Freshwater fish – perch, chub, bream, roach and many others – tend to spawn from April and May onwards.
Pike are different. By mid-March, they’re already thinking of breeding. The aim is to give their young a head start, so they can prey on other species’ fry.
During spawning season, small packs of amorous male pike will pursue the much larger females (most individuals over about 5kg will be female). They all eagerly jostle for position, to be in with a chance of mating.
Large female pike, which can grow over 1m long, can produce as many as 500,000 eggs.
A northern pike, seen here in a river in France. Credit: Herve Berthou/Getty Images
Top image credit: Abadonian/Getty Images
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