Field Notes Pike project underway - Angler reports vital!

The northern pike (Esox Lucius) is at the top of the food chain in many of Montana's rivers and lakes. This adaptable species was first observed in Lindsay Reservoir (Dawson County, Montana) in 1950, but has since expanded its range. This spring, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists started tagging pike in the Missoula area to help better understand their movements.

The expansion and survival of northern pike is largely due to their voracious appetite-they'll eat anything that will fit in their mouth, with few exceptions. Illegal introductions of northern pike are attributed to large-scale declines in native fish species throughout Montana.

Because pike can have a big impact on wild trout and other fish populations, fisheries biologists and technicians are again studying these piscivorous predators to better understand pike movements, population dynamics and to guide future management decisions in the area's fisheries.

When biologists first noticed a decline in the trout fishery in the Clark Fork River, they attributed it to higher rates of predation from northern pike reproducing at high rates in the Milltown Dam reservoir. Biologists predicted that when the dam was removed, the pike population would decline but then plateau at a sustainable level for the fishery. But now, a decade and a half after the Milltown Dam removal, more northern pike are being caught in the Bitterroot and Clark Fork rivers than before... and they're bigger! Ladd Knotek, FWP fisheries biologist, said "There are high numbers of big pike from the Clark Fork [River] downstream, what we're trying to do is figure out where they're coming from."

Knotek, along with several fisheries technicians, have been capturing and tagging northern pike in the Clearwater, Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers for the past several weeks. He estimated they have tagged roughly 250 pike by now and will continue to tag in between sampling lakes around the area.

The success of this study depends on anglers reporting if they've captured a tagged northern pike.

"If you catch a tagged fish," Knotek stated, "Give us a call and tell us the tag number, color, location and date of catch."

Anglers are asked to release tagged fish and report their catch by calling 406-542-5520 or online at: fwp.mt.gov/fish/report-your-catch. Any angler who reports their capture & tag information will be entered into a prize drawing later this year.

"Around Seeley," Knotek said, "It's unlikely any anglers will catch a tagged pike above Blanchard Lake in the Clearwater drainage" but, he added, anglers may find some in the Blackfoot and Clearwater rivers downstream of Blanchard Lake.

While there's no limit for pike in Salmon or Seeley Lakes, all northern pike caught in Placid Lake must be killed immediately, kept and the entire fish must be turned in to FWP. See 2022 Fishing Regulations booklet for more information.

Enjoy this spring weather, remember your life jackets & don't forget to report catching any tagged pike in the Clark Fork, Bitterroot or Clearwater Rivers-it'll help biologists and there may be something in it for you!