Pickerel

Question
I am the person who asked the question about pike and pickerels. I looked it up on the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission web site and it is a pickerel (more specifically a chain pickerel). I also measured my leg my leg is 30 inches long which would make the fish 29-30 inches long. But why would it not bite the bait? Do they not like minnows or maybe the added worm made it avoid biting? What kind of area do I look for when looking for these fish? Grassy fast moving canals, rivers, or lakes? Also do you know if there are fish in the same family (Esox) that are not considered game fish and that don't get to big to keep in an aquarium?

Answer
It might have seen you and known you were there. That would spook him, he might have been curious and just followed the bait, he or she might have been looking for an opportunity to strike a wounded bait and saw none. There are some species of Pickerel that grown to only about 14 inches.. but they are rare even in nature. Getting one for an aquarium could be problematic.
There are a hundred reasons a fish will not bite.. Only 2 reasons for them to bite.. well 3.
1. Hunger
2. Reaction to stimulus
3. Self Defense
30 inches for a pickerel is large.. but I have seen them in Florida's Lake Okeechobee that long.
Jim Dicken