How well do pike hear?

Pike are "hearing generalists": they lack the Weberian ossicles that give minnows and catfish amplified hearing, so they detect mainly low-frequency sound and vibration at fairly short range, with the lateral line doing much of that work. Practically, a pike is far more likely to notice the low thud of a paddletail or a dropped tackle box through the hull than any high-pitched noise. Do not expect sound alone to call pike from distance the way flash does — hearing confirms and localizes, vision and lateral line do the finding.

Browse every question