I caught my first pike the other day on a size 0 mepps aglia spinner. good fighter, I harvested because they eat all the other fish in the pond. Bass and bluegill populations were way down in that pond. not sure how this little dude got in they pond anyway, probably the creek that leads in.

Was it possibly a chain pickerel? The pickerel are in every little pond around here, while pike are only in the big lake and river. They look similar and have a similar taste in baits, a spinner being one.

A predator like a pike can be very beneficial to a pond. Without something to eat some bluegills, they can very quickly over populate a pond to the point where they become stunted and there are no decent sized 'gills left. 

17 hours ago, Scott F said:

A predator like a pike can be very beneficial to a pond. Without something to eat some bluegills, they can very quickly over populate a pond to the point where they become stunted and there are no decent sized 'gills left. 

Absolutely.  They'll stunt the bass eventually too.

 

Amateur resource management is often mistaken about what is best for the resource...

On July 7, 2017 at 11:48 AM, Further North said:

Absolutely.  They'll stunt the bass eventually too.

 

Amateur resource management is often mistaken about what is best for the resource...

I've fished that pond for years and never had trouble with stunted fish. The bass took care of them just fine, now that pike are in there both bass and bluegill populations are down.

 

On July 6, 2017 at 5:43 PM, MassBass said:

Was it possibly a chain pickerel? The pickerel are in every little pond around here, while pike are only in the big lake and river. They look similar and have a similar taste in baits, a spinner being one.

100% positive it was a pike 

On July 6, 2017 at 6:33 PM, Scott F said:

A predator like a pike can be very beneficial to a pond. Without something to eat some bluegills, they can very quickly over populate a pond to the point where they become stunted and there are no decent sized 'gills left. 

I've fished that pond for years and never had trouble with stunted fish. The bass took care of the bluegill population just fine, now that pike are in there both bass and bluegill populations are down.