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Pickerel is the common name for three closely related carnivorous, soft-rayed freshwater fishes in the pike family (Esocidae). In parts of Canada, the name is applied, erroneously, to the walleye. The name is derived from an English diminutive of pike.
Distribution and Habitat
Pickerel occur naturally only in eastern North America. The group consists of two species: Esox niger (chain pickerel) and E. americanus (American pickerel), divisible into two forms, redfin pickerel (E. americanus americanus), which grows to 35 cm, and the slightly smaller grass pickerel (E. americanus vermiculatus). In Canada, one or more species occur in limited portions of the country from southern Nova Scotia to Ontario, inhabiting smaller, warm waters (e.g., ponds, small streams, bays of lakes). Only the chain pickerel, growing to about 50 cm long and 1.4 kg, is a common sport fish.
