Pike

Names in dialect: luz, luzo.

Pike have a yellowish green body with dark spots or vermiculations. They have a large pointed head, an enormous mouth and a large number of strong, sharp teeth. The dorsal fin is inserted into the rear of the body, opposite the anal fin. In favourable conditions pike can reach 130 cm in length and over 20 kg in weight.
Pike prefer still or slow flowing waters containing plenty of vegetation, with sandy or muddy beds. They live in valley lakes, ponds, springs, drainage canals and in areas in rivers – now rare – where the current is reduced, such as oxbows, dead end stretches and reed beds along river banks. Right from the first few weeks of life, when they start to eat fish (including their own species), pike behave as solitary, territorial predators. They spend most of their time motionless hidden amongst the vegetation, then suddenly attack prey not much smaller than themselves. Larger specimens also devour marine birds and small mammals.
Pike spawn in March and April. The female deposits a few dozen eggs, which stick to the underwater plant life. The fry, which hatch after one week, remain attached to the vegetation for a few more days until the yolk sac has been reabsorbed.
The reduction of areas occupied by reed beds and the fact that aquatic plant life is becoming rarer due to artificial fluctuations in water level or bathing, have led to pike becoming rare in many lakes. The same applies to rivers, following the construction of artificial riverbeds, the elimination of oxbows and the disappearance of the fountains and marshland used by pike to breed. On Lake Garda, pike fishing has gone from tens of tonnes a year in the 1950s to a few tonnes today.
The voracity of pike has often been exaggerated; in reality, this predator performs a beneficial function of balancing the fish fauna it feeds on. The flesh is good to eat but has a lot of bones.