I'm glad you had the picture.dbrowning wrote:Here's a picture of what you guys are talking about. I've been told they are a Grass Pickerel. Don't know if it solves it but hope it helps. Confused the crap out of me when I caught it but a guy that lives on the lake explained it to me.
You are correct, it is a Grass Pickerel. They ARE native to Washington, and are the ONLY native member of the Pike/Pickerel family in the state. They don't normally get very big, but a 3 lb is sometimes caught.
They are in several of our Eastern Washington waters, and were found in Sprague when the killed it off last year.
I have heard from reliable sources that there are a few Northern Pike in Elokia, but I have not caught one myself. Still, considering how Bucket Biologist are, I would not discount this at all. I saw a single 12" or so Gold Fish in Elokia, so who know what else has been planted.
I believe that the Pike Minnow, not to be confused with Squaw Fish or Northern Pikeminnow, is what they called the Grass Pickerel in Minnesota when my parents lived there for a while, so I can see the confusion. Is it a young Northern Pike, or hammer handle? Is it a Grass Pickerel? If you are not completely familiar with the different species, I doubt you could tell them apart.
