Something's Fishy: Picking on pike

Northern pike (Photo by Dirk Godlinski)
There is a special day in every fisherman and -woman’s life where they reel in a fish that gives them a one-way ticket into the big players' club. Freshwater anglers across Canada dream of encountering these beasts, some adult species...
Something's Fishy: The good, the bad and the goby

Round goby (Photo by Peter van der Sluijs/Wikimedia Commons)
Think of the meanest, toughest fish in a Canadian river. The one other species actively avoid, swimming faster as it approaches. Is it the longnose gar, with its mouth full of sharp teeth? Or the largemouth bass, a species which devours its prey...
Something's Fishy: The old fish and the lake

Juvenile bowfin from Ontario waters (Photo by Raechel Bonomo/NCC Staff)
What if I told you there are living fossils swimming in our waters right now? A few fish species that inhabit Canadian lakes and rivers have such ancient lineages, they are considered prehistoric. Some of these species swam alongside the...
Something's Fishy: Ghosts of fishes past

A 60-day-old American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) fry (Photo from Wiki Commons)
They’re there, lurking the depths of Canadian lakes and rivers, unseen by humans or other fishes. Ghosts of fishes extirpated or extinct from waters across Canada haunt other species and scientists alike. Their absence leaves an impression...