Pike, musky and pickerel
Chain pickerel
Esox niger.
Length to weight chart, typical size by age, and how to photograph a chain pickerel so fishline measures it well.
- Typical top length
- 26 in
- about 5.3 lb
- A 20 inch fish
- 2.4 lb
- 2 lb 6 oz
- Age at 20 inches
- about 6 years
- rough, varies by water
- Growth levels off
- about age 9
- gains slow to a crawl after
Chain pickerel length to weight chart
Estimated weight for a chain pickerel in average shape at each length, from the formula W = L^3.1 / 4,580 (W in pounds, L in inches). It is the same relationship fishline uses when it measures a chain pickerel from a photo.
| Length | Weight | Rough age |
|---|---|---|
| 10 in | 0.27 lb | about 2 years |
| 12 in | 0.48 lb | 2 to 3 years |
| 14 in | 0.78 lb | about 3 years |
| 16 in | 1.2 lb | 3 to 4 years |
| 18 in | 1.7 lb | 4 to 5 years |
| 20 in | 2.4 lb | about 6 years |
| 22 in | 3.2 lb | 7 to 8 years |
| 24 in | 4.1 lb | 9+ years |
| 26 in | 5.3 lb | 9+ years |
| 28 in | 6.7 lb | 9+ years |
Total length, nose to the tip of the pinched tail. Weights are for a chain pickerel in average shape. A fat fish, like a female before the spawn, weighs more and a thin one less, which a girth measurement picks up. Rows past 26 inches are bigger than typical for the species.
Size by age
fishline's growth model puts a typical chain pickerel at around 26 inches when fully grown, with most of its growth done by about age 9. Younger fish add length fast; older fish mostly add weight.
Age from length is rough. Fish in warm water with plenty to eat grow faster than this, and fish in cold or crowded water grow slower. For a quick estimate from any length, use the fish age calculator.
| Age | Length | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 5.8 in | 0.05 lb |
| 2 years | 10.2 in | 0.29 lb |
| 3 years | 13.7 in | 0.73 lb |
| 4 years | 16.4 in | 1.3 lb |
| 5 years | 18.6 in | 1.9 lb |
| 6 years | 20.2 in | 2.4 lb |
| 7 years | 21.5 in | 2.9 lb |
| 8 years | 22.5 in | 3.4 lb |
| 9 years | 23.3 in | 3.8 lb |
From a von Bertalanffy growth curve. Fish in warm, food-rich water grow faster than this and fish in cold or crowded water grow slower, so treat every row as a rough middle.
Weigh your chain pickerel
Enter the length, and the girth if you taped it, for an estimate on your fish.
Photo tips for chain pickerel
fishline reads length from the photo using whatever is in frame for scale, so a clean, side-on shot gives the tightest number.
- 1Support a long fish horizontally with both hands, one near the head and one under the belly toward the tail. A fish hanging from one hand curls up and photographs short.
- 2Step back far enough to get the whole fish, nose to tail. A cut-off tail is the most common reason a long fish measures short.
- 3Lay it on a bump board or a measuring mat when you can. On a long fish the marks give fishline a much better read than a hand.
More pike, musky and pickerel
Or skip the tape. Snap a photo and fishline measures it.
Species, length and weight from one photo. 5 free measurements every month.