The Northern Pike (Esox lucius) is a species of Pike native to brackish and fresh waters all across the northern hemisphere in Eurasia and North America. The currently recognized maximum size by the IGFA is 55 pounds. However, legends of larger fish to exist from some of the Irish lakes where apparently two different isolated gene pools existed after being cut off at the end of the last ice age.
The Investigation[]
In Dark Waters Episode 6, Ice Age Predator, Jeremy Wade attempted to hunt down a monster Pike after hearing tantalizing legends from Ireland. However, unable to catch a large one, and after hearing that extermination attempts were carried out years ago, Jeremy decided it would be wiser to travel to another unfished region that may be similar to Ireland. He chose Sweden, and traveled near Stockholm, where he fished at several interesting sites that unfortunately yielded few Pike at all.
Traveling to a region of unfished waters just a few hundred miles south of the Arctic circle, Jeremy found a guide who took him around on some of the lakes. However, Jeremy believed his only chance at a large Pike was to travel beyond human contact to the most remote reaches of northern Sweden.
After a long investigation, he managed to push his boat over a small portion of shallow water into a small but open lake where perhaps no human had ever been before. Here he hooked what felt like a truly large Pike, and managed to bring it in. While not as large as the monsters of legend, this Pike was certainly of a significant size. Moreover, the Pike here also had unique DNA, making this remote region capable of hiding more monsters similar in size to the legendary beasts of Ireland.