Its body is yellowish-green, with dark spots or vermiculations. Its head is large, flattened from back to front, with an enormous mouth equipped with numerous strong, sharp teeth. The dorsal fin is located at the rear of the body, opposite the anal fin. Under favorable conditions, the northern pike can reach 130 cm in length and weigh over 20 kg.
It prefers still or slow-moving waters, rich in vegetation, with a sandy or muddy bottom. It is present in valley lakes, ponds, springs, drainage canals, and in river areas—now rare—where the current is slow, such as oxbow lakes, dead branches, and reedy banks. From its first weeks of life, when it begins to eat fish (including conspecifics), the pike behaves as a solitary and territorial predator. Most of the time, it remains motionless, hidden among the vegetation; with a sudden lunge, it can catch prey only slightly smaller than itself. Larger specimens also devour aquatic birds and small mammals.
Northern pike spawn in March and April: the female lays several tens of thousands of eggs that adhere to submerged vegetation. The fry, which hatch after a week, remain attached to the vegetation for a few more days, until their yolk sacs are reabsorbed.
The reduction in water surface area occupied by reeds and the thinning of aquatic plants due to artificial changes in water level or bathing have led to the decline of pike populations in many lakes. The same has occurred in rivers, following the artificialization of riverbeds, the elimination of oxbow lakes, and the disappearance of springs and marshes used by pike for spawning. In Lake Garda, pike fishing has dropped from hundreds of quintals annually in the 1950s to just a few dozen today.
The pike's voracious appetite has often been exaggerated: in reality, this predator plays a beneficial role in balancing the fish population it feeds on. Its flesh is smooth but delicious.
Dialect: luz, luzo, luč.
G. TOMASI, 2004 - The Three Hundred Lakes of Trentino. Ed. Artimedia – Temi, Trento, 535 pp.
