Eat pikes and frogs, tadpoles, molting crayfish, chicks of waterfowl and small animals caught in the water.
Among anglers, there is an opinion that during the change of teeth the pike does not feed. This is not true. The teeth of the predator change gradually, not immediately, the loss of one or two teeth does not affect her appetite. The change of teeth, according to the same opinion, takes place in the pike immediately after the spawning of the caviar, therefore, the pike that has been spawned is not caught on a live bait or spoon-bait. This is also not quite true: the teeth of the pike are changing since the spring, the process continues all summer. A pike does not take bait for other reasons: most likely, it just rests and recruits after spawning.
In different reservoirs the pike has different sizes, slightly differs in lifestyle and habits, is found in different numbers, but is the most numerous predator of our rivers and lakes. The greed and gluttony of it are well known, therefore it is much easier to catch a pike than any other large fish.
In natural reservoirs, females of pike begin to multiply on the fourth, less often in the third year of life, and males – on the fifth. Spawning of pike occurs at a temperature of 3-6 ° C, immediately after the melting of ice, near the shore at a depth of 0.5-1 meter. During spawning, the fish go to shallow water and splash noisily. Usually the youngest individuals first come out to spawn, and the last ones – the largest. At this time pikes are kept in groups: 2-4 males per female; Near large females – up to 8 males. The pike grows early in spring near the shores, when the ponds are not yet fully opened from the ice. After the spawning and a short rest, she begins to eat intensively. At this time, the pike well takes zhivotsa, different spoon-bait, artificial mice and often an earthworm.
