Muskie

The muskellunge, (Esox masquinongy) is also known as muskie, musky or maskinonge. The name derives from the Ojibwe word maashkinoozhe, meaning “ugly pike”.  It is considered the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae (a group of fishes in the order Clupeiformes characterized by an elongated, extended beaklike snout and sharp teeth). 

An almost perfect example of a silver coloured Muskie

The Muskie is known for having a wide variety of trivial names such as Ohio muskellunge, Unspotted muskellunge, Wisconsin muskellunge, Great Lakes muskellunge/ Barred muskellunge which normally live in lakes and slow-moving rivers with clear water and numerous underwater weed beds. They prefer cold, clear lakes and large rivers, where they lurk among the weeds and floating plants, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

This group of fish is commonly found in fresh water lakes of Central North America, Great Lakes region to Canada, St. Lawrence River, Hudson Bay, and in the Upper Mississippi Valley and Northward. Ohio River pike, Allegheny River pike, Jack pike are the largest members of the pike family which can be found in lakes and rivers of the Northern United States and Southern part of Canada.
Muskellunge remind you of the other Esocids such as the Northern pike and American pickerel as they have a lot of similarities in appearance, manifestation and performance. Similar to other pikes, the physical description of muskellunge is typical of ambush with an elongated or stretched body, has a flat or even head, dorsal, pelvic and anal fins set far back on the body.

A lovely shot of a Muskie caught at sunset

Muskies often have maximum lengths of 60–150 cm (2–5 ft) and has a tendency to weigh over 30 kg (66 lbs). They are identified easily by their unique color which is light silver, brown or green with dark vertical stripes located on the flank which are inclined to break up into spots or blemishes. For instance, markings or blotches may be absent altogether, especially when the fish is from turbid or muddy waters.

This is dissimilar to northern pike which have dark bodies with light markings. The surest way to distinguish muskellunge from northern pike is by counting the sensory pores found underneath of the mandible. The Muskie has seven or more per side while the northern pike may only contain six or less.  Additionally, dissimilar to pike, muskellunge have no scales on the lower half of the operculum.

Like other big and aggressive species, Muskie eat just about anything they can find including crayfish, frogs, ducklings, snakes, muskrats, mice and other small mammals although usually their main diet consists of fish. It has a huge mouth with many large and hair-like teeth which make it easy for them to grind any kind of food. They choose to take substances that are up to 30 percent of their total length and during the spring time they prefer smaller lure or bait as their metabolism is slower.

These species are usually found in Oligotrophic and Mesotrophic lakes, in some large rivers from northern Wisconsin to Northern Minnesota, through the Great Lake regions, Canada and throughout most of the St Lawrence River drainage and northward Mississippi valley, although the species also extends as far as south Chattanooga in the Tennessee River valley. They are also present in the Red River drainage of the Hudson Bay basin.

The muskellunge - more commonly know as the Muskie

They occupy two ranges of water depth when the summer arrives, which includes the shallow and the deeper range. In general the fish in the shallow range are a lot smaller than the deeper range due to shallow water heating up.

Anglers look for oversized Muskies as an award when fishing. The fish has an interesting and impressive swimming velocity but are not particularly maneuverable, but not always easy to catch. Muskies are known for their might and force and of course for their propensity to jump from the water in astonishing acrobatic manner. A very challenging fish to seize and it has been called “the fish of ten thousand casts”. More often anglers use tremendously huge lures. In addition it is very effective to use slighter bait during spring and larger in fall.

Watch this great footage below of a monster Muskie caught through the ice.