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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Is this a silver pike?
 
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Jaymon
07/09/2015 06:29PM
 
This was an interesting thread with a good discussion going on. Sure didn't seem like an argument to me. Go figure.


I hadn't heard of the silver pike.
 
Moss Tent
07/09/2015 07:22PM
 
A bit off-topic, but has anyone here ever caught a grass, chain, or redfin pickerel?
 
Pinetree
07/09/2015 07:29PM
 
quote Moss Tent: "A bit off-topic, but has anyone here ever caught a grass, chain, or redfin pickerel?"


Not in Minnesota,at least they not suppose to be here.
 
mc2mens
07/09/2015 08:46PM
 
quote warhawk: "Who cares? We all know what it meant from the original post.. Useless argument. Is Koda back?"


Kind of a low blow to equate thebotanyguy with Koda.
 
Jaymon
07/10/2015 05:03PM
 
quote Pinetree: "quote Moss Tent: "A bit off-topic, but has anyone here ever caught a grass, chain, or redfin pickerel?"



Not in Minnesota,at least they not suppose to be here."



I've caught chain pickerel up to four pounds here in Tennessee.
 
warhawk
07/10/2015 09:04PM
 
Just to clarify I wasn't referring to botanyguy. And I I let it go. Enjoy the discussion.
 
yogi59weedr
07/13/2015 12:31AM
 
Oops ....or not
 
tyh
07/08/2015 09:34AM
 

I caught it last week in Northwest Ontario.
 
shock
07/08/2015 10:13AM
 
in minnesota they (DNR) declassified it as a species and considers it just a color strain. but it does have a silver look with a blue/purple hue towards the head/cheecks
 
Doughboy12
07/08/2015 10:16AM
 
Yes...but some claim it to just be a color phase. I don't adhere to this claim otherwise I would think all pike would go through this from time to time...???
 
warhawk
07/08/2015 10:22AM
 
Hard to tell from the pic. You can catch them in Snowbank Lake.
 
Doughboy12
07/08/2015 10:23AM
 
This one is a bit larger but a good read.
 
Pinetree
07/08/2015 11:39AM
 
quote Doughboy12: "Yes...but some claim it to just be a color phase. I don't adhere to this claim otherwise I would think all pike would go through this from time to time...???"


not necessarily many animals or fish maybe a color phase may mean just a recessive gene combination like black squirrels and gray and gray genetic makeup is dominant condition usually, and also environmental conditions can make fish show a different outer color.
Look at walleye in a bog stained lake,they are usually very yellow on the bottom.
 
MagicStik
07/08/2015 01:25PM
 
quote tyh: "
I caught it last week in Northwest Ontario. "



Yup...that is a silver phase pike.


Magic
 
Basspro69
07/08/2015 04:06PM
 
quote MagicStik: "quote tyh: "
I caught it last week in Northwest Ontario. "




Yup...that is a silver phase pike.



Magic"
+1
 
Jeriatric
07/08/2015 04:09PM
 
quote MagicStik: " "
Starving salmon
 
Doughboy12
07/08/2015 04:54PM
 
Phase:
1. Any of the major appearances or aspects in which a thing of varying modes or conditions manifests itself to the eye or mind.
2. A stage in a process of change or development.


So the term phase implies changing...which I take it these don't do. They are either a silver or aren't. They don't go through a cycle from silver to standard. The color variation makes way more sense to me which also means that calling it a phase is incorrect.
 
Doughboy12
07/08/2015 01:07PM
 
quote Pinetree: "quote Doughboy12: "Yes...but some claim it to just be a color phase. I don't adhere to this claim otherwise I would think all pike would go through this from time to time...???"



not necessarily many animals or fish maybe a color phase may mean just a recessive gene combination like black squirrels and gray and gray genetic makeup is dominant condition usually, and also environmental conditions can make fish show a different outer color.
Look at walleye in a bog stained lake,they are usually very yellow on the bottom."



I meant I don't think it is a "phase" not that I don't believe it is a color variation...which I do.
 
MagicStik
07/08/2015 01:26PM
 

 
Jeriatric
07/08/2015 11:24PM
 
A short browsing of the Internet revealed that some authors call the silver pike a variant, a mutation, a strain, and, in one case, a separate species.
The name Esox goes back to Pliny who also described hops. That reminds me, I haven't had today's beer yet. Perhaps a sour beer....bye.
 
Captn Tony
07/08/2015 08:24PM
 
It's a big shiner
 
thebotanyguy
07/09/2015 11:28AM
 
quote Doughboy12: "Phase:
1. Any of the major appearances or aspects in which a thing of varying modes or conditions manifests itself to the eye or mind.
2. A stage in a process of change or development.



So the term phase implies changing...which I take it these don't do. They are either a silver or aren't. They don't go through a cycle from silver to standard. The color variation makes way more sense to me which also means that calling it a phase is incorrect."



Notwithstanding Mr. Webster's interpretation of the word "phase", it is used correctly in describing the silver pike. In fact, the two words "color phase" have the meaning that is applied in a biological sense:


color phase
noun
Definition of COLOR PHASE
1: a seasonally variant pelage color
2 a : a genetic variant manifested by the occurrence of a skin or pelage color unlike the wild type of the animal group in which it appears
b : an individual marked by such a variant


Merriam-Webster link


Definition 2 is the more commonly used definition applied by biologists.


Examples of color phases in animals is more common than one might think. Many hawks have light or dark color phases. Anyone who hunts ruffed grouse has seen the red phase or gray phase individuals. Leopard frogs have a green phase and a brown phase. Wolves have a gray phase and a black phase. These are all examples of a fixed color attributed to a genetic trait.


However, one can also use the term to denote a seasonal change in color in an individual (definition 1). We have all seen white snowshoe hares in the winter and gray hares in the summer. The same thing happens with arctic foxes and ptarmigans.

 
warhawk
07/09/2015 11:57AM
 
Who cares? We all know what it meant from the original post.. Useless argument. Is Koda back?
 
thebotanyguy
07/09/2015 12:06PM
 
quote warhawk: "Who cares? We all know what it means. Useless argument. Is Koda back?"


Please grant a bit of indulgence for those of us who care about accuracy in our field of study. You would certainly not appreciate such a dismissive response to one of your poetry posts. I, for one, would rise to your defense if there were such a post.
 
warhawk
07/09/2015 01:02PM
 
I understand your point and it is well taken. It just seems that an argument was being made where there didn't need to be one. I should have let it lay. Peace out.
 
Doughboy12
07/09/2015 01:06PM
 
quote thebotanyguy: "quote warhawk: "Who cares? We all know what it means. Useless argument. Is Koda back?"



Please grant a bit of indulgence for those of us who care about accuracy in our field of study. You would certainly not appreciate such a dismissive response to one of your poetry posts. I, for one, would rise to your defense if there were such a post."



Yes....and thank you...and I mean it.
 
Doughboy12
07/09/2015 01:20PM
 
quote Jeriatric: "quote MagicStik: " "





Starving salmon"



Since nobody else said it I will....WINNER! lol
 
mr.barley
07/10/2015 10:15PM
 
I think it's a chicken hawk
 
murphylakejim
07/11/2015 03:28PM
 
Now lets get side tracked by blue walleye (blue pike).
 
Schollmeier
07/11/2015 10:02AM
 
quote Pinetree: "quote Moss Tent: "A bit off-topic, but has anyone here ever caught a grass, chain, or redfin pickerel?"

Not in Minnesota,at least they not suppose to be here."


WI has native Grass Pickerel, including in the Mississippi River - though they are rare in WI outside a few scattered populations (mostly the WI River). It is possible MN MIGHT have small numbers of Grassies in the backwaters at the extreme SE corner of the state. This has never been verified but Grassies habits mean they can be overlooked. At best they are rare and barely present.

Next week I'm headed south, should be spending part of a day targeting Chains - which I'm excited about as I've never caught one.



 
Schollmeier
07/11/2015 10:07AM
 
And those silver colored Pike are cool looking!
 
yogi59weedr
07/11/2015 09:39PM
 
Everything aside. Did it taste good.