Functionalfool

I know this is a bass forum but I like this site and for most part ppl are really helpful so I'm asking another pike question. My question is about pike territories. Do they stake out a piece of land and fight for it like a lion? Does that mean in any given area there can only be 1 big pike? Anyone have any idea how big their territory is?

Pike are VERY territorial. There's underwater footage of them attacking divers. Same with musky. The small lake I fish a lot has max pike length like 34-36in from what I'm told and personally caught. Let's say there is a 38 incher in there and he is the king of the lake. Does he have a 'patch of land' he protects like a lion or is he just a bully and does what he wants? There are no musky in this lake. I'm trying to figure out more about pike so I can target the big boys and loving all the feedback!

Someone mentioned in previous post about losing lures in a fish's mouth. If your line does break will that lure rust and fall out of the fishes mouth or will it starve to death? You never see dead fish with lures in their mouth so I assume it will come out in a couple days?

I know pike are top predator, unless musky are there, and will eat small bass so that makes sense. When you said smallies did you mean little bass or smallmouth? We call smallmouth smallies in MI. Are pike more prone to eat smallmouth? I've read their favorite food is perch but they will eat anything they can catch including other pike. I've heard pike are kind of territorial, is that true? I'm new to this site but there is a lot of good info on here! Thanks for all the responses guys!

Something I've always wondered is the ratio of adult pike vs adult bass. Does anyone know? I'm not asking for a scientific peer reviewed journal response, just an educated guess. I know it varies from lake to lake but is it 3 to 1, 4 to 1?