Grass Pickerel
(Esox americanus vermiculatus)
Status: Special Concern (ESA 2008, COSEWIC 2005)
Species Identification:
The Grass Pickerel is a member of the Pike family, and is often confused with a juvenile Northern Pike. They are relatively small for a Pike, adults are generally less than 30 cm long. They have a long, tube-like body with an elongated snout and forked tail. Their colouring varies, but it is generally pale to dark green with dark wavy bars along their sides. Their fins are a yellow-green, and adults will have a vertical dark bar below their eyes. Females will grow slightly larger than males.
Diet:
Grass Pickerel will feed on a wide variety of invertebrates and aquatic insects, as well as smaller fish and occasionally frogs and tadpoles. Their fins are further back on their body to allow them to move faster through the water to catch their prey. This species will hunt by sight, stalking or ambushing prey. Adults will generally feed on fish species, while juveniles focus more on insects.
Habitat and Range:
The Grass Pickerel’s range is restricted to North America, from as far south as Texas and Mississippi, north up to Minnesota and Nebraska and east to southern Ontario and Quebec. Populations have also been introduced in western New York, Maryland, western Pennsylvania, Washington, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. In Ontario, Grass Pickerel can be found in the Great Lakes tributaries of Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, the Niagara River, the Severn River system, and the St. Lawrence River. They can be found within The Land Between in the Severn River system from Peterborough to Georgian Bay.
Grass Pickerel prefer wetland habitats off lakes, rivers, and ponds with shallow (<2m) clear to tea-coloured water, very little flow, and plenty of vegetation. Grass Pickerel need abundant to dense vegetation with floating, submerged, and emergent species. Grass Pickerel habitat is very similar to that of the Northern Pike and Muskellunge.
Biology and Behaviour:
Grass Pickerel will start spawning in the spring when vegetation begins to grow. They will spawn in areas along the edges of thick vegetation close to shore, generally upstream in temporarily flooded marshes. They will reach sexual maturity in their first year in the southern United States, and their second year in Canada and northern states. Eggs will attach to vegetation and require no nest or parental care. The female will lay her eggs and males will follow to fertilize them. They will hatch in 11-15 days, and travel downstream to feed. Grass Pickerel will sometimes also spawn in late spring or early winter, where eggs will overwinter and hatch in the spring. Grass Pickerel have been known to hybridize with Redfin Pickerel, Chain Pickerel, and Northern Pike, but the offspring generally do not live very long. Grass Pickerel are considered a top predator, but may be eaten by larger fish or birds.
Similar Species:
- The Grass Pickerel looks very similar to the Juvenile Northern Pike and Juvenile Muskie. However, the Grass Pickerel has a thicker body, slightly different barring along their sides, and are slightly lighter in colour
- They are also similar to the Redfin Pickerel, but they have a longer and more narrow snout, as well as lighter fin colouring
Conservation and recovery strategies:
Since the Grass Pickerel is only listed as Special Concern, no direct conservation or recovery strategies are currently in place. However, in Ontario these Acts are indirectly helping the Grass Pickerel and their habitat: Lakes and Rivers Improvements Act, Environmental Assessment Planning Act, Ontario Water Resources Act, Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Federal Fisheries Act, Navigable Waters Protection Act, Conservation Authorities Act, Public Lands Act, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. Because they are a wetland species, their habitat may also be protected to a certain extent if other Species at Risk are found there, or the wetland is considered Provincially Significant. In Quebec, Grass Pickerel are not allowed to be caught and used for bait, and they are not allowed to be commercially caught.
Additional Resources:
Sources:
Government of Ontario. 2014. Grass Pickerel. Retrieved from: https://www.ontario.ca/page/grass-pickerel
COSEWIC 2005. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the grass pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 27 pp. https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_grass_pickerel_e.pdf
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