January 2015|access-date=20 January 2023}}</ref>

==Description==
The chain pickerel has a distinctive, dark, chain-like pattern on its greenish sides. There is a vertical dark marking underneath the eye, which helps to distinguish the chain pickerel from [redfin pickerel](/source/redfin_pickerel) (''Esox americanus americanus'') and [grass pickerel](/source/grass_pickerel) (''E. americanus vermiculatus''), in which the mark curves posteriorly.<ref name="Kirk">{{cite web |last=Kirk|first=Jacob|title=Chain Pickerel (''Esox niger'')|url=https://www.cfr.msstate.edu/wildlife/fisheries/?a=detail&id=70&info=|publisher=Mississippi State University|website=Fishes of Mississippi|access-date=11 December 2022|date=11 December 2022}}</ref>  Its body outline resembles that of the [northern pike](/source/northern_pike) (''E. lucius''). Unlike northern pike, however, the [opercle](/source/opercle)s and cheeks of chain pickerel are entirely scaled.<ref name=range/>  It may reach up to {{convert|78.7|cm|in}} long only on rare occasions.<ref name="Kirk"/>  The average size for chain pickerel, however, is 24&nbsp;in (61 cm) and 3&nbsp;lb (1 1/2 kg). (The average chain pickerel caught by fishermen is under 2&nbsp;lb).  It lives around 8 yr. In some places{{where|date=December 2022}} the pickerel is known as a "gunfish", "gunny" or "slime dart",{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} due to its characteristic slime coating.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/sports/columnists/2014/05/19/outdoors-time-target-pickerel/9312245/|title=Outdoors: It's time to target pickerel|access-date=10 December 2022|last=Sapir|first=Glenn|date=19 May 2014|website=lohud.}}</ref>

A blue color morph lacking the usual reticulated pattern has been described in a [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) population.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Menzel|first1=Bruce W.|last2=Green Jr.|first2=David M.|title=A Color Mutant of the Chain Pickerel, ''Esox niger'' LeSueur|journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society|doi=10.1577/1548-8659(1972)101<370:ACMOTC>2.0.CO;2|pages=370–372|volume=101|issue=2|year=1972}}</ref>

==Distribution==
thumb|right|Chain pickerel's range. The species is considered invasive in some northern regions, like Nova Scotia. Its range is along the eastern coast of North America from southern [Canada](/source/Canada) to [Florida](/source/Florida), and west to [Texas](/source/Texas). In the [New England](/source/New_England), the species occurs in [Maine](/source/Maine) and [New Hampshire](/source/New_Hampshire). The fish inhabits [fresh](/source/fresh_water) and [brackish water](/source/brackish_water) from the [Mississippi Valley](/source/Mississippi_Valley). It also is commonly found in [Lake Michigan](/source/Lake_Michigan) and the lower portion of the [Great Lakes](/source/Great_Lakes).<ref name=range>''Pike, Pickerel and Muskalonge'', Alfred C. Weed, [Zoology](/source/Zoology) Leaflet 9, Field Museum of Natural History, [Chicago, Illinois](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois), 1927, pg. 19.</ref>  In the [Canadian Maritimes](/source/Canadian_Maritimes), chain pickerel is known from [New Brunswick](/source/New_Brunswick) and [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia). 

Chain pickerel is considered an [invasive species](/source/invasive_species) in Nova Scotia, where [native](/source/native_species) fish stocks have been severely impacted by the effects of its introduction, primarily through its role as a voracious [predator](/source/predator).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nsinvasives.ca/chain-pickerel/|title = Chain Pickerel - Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council|date = 2025-05-15}}</ref> Historical [angling](/source/angling) destinations in the province's mainland, like [Kejimkujik National Park](/source/Kejimkujik_National_Park), have been heavily impacted by the illegal introduction of this fish to the area.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-03-24 |title=Fishing |url=https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ns/kejimkujik/activ/peche-fishing |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=parks.canada.ca}}</ref>

==Habitat==
Chain pickerel live in a variety of habitats, including pools within creeks or rivers,<ref name="fuller"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/fish/chain-pickerel/|title=Chain Pickerel|website=Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources|access-date=10 December 2022|year=2022}}</ref> lakes with vegetation cover, [swamp](/source/swamp)s<ref name="fuller"/> and other [wetland](/source/wetland)s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/chain-pickerel|title=Chain Pickerel|website=Chesapeake Bay Program|access-date=10 December 2022|year=2022}}</ref>  Chain pickerel are tolerant of [brackish water](/source/brackish_water) with salinity levels of up to 22 ppt.<ref name="fuller"/>  They are also acid tolerant to a [pH](/source/pH) of 3.8.<ref name="fuller"/>

==Diet==
thumb|right|The roof of a chain pickerel's mouth, showing several rows of angled, sharp teeth.
Like the northern pike, the chain pickerel feeds primarily on smaller fish, until it grows large enough to ambush large fish from cover with a rapid lunge and to secure it with its sharp teeth. Chain pickerel are also known to eat frogs, snakes, worms, mice, other small mammals, crayfish, other small crustaceans, insects, and a wide variety of other foods.<ref name=ADorg>{{cite web |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Esox_niger/ |title = ''Esox niger'' Pickerel|website=Animal Diversity Web|last=Shelburne|first=Jacob|archive-date=8 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008020620/https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Esox_niger/|url-status=live|editor-last1=Powers|editor-first1=Karen|editor-last2=Atwood|editor-first2=Alex|editor-last3=Dameron|editor-first3=Marisa|editor-last4=Hammond|editor-first4=George|year=2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sternberg|first=Dick|title=Freshwater Gamefish of North America|year=1987|publisher=Cy DeCosse Incorporated|isbn=0-86573-023-7}}</ref> It is not unusual for pickerel to leap out of the water at flying insects, or even at dangling fishing lures.{{Cn|date=February 2021}} Raney (1942) studied chain pickerel in a New York pond and found that [golden shiner](/source/golden_shiner)s were found in the stomachs of 47.3% of the 234 chain pickerel examined. [Brown bullhead](/source/Brown_bullhead)s were found in 13.8%, and [pumpkinseed](/source/pumpkinseed) sunfish were found in 13.2%. Crayfish of the genus ''[Cambarus](/source/Cambarus)'' were present in 42% of the chain pickerel.<ref name=ADorg /><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Summer Food and Habits of the Chain Pickerel (''Esox niger'') of a Small New York Pond|last=Raney|first=Edward C.|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=6|issue=1|year=1942|pages=58–66|jstor=3795522|doi=10.2307/3795522}}</ref>

==Reproduction==
Spawning occurs in flooded vegetation at the end of winter or beginning of spring<ref name="Kirk"/><ref name="ADorg"/> when the water temperature is between {{convert|2|-|22|C|F}}.<ref name="ADorg"/>  A secondary fall spawning has been reported in [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania).<ref name="Ross">{{cite book|last=Ross|first=Stephen T.|title=Inland Fishes of Mississippi|year=2001|publisher=Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks|isbn=1-57806-246-2|pages=336–338}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Miller|first=Jack G.|year=1962|journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society|volume=91|issue=3|page=323|doi=10.1577/1548-8659(1962)91[323:OORCPI]2.0.CO;2|title=Occurrence of Ripe Chain Pickerel in the Fall}}</ref>  Fertilization is external and eggs and sperm are mixed by the adults' tail movements.<ref name="Ross"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Armbruster|first=Daniel C.|title=Observations on the Natural History of the Chain Pickerel (''Esox niger'')|journal=The Ohio Journal of Science|volume=59|issue=1|pages=55–58|year=1959|hdl=1811/4599 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/1811/4599|access-date=11 December 2022|issn=0030-0950}}</ref>  Up to 50,000 eggs may be released by the female.<ref name="ADorg"/>  No parental care is provided, and the eggs hatch between six and twelve days after they are laid.<ref name="Ross"/>  The fry possess adhesive glands on their snouts that they use to attach to vegetation.<ref name="Ross"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Underhill|first=A.H.|title=Studies on the Development, Growth and Maturity of the Chain Pickerel, ''Esox niger'' Lesueur|journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management|volume=13|issue=4|year=1949|pages=377–391|doi=10.2307/3795630|jstor=3795630}}</ref>  It takes six to eight days for the fry to absorb their [yolk](/source/yolk) sac, at which point they begin to actively hunt.<ref name="ADorg"/>

==Angling==
The chain pickerel is a popular [sport fish](/source/Angling). It is an energetic fighter when hooked. Anglers have success with live [minnow](/source/minnow)s, [spinnerbait](/source/spinnerbait)s, [spoon](/source/spoon_lure)s, [topwater lures](/source/Topwater_fishing_lure), [plugs](/source/Plug_(fishing)), and [flies](/source/Artificial_fly), usually tied with some kind of [feather](/source/feather) or [bucktail](/source/fur) material.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pickerel Fishing Tips |url=https://www.riversearch.com/site/how-to-catch-pickerel-fishing-tips.html |website=Riversearch |date=14 March 2020 |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref>  If the angler intends to release a fish, it is advisable use pliers to flatten the barbs on the lure's hooks. Chain pickerel can swallow an entire lure, so it will be much easier to free a deeply hooked fish and get it back into the water as soon as possible.{{Cn|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Chain pickerel - Cranston RI.jpg|thumb|A chain pickerel caught from [Dyer Pond](/source/Dyer_Pond) in [Cranston, Rhode Island](/source/Cranston%2C_Rhode_Island)]]

Practically any bass lure can be effective for pickerel, although like most pike, they seem to be particularly susceptible to flashy lures which imitate small [forage fish](/source/forage_fish). Dragging a plastic worm, lizard, frog, or other soft imitation can also be extremely effective.  A [Texas rig](/source/Texas_rig) method is recommended with these soft baits for productive fishing in the weeds.{{Cn|date=February 2021}}

A steel leader is necessary for sharp-toothed and active fish at two to three pounds. The angler would also do well to use 12- to 17-lb-test line on an open-faced spinning reel.  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. Chain pickerel are voracious and opportunistic feeders, and will attack most any fodder that moves into their range of vision.{{Cn|date=February 2021}}

The [International Game Fish Association](/source/International_Game_Fish_Association) (IGFA) all-tackle world record chain pickerel is a {{convert|4.25|kg|lb|abbr=on}} fish, caught in [Homerville, Georgia](/source/Homerville%2C_Georgia) on February 17, 1961 by angler Baxley McQuaig, Jr., while the IGFA all-tackle length world record is {{convert|65|cm|in}} long, caught in [Henderson Harbor](/source/Henderson_Harbor), [Lake Ontario](/source/Lake_Ontario), New York on November 4, 2019 by angler Burnie Haney.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://igfa.org/igfa-world-records-search/?search_type=CommonName&search_term_1=Pickerel,%20chain|title=Pickerel, chain (''Esox niger'')|website=International Game Fish Association|access-date=11 December 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies}}
*[https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/greatLakes/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=681&Potential=N&Type=0&HUCNumber=DGreatLakes GLANSIS Species FactSheet]
{{Commons category|position=left}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q93596}}

Chain pickerel
Category:Fish of the Eastern United States
Category:Fish of the Great Lakes
Category:Fauna of the Northeastern United States
Category:Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States
Chain pickerel
Chain pickerel
Category:Freshwater fish of North America

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chain pickerel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_pickerel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_pickerel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.