Definition of a Jack Pike?

pikeman99

Personally I refer to any pike under 5lbs as a jack but I read somewhere that it's any pike under 30cms in length, some even say anything that what's not a double is a jack? Any opinions?

Timfy

The Pike Anglers club (UK) define a jack as a pike under 8lb

http://www.pikeanglersclub.co.uk/pike-conservation/

twin_beacon

under 8-9lb i suppose

gumbo1

I've been goin on a general rule that anything under the 10 lb mark was referred to as a jack, being that it's really only females that get over 10 so their referred to as hens!

Joeseph Balls

gumbo1 wrote: »

I've been goin on a general rule that anything under the 10 lb mark was referred to as a jack, being that it's really only females that get over 10 so their referred to as hens!

Read similiar in a book. Cant recall which angler wrote it (John Bailey?? springs to mind for some reason), buts its in the house somewhere. Must look up his opinion.

ComfortKid

So even a 5lb female pike is a Jack?

gumbo1

ComfortKid wrote: »

So even a 5lb female pike is a Jack?

That was the assumption I was going by! I'm not really up to speed on sexing a pike tbh!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

ComfortKid wrote: »

So even a 5lb female pike is a Jack?

If you can sex a Pike under 8lb then you are one knowledgeable angler.

ComfortKid

I can't. I was just wondering why we should assume that they are all male and not a young female.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

ComfortKid wrote: »

I can't. I was just wondering why we should assume that they are all male and not a young female.

It's just a term applied to a small pike.

ComfortKid

Jaiden Agreeable Streptomycin wrote:

It's just a term applied to a small pike.

What would you call an average sized pike? I know it varies from place to place. Does it depend on water depth? I fish a very shallow lake an caught mostly 10lb fish, I thought they were monsters.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

ComfortKid wrote: »

What would you call an average sized pike? I know it varies from place to place. Does it depend on water depth? I fish a very shallow lake an caught mostly 10lb fish, I thought they were monsters.

In many locations a 10lb Pike is a very decent fish. In others they look for something over a metre long. I'd settle for double figures any day, unless I was in a boat on one of the larger lakes.

twin_beacon

ComfortKid wrote: »

What would you call an average sized pike? I know it varies from place to place. Does it depend on water depth? I fish a very shallow lake an caught mostly 10lb fish, I thought they were monsters.

it really does depend on the venue, a 10lb pike from a canal is a cracker imo, however while fishing on the larger loughs, a fish of that size wouldn't even be weighed! Actually, the first time I fished lough corrib, I was told by my guide that he "only weighs 20s", I later found out that he wasn't joking!

dodderangler

ComfortKid wrote: »

So even a 5lb female pike is a Jack?

No she'd be Jacqueline

ComfortKid

dodderangler wrote:

No she'd be Jacqueline

Haha I lol'd

idnkph

Like our female counterparts the all eventually turn into a monster 😉

pikeman99

I can't understand how a 10lb pike can be referred to as a jack, I thought it would have been much smaller like anything under 4lbs, a 5lb pike isn't a bad fish, and a 10lb pike is a big fish.

dodderangler

pikeman99 wrote: »

I can't understand how a 10lb pike can be referred to as a jack, I thought it would have been much smaller like anything under 4lbs, a 5lb pike isn't a bad fish, and a 10lb pike is a big fish.

I'd refer to a jack as being a 5 lb fish. A 8lb jack is a good jack and a 10lb is just a double but jack is just a common name for a small pike whether it's male or female.
People still refer to a lot of animals as the old names
Eg. A male ferret is called a job but has always been referred to as a buck. And females are called jills but still referred as does

ComfortKid

pikeman99 wrote:

I can't understand how a 10lb pike can be referred to as a jack, I thought it would have been much smaller like anything under 4lbs, a 5lb pike isn't a bad fish, and a 10lb pike is a big fish.

I thought the same. Anything 5lb or under was a known as a jack. I was always a trout fisher, and anything over a half lb was a biggin, so you can imagine my delight when my first ever pike was 12lb.

pikeman99

I'm not referring to them as male or female I'm referring to them as small pike. I've always known a jack as a small pike under 4/5lb, an 8lb pike isn't a small fish, but some 4/5lb push aren't to small either in my opinion. I always thought a jack was a pike under 30cm in length or under 2/3lb when I was younger, don't know where I read it.