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The common pike (Latin: Esox lucius) is found in almost all of Europe except for the Balkan Peninsula and the southern part of the Apennine Peninsula, in North America and in northern and central Asia. This is a huge range; no other freshwater fish is found over such a large area of the Earth. Like perch, pike is present in almost all types of water. It feeds primarily on fish, sometimes also on amphibians (this can be exploited by using a twister with two tails - in the form of a frog). Small mammals (mainly rodents), and even ducks and other waterfowl also fall prey to larger specimens. Pike spawn in March and April. The fry hatch within twelve-fifteen days after the eggs are laid by the roe.

The pike is famous for its extremely sharp teeth - hence its colloquial terms "toothy" or "toothfish." Its teeth are so sharp that it can easily bite through a line with them, against which the best protection is the use of a metal leader. In lakes, the pike is often stationed in very shallow water. He stands motionless in overgrown coves, perfectly camouflaged against the background of underwater vegetation, and waits for his prey. As soon as any stray bleak is near its mouth, woe betide it! Once the pike attacks, it does so with express speed. He is favored in this by the shape of the arrow.

The protective period of the pike lasts four months - from January 1 to April 30. The beginning of the pike season is long and eagerly awaited by hunters of this fish, especially since it falls on the long May weekend. The best spinning lures for pike are large spinners and spoons, crankbaits and rubbers, especially hooves. Since trolling is the method allowed in Poland in some regions, it has become even more effective for big fish than spinning. Trollers mainly use large crankbaits as bait. As in the case of perch, there is a phenomenon of cannibalism in pike, so crankbaits designed to tempt the toothy often imitate representatives of this species. In addition to the two methods mentioned above, live bait and dead fish can be successfully used. Another feature of the pike, which is worth mentioning, is also incredible agility. This fish probably most often of all clips during the haul. It owes this to the limberness of its body and incredibly fast movements aimed at getting rid of the anchor from its mouth. Opinions are divided on the quality of pike meat. Some like it very much, while others claim it is too lean. The protective size of pike is 50 centimeters. Formerly it was 45 centimeters, and even earlier - 40, but the decreasing number of representatives of this species prompted the Polish Angling Association to change the regulations. The same was true of the daily catch limit - it used to be 4 pieces, then it was reduced to 3, today it is only 2 pieces. Even medal standards have been reduced - a bronze medal is now awarded for fish from 7 kilograms, a silver medal from 9, and a gold medal from 11 (it used to be 9, 10, 12, respectively). Toothfish grow to large sizes, but the largest pieces are difficult to catch. A meter-long individual is already a specimen that many predator hunters dream of. The Polish record - 24.10 kg - was set by Waclaw Biegan in 1976. The fact that, despite the appearance of more and more modern equipment and more and more fancy artificial lures, we have waited so long for a new record, shows how difficult it is for pike to reach great sizes these days. The Polish record for the length of a pike in the "Angler's World" competition is 133 centimeters (medal standards in this competition: 90, 110 and 120 centimeters). This record dates back to 2003 and belongs to Bogdan Borak from Kętrzyn.