Pickwick Lake (Help with Fish ID), 11/24

[TritonCarl]

Got out today with a friend of mine that was home from college. We fished for about 3 hours this afternoon after hunting this morning!! Overall it was pretty slow, if not for TRASH fish we would have got skunked. I caught about a 10 lb drum on a finesse worm....I just KNEW that it was a smallmouth. And my friend caught a mystery fish, as neither one of us had caught one like it before. I am attaching a few pictures of it, if yall could help us out. I hope we didn't throw back a new world record or something, but it bit the fire out of a chatterbait. Thanks for help. carl

 

[Guest]

Possibly a chain pickerel or a northern pike. I can't quite see the details on it. Maybe a small muskie???

 

[minner]

chain pickerel

 

[flip1up]

Looks like a muskie to me.

 

[jon the fisherman]

Chain pickeral, also called jack fish down south. They are in the pike family

 

[DACHEEK]

Definately a chain Pickeral!

 

[Liveliner]

Looks more like a small Muskie to me,

 

[jon the fisherman]

Muskies are more silver and gold, and pickerals are more green

 

[fishinvol]

yea,it's a pickeral. Muskie are brownish/goldish.

 

[TritonCarl]

I updated the pictures and made them a little bigger, so yall could see more details. I've never caught a musky, but it didn't look like the musky I had seen on tv.....I guess I'll assume its a chain pickeral! Thanks for the help. carl

 

[SNUFFY]

LOOKS LIKE A NORTHERN PIKE TO ME ....CAUGHT A FEW ON MELTON HILL YEARS AGO....TWRA STOCKED A FEW BACK IN THE 70-80S ??....FLAT TEAR UP A SPINNERBAIT ....THAT`S ABOUT THE SAME SIZE TOO....

 

[shsimons]

That does not look like a northern pike to me. Definitely not a muskey either. Probably a pickerel like some other guys said.

 

[MadBomber]

My vote goes to the pickerel!!

 

[flip1up]

I looked at a bunch of pics. The Muskie has lines than run more verticle than this fish. The Northern Pike has markings that look more like oblong spots. This one does look like the pics. of the Chain Pickerel. Snuffy, years ago I also caught a couple of Pike in the Solway area of Melton Hill, the ones I caught were only about 18-20" long. Do they stock them still?

 

[jon the fisherman]

They do not stock them anymore, they now stock lots of muskie in Melton hill

 

[Bprice]

Carl,

You always think those big drums are huge smallmouth! Keep on pluggin' buddy, them smallies run with the drum at times.

 

[HangnMoss]

That's definitely a chain pickerel because of the 'chain' patterns on the side, the rounded fins and tail, and the dark 'tear' under the eye.

Former yankee fisherman here. I knows my pikes and perches, cause the bass are bait up there.

 

[rsimms]

chain pickeral... cool fish!

 

[RattleTrapper]

definately a chain pickeral, not a bad one either!

 

[BeeBasser]

I know I'm a little late on this one, However I agree, it is a Chain Pickeral. I catch a lot of them in Florida. They will hit anything that a Bass will, are pretty good fighters if you can keep them from cutting your line. Watch out for the teeth. Sharp and a lot of them. This is a fish you don't want to thumb lift.emoConfused emoConfused