growth rates

Over the past four weeks i`ve caught three pike to 15 1/4 lb , 15 1/2 and 16 lb and looking at them don`t beleive they are the same fish, assuming a constant food source what would you think their weight could be by say september. These and other pike i`ve caught have come from a 6 acre lake which from personal experience doesn`t get fished for pike at all over the winter ,i`ve only seen one other guy fishing for them since early december; could i expect some twenties the next time i can dead bait for them?

I would say no, if you have caught them in the last few weeks they should have been carrying spawn, usually a max of 15% total pike weight. So the 16 would be about 14 normally. In September under average growth
I reckon the 14 would then be 15.5 ish, after summer feeding, rising to 17-18 max by this time next year. Might have to wait another year for a twenty, and then it might only be a scraper.....

Unless it suddenly pigs a 3lb bream!

there was no obvious sign of spawn but thats not say they didn`t have any and there are plenty of bream in the lake so heres hoping

Pike development rates vary enormously depending on environment...

Try and get hold of Bill Winship's book 'Pike Waters' for a very enlightening guide to pike growth.

I agree with Jon's prediction, you need another couple of seasons before one of your previous captures top twenty lbs.

Be patient, it'll be worth it. ;-)

There is much more to growth rates than just a progression of numbers. If size was relevent to age then trout fed pike would be no bigger than coarse fish fed pike and all waters would hold fish of a similar size.
Local conditions seem to be the key factor on pike growth rates as we all know of waters that contain far more than their fair share of big fish, while in some other waters they seem to be scarce.

Fickling says it's all to do with the biomass of prey species, and that while this will remain constant on enclosed, established waters, stocking and migration of salmonids are classic examples that increase the biomass, and the pike grow with the extra food supply.

Similarly gravel pits anmd clay pits which are being back-filled. As the amount of water decreases, the biomass increases, and pike that don't have to do more than gulp to catch fish get fatter.

I think I'm right in saying that the Llandegfedd 30s were only seven or eight years old, whereas a Broads 30 is likely to be 10 or 15 years old.

Just as a footnote, I saw some fascinating research 20 years ago which demonstrated that high stocking density of pike led to cannibalism, but that a limited number of pikelets would cotton on. Those that did grew four times the size of their bretheren in the tank.