Tidal Passaic Pike/Pickerel Hybrid?

[Skunk City]

Was in the area of one of my tidal Passaic spots with the kayak on the roof, so I fished for a bit until dark. Action was hot off the bat, with a nice Pike hitting my spinnerbait on the first cast. Measured at 32" and rough photograph due to me having a brainfart and leaving my GoPro at home. Ended up with 4 Pike and one of the weirdest fish I've ever landed. Fish was about 22" long and fairly skinny. Based on the top half of his side looking Pike-ish and the bottom looking chainy like a Pickerel, I believe it was the infamous Pike-erel making an appearance. The fish also had a pretty poorly deformed upper jaw which you can also see from the pictures. Thoughts?
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/20120825_171514.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/20120825_170335.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/20120825_170319.jpg
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h252/QuikSilverSRT4/20120825_170329.jpg

[tycomps]

fugly mutation! nice pike though :D

[Gatto1227]

wtf lol def looks pickerelish but that thing is messed up. still has no problem eating tho i guess

[saxmatt]

That's one weird looking pike. Looks like he likes to headbutt rocks. I'm pretty sure it's not a hybrid though. Some juvenile pike have horizontal or vertical bars that break up into spots as they mature. Sometimes the spots stay in straight lines.

[iceehot6766]

That is a weird looking pickeral....Looks like he went a few round with Mike Tyson and got his nose broken....Either way, nice day out!!!

[tycomps]

definitely a pike (no vertical line down from the eye), remember there have been tons of chemicals dumped into the passaic so any abhorration of nature is possible. Personally I'd like to see Smike's (smallmouths the size of pike), Tarp's (trout the size of carp), and Basskellunge (bass the size of muskies)!

[NorthJerzyG]

Nice fish, well, the first one anyway, lol.

Wonder if maybe that one had been caught recently and maybe picked up some kind of infection? Looks too "bloody" to just be a deformity. Surprised to see it still eating for sure.

[saxmatt]

Looks like the left eye is missing and there is some scarring around the head. Probably got grabbed by a bigger pike or a bird.

[bulletbob]

Pike/Pickerel hybrids occur naturally, and have been well documented. They are caught and identified with some regularity.

[saxmatt]

Pike/Pickerel hybrids occur naturally, and have been well documented. They are caught and identified with some regularity.

Hybrids are pretty rare. Most of the pictures of pike/pickerel hybrids on the internet aren't actually hybrids. I used to work for the fisheries division of the CT DEP and have probably sampled over 10,000 fish and can only remember a few examples of hybrids, mostly in the sunfish family, and 1 natural tiger trout. Pike can have vertical bars, or chains like pickerel, but that doesn't mean they are hybrids. They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes just like people. The reason I don't think this is a hybrid is because the color is wrong and the spot pattern is wrong. Pike/pickerel hybrids are usually an emerald green color and have very small spots arranged in vertical lines. Here is a picture of a pike, pickerel, and hybrid that was confirmed through genetic testing by the VT DEP. The second pic is of an adult pure strain pike with vertical barring. The vertical barring can be more pronounced in young pike and breaks apart as they mature, these are often mistaken for hybrids.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x324/dmamooney/pikepickerel.jpg

http://www.guideline.no/filestore/Tips_og_Triks/Matt_Hayes_Pikefishing/Matt4.jpg

[tycomps]

wow, that's a gorgeous pic, who's ever it is I hope it's hangin on their wall!

[bulletbob]

Hybrids are pretty rare. Most of the pictures of pike/pickerel hybrids on the internet aren't actually hybrids. I used to work for the fisheries division of the CT DEP and have probably sampled over 10,000 fish and can only remember a few examples of hybrids, mostly in the sunfish family, and 1 natural tiger trout. Pike can have vertical bars, or chains like pickerel, but that doesn't mean they are hybrids. They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes just like people. The reason I don't think this is a hybrid is because the color is wrong and the spot pattern is wrong. Pike/pickerel hybrids are usually an emerald green color and have very small spots arranged in vertical lines. Here is a picture of a pike, pickerel, and hybrid that was confirmed through genetic testing by the VT DEP. The second pic is of an adult pure strain pike with vertical barring. The vertical barring can be more pronounced in young pike and breaks apart as they mature, these are often mistaken for hybrids.

http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x324/dmamooney/pikepickerel.jpg

http://www.guideline.no/filestore/Tips_og_Triks/Matt_Hayes_Pikefishing/Matt4.jpg

I didn't mean to imply that hybrids in the Esox group were common.. They do occur however.. We see them up here in NY state in areas such as Cayuga lake and lake Champlain where the 2 species share habitat.. I would imagine the 2 species are more interested in one another gastronomically as opposed to romantically.. However mistakes do happen. bob

[flyboy1]

I copied the picture and sent it to NJ DNR and got the following response:

I heard from Ed Conley at our Hackettstown Hatchery (where the pike are raised) that the fish is a pike, and the short upper jaw could be genetics or possibly from an injury. PT

Paul Tarlowe, Wildlife Education Specialist
NJ Div. of Fish and Wildlife
605 Pequest Rd.
Oxford, NJ 07863
Phone: 908-637-4125
Fax: 908-637-6735
NJFishandWildlife@dep.state.nj.us
http://www.NJFishandWildlife.com/

[Skunk City]

I copied the picture and sent it to NJ DNR and got the following response:

I heard from Ed Conley at our Hackettstown Hatchery (where the pike are raised) that the fish is a pike, and the short upper jaw could be genetics or possibly from an injury. PT

Paul Tarlowe, Wildlife Education Specialist
NJ Div. of Fish and Wildlife
605 Pequest Rd.
Oxford, NJ 07863
Phone: 908-637-4125
Fax: 908-637-6735
NJFishandWildlife@dep.state.nj.us
http://www.NJFishandWildlife.com/


Interesting. You beat me to it. Pretty cool they responded quickly!

[The Kayak Fishing Store]

That's a great pic.
The first pic is definitely a northern and the rest sure look like a pickerel.