Esox lucius is the second-most-sought-after game fish in Minnesota. Yet, when was the last time you read a book about northern pike? Or even a fishing report?

If walleye are our meat, pike are our potatoes. Or stale bread, if it's a hammer handle. Or prime rib, if it's a monster.

"Therein lies one of the most challenging contrasts for managing the fish: large pike are prized catches, whereas small pike are frequently regarded as trash fish," wrote Rod Pierce in "Northern Pike: Ecology, Conservation and Management History" ($40, University of Minnesota Press, 2012).

Read the full article.