Bass-turd Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 I was fishing Jordan marina last night by the channel and noticed something surface about 50 yards out, I thought it was a fish but couldn’t quite make it out. It was moving slowly with its head coming up in and out of the water, thought it could be a bird diving, or possibly another small mammal, seemed odd to me. It dove back down and it disappeared, only to resurface about a half hour later about 25 yards away, definitely could tell it was a pike this time. It almost seemed like it was coming up for air (I know it’s not). It’s head came up high enough I could see the white underside even from that distance, and once again after toiling on the surface slowly for about a minute it dove down again. It didn’t look as if it was chasing something, and normally they wouldn’t on the surface with these water temps. My question is if anyone else has seen this behaviour before and what they thought it might be. The fish was around the 5 pound range so not huge, but could this be some kind of spawn related behaviour? Or perhaps working a big meal through? Any thoughts appreciated, thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-turd Posted April 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Forgot to mention I was casting for trout, not pike, before anyone decides to jump on my throat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Pike Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Very odd and I've never seen it from a pike, but i HAVE seen it before from a carp/goldfish hybrid( a very common fish at the spot I was at ). It was almost like the fish was swimming at a 45 degree angle instead of horizontally, with its head poking out of the water( similar to what you described ), then after a minute or two, it would just dive down and disappear for a bit. This went on for quite a while, and I've never seen it before or since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 The fish could be dying ....maybe caught and released with some damage . You didn't happen to see a big eel stuck on one side ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-turd Posted April 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 I didn’t see any lamprey, although I’ve seen a carp with a lamprey a few years back in the same spot, in fact it was kind of acting similarly. The fish seemed delirious, or drunk 🥴, perhaps found a good sandbar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limey Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 3 hours ago, Bass-turd said: Forgot to mention I was casting for trout, not pike, before anyone decides to jump on my throat Jeez a guy at wainfleet told us while we were walking the dog that pike were year round, I realize I should've double checked the regs now, lesson learned, glad you mentioned that mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duck&wine Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 Muskie have been known to swim and stick their heads out of the water. Not quite sure why that is but I heard something about removing parasites from their gills and a bunch of other theories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisb Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 If you fish Lake Erie Pike is all year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 2 hours ago, duck&wine said: Muskie have been known to swim and stick their heads out of the water. Not quite sure why that is but I heard something about removing parasites from their gills and a bunch of other theories. Probably getting rid of duck feathers from their gills .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishingking Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Some fish suffer from hypoxia which makes them act in different ways and its due to lack of dissolved oxygen in the water.although it may not have been trying to stick its head out to gasp for air it may be trying to force water through its gills and the surface water would hold the most oxygen especially if its relativley calm or stagnant water.read about this in highschool doing a project on fish and other wildlife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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