how far will a pike swim to spawn?

As per title. i cant remember ever reading anything as with regards to this question. main reason i ask is this. on my local canal that is 15 miles long, there are not many spawning areas. best one i can see is over 4 miles away, would a pike travel that far? or would it just lay its eggs anywhere and just sort of say sod it . if a pike did travel that far to spawn, would it return from where it came after spawning?

That's a really good question and one i'd also like to know the answer to!

not as far as that speaking as someone who used to work on the canals you would be surprised at were pike will spawn. any thing that breaks the uniformity up a lost bike/trolly a solitary branch in the water a few inches in variation of depth etc. saying all that they will travel a fair distance if they want to.

Pike seek weed on which to spawn. If there's no weed available they will spawn on ropes, branches or any other underwater debris. It doesn't have to be shallow, they spawn in quite deep water on Windermere. I doubt that they go to known spawning grounds, more likely they just choose the nearest available suitable spot.

As for returning to the same place, well studies have shown that many pike will live their entire lives in one area - and I know some pike that have done so but then I also know some pike that have travelled a fair distance, ten miles or more.

seams to a question a bit like "how longs a piece of string". thanks for the replies guys, think i will have to put a bit more study into this one. never thought about them using ropes trolleys etc to lay eggs on, i always presumed it had to be vegetation.

There has supposedly been Pike removed from the gill nets at spawning time on one of the Irish Midlands trout lakes, Tagged and taken by lorry down to the lower parts of the river system (several miles) and released into one of the other more coarse fish friendly lakes on the system. The following spring the same pike have been recaptured in the same nets/area again Believe what you want

Like I said, some pike live their entire lives in one area. Transported pike could well return to their home ground and then when spawning time comes around they use their nearest suitable area, probably the one they've always used.

I've heard of the same pike being recaught the following day at the opposite end of a 4 mile loch. Take from that what you will.

If I only had the chance to do it once a year id travel a fair bit as well.... take from that what you want

matt859 wrote:If I only had the chance to do it once a year id travel a fair bit as well.... take from that what you want

I ve walked many a mile for it when I was younger even ran .......take that as well