01-16-2014, 06:04 PM
[quote kentofnsl] Are you saying that the larger pike are eating small carp that could have been utilized by the smaller carp?[/quote]
Yes....I am saying that. Although large pike will try to find the prey that gives them the most bang for their buck, they are opportunistic predators and most certainly compete with the small pike over available food.
I also know that some of the best pike fishing last summer took place after the crawdad spawn/young of year were up on the beaches. The pike were obviously keying on crayfish. Why would they being doing this if the carp were such an excellent food source? It was because the young carp were no longer available. The interesting thing was that it was pike of all sizes keying on these little crayfish....what does that mean?
[signature]
Yes....I am saying that. Although large pike will try to find the prey that gives them the most bang for their buck, they are opportunistic predators and most certainly compete with the small pike over available food.
I also know that some of the best pike fishing last summer took place after the crawdad spawn/young of year were up on the beaches. The pike were obviously keying on crayfish. Why would they being doing this if the carp were such an excellent food source? It was because the young carp were no longer available. The interesting thing was that it was pike of all sizes keying on these little crayfish....what does that mean?
[signature]