• Characteristics - usually blueish-green to gray on back with irregular rows of light yellow or gold spots on sides (color extremely variable); cheek fully scaled, but lower 1/2 of opercle scaleless; fish weihing 10+ pounds are fairly common in larger lakes and rivers
• Distribution - slow moving, heavily vegetated areas of larger lakes and rivers in the upper 2/3 of the state
• Foods - mostly fish as adults
• State Record - 25 pounds, 5 ounces - West Okoboji Lake, Dickinson County, February 1977 - Allen Forsberg, Albert City, Iowa
• Expert's Tip - big lures with lots of flash entice feeding northerns

For more northern pike information, see our printable pdf (89K) or Iowa Fish & Fishing.