Pickerel (Esox niger), jack, jack fish, duck-billed pike and green pike

The color is olive to yellowish-brown above with distinct dark chain-like markings on its sides and a prominent black teardrop below the eye. Adults typically reach 20 inches in length.

This predatory fish feeds on a wide variety of fish and other vertebrates, sometimes including salamanders and frogs. They are easily caught using artificial baits cast along weedy areas.

Chain pickerel are distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia south to Florida. The species is found in the Mississippi River drainage from the Gulf Coast as far north as Illinois and Indiana, and may be found in Gulf drainages as far west as the Sabine and Red rivers in Texas.

Quality - The white, flaky meat is good tasting, but quite bony.

World Record Chain Pickerel - 9.38 pounds, caught in Guest Millpond, Georgia, in 1961.

[FoodCollege] [ProduceCollege] [PorkCollege] [PoultryCollege] [WildGameCollege] [FoodUniversity] [DairyCollege] [PantryIngredientsl] [TotalFoodNet]