What water temperature makes pike feed hardest?
The sweet spot for all-out feeding sits roughly at 13–18 °C (55–64 °F) — warm enough for a fast strike-and-digest cycle, cool enough that big fish are comfortable in the same shallow water as the prey. That band explains the two famous frenzies: late spring, when post-spawn females rebuild in warming bays, and fall, when cooling water pulls trophies back shallow onto baitfish schools. Above roughly 21 °C (70 °F) the big-fish bite thins as they retreat to cooler layers; below about 4 °C (39 °F) everything still eats, just in slow motion and smaller windows.
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More questions about Temperature & metabolism
Same topic, other species
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