I have seen a monster Pike many years ago when my mate and me used to visit the Medway on fishing trips.
We had to cross a railway crossing and half-way across I happened to look down into the slightly tidal Medway, we couldn't believe what we were seeing, a huge Pike Sun bathing, with it's head right out of the water (air breathing, no less!) resting gently upon a patch of Lily Pads. It's head must have easily been something not far off two-and-a-half feet in length, the rest of it was below water and hidden underneath the Lily Pads. I still remember seeing those black eye's - staring straight up at us!
(Which also happens to remind me of a coastal (Hasting's) sea-fishing trip we did quite regularly usually at weekends), on this particular day, he was fighting to reel-in a very large Conger Eel that he'd been battling with for ages, only to finish up having to cut the line ~ as when he brought it up to the surface, he changed his mind when it flared it's black gills at us, and it also had big black eye's. . . frightened the bejebies out of both of us!
I'd previously heard stories of Children dangling their feet in the water, and losing a toe of two from Pike, but I thought it was just old-wives-tales. Seeing that Pike made us realise they well deserve the name of 'fresh-water-Shark!'