State wildlife officials snagged a non-native northern pike in Kalispell’s Pine Grove Pond last week.

The capture confirmed what fisheries managers had feared since first seeing a photo circulating last fall — somebody had illegally introduced the massive sport fish into yet another waterbody in the Flathead Valley. 

“This is an extremely disappointing and damaging act,” said Mike Hensler, regional fisheries manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, in a Feb. 3 statement. “Pine Grove Pond was built and managed as a place for kids and families to learn to fish and enjoy catching trout. Introducing pike could ruin that experience for everyone.” 

Northern pike are naturally found in the Saskatchewan River drainage on the east side of Glacier National Park, but a spat of illegal introductions during the 1950s brought the fish to waterbodies west of the Continental Divide. From there, populations of northern pike spread voraciously. As of 2018, the fish were present in more than 80 different water bodies in Northwest Montana. 

The pike in Pine Grove Pond represents a brand-new introduction, said officials, as the pond is completely isolated from nearby waterbodies. 

The state wildlife agency typically stocks the pond with rainbow trout and westslope cutthroat trout to promote angling opportunities, especially for the area’s youth. 

Those opportunities could be easily trounced with the introduction of a non-native species like northern pike. Topping out at about 30 pounds, with a notoriously aggressive nature, northern pike both feed on and compete with native fish species. In some areas, they've been known to obliterate local fish populations in just a few years. 

“It ripples in the worst kind of way,” said Dillon Tabish, regional communication and education program manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “For someone to put a pike into that pond and destroy it or damage it is just heartbreaking.” 

A photo of somebody holding a northern pike near Pine Grove Pond first alerted state officials to the possibility of an illegal introduction in the late fall of 2025. Officials suspected the person may have dumped the fish into the pond following the photo-op. They set up eight ice fishing tip-up lines to catch the invader. 

On Jan. 29, biologists pulled up a single northern pike with the same distinctive tail markings as the fish in the photo. 

“We’re relieved,” Tabish said of the catch. “We’re pretty confident that we caught the pike that was in that photo.” 

Tabish hedged his relief with the caveat that there was no way for officials to be 100% certain of the fish’s identity or that the photographed fish was the only northern pike illegally introduced to the pond.  

Warm winter temperatures and melting ice meant officials had to pull up the remaining fishing lines, but Tabish said the agency is considering doing environmental DNA testing on the pond to better ascertain the extent of the invasion. In the meantime, he urged any anglers that catch a northern pike at Pine Grove Pond to immediately kill the fish and turn it over to state wildlife officials. 

The agency is collecting tips on the illegal introduction at tipmont.mt.gov. Reports may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from the state wildlife agency. Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited has pledged an additional $2,000 in reward money, and Flathead Wildlife Incorporated has pledged $500. 

The transfer of any live fish from one body of water to another is illegal, with penalties including fines, the loss of instate fishing privileges and restitution costs. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].