The muskellunge is a large predatory pike that lives across the northern tier of US states and southern Canada.
Other Names: Muskie, Musky, Allegheny River Pike, Barred Muskie, Shoepack Muskie, Clear Muskie, Spot Muskie. The original Ojibwe name is "Maashkinoozhe", which means "Ugly Pike."
Muskies are light colored and usually have dark bars running up and down their long bodies. That's the opposite of northern pike, which have light markings on a dark body. Muskies are silver, light green, or light brown. The foolproof way to tell a muskie from a northern is to count the pores on the underside of the jaw: A muskie has six or more. A northern has five or fewer. Muskies grow larger than Northern Pike, exceeding seventy pounds in weight. However, Northern Pike fry hatch earlier than muskie fry do, and devour the newly hatched muskies where both species exist. The Muskellunge is also called "The Fish of 10,000 Casts" because of the difficulty in finding and hooking one. Their fight is fierce and unpredictable.
Muskies are normally pursued with large lures, some over a foot in length, to imitate the large prey this fish prefers. Crankbaits, bucktails, jerkbaits, soft plastics, and huge spinnerbaits all will work. Trolling for muskies is popular in some areas, as is live-bait fishing with giant sucker minnows.
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Post date: Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 02:05
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Post date: Monday, January 9, 2017 - 22:41
 Pennsylvania |
Post date: Saturday, March 17, 2012 - 17:26
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Post date: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 19:03
 St. Joe River
Elkhart,IN |
Post date: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 - 13:39
 Lac Ouimet, QC |
Post date: Sunday, October 15, 2017 - 10:08
 Bald Eagle Lake, MN |
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Post date: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - 15:05
 Kars |
Post date: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - 20:21
 Elkins, WV |
Post date: Friday, December 30, 2016 - 15:56
 Phoenix Park, Eau Clare, WI |
Post date: Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - 15:32
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Post date: Wednesday, September 28, 2016 - 21:28
 Caught on Jordan Pond, east of Stevens Point. |
Post date: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 - 12:43
 Lac St-Louis, QC |
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Post date: Friday, October 18, 2013 - 16:21
 Big Lake, Wisconsin |
Post date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 - 22:16
 Alum Creek Lake Ohio |
Post date: Wednesday, August 5, 2015 - 06:11
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Post date: Tuesday, April 18, 2017 - 19:20
 Little Vermillion Lake, ON |
Post date: Tuesday, July 26, 2016 - 09:51
 Rideau River, Ont., just a stone's throw from where Canada's prime minister lives. |
Post date: Monday, October 10, 2016 - 20:35
 MN Lake |
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Post date: Monday, March 14, 2016 - 00:16
 Mississippi River |
Post date: Friday, March 16, 2012 - 21:36
 St Croix River |
Post date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 - 20:10
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Post date: Saturday, February 3, 2018 - 22:17
 Natural tiger caught in Chippewa Flowage.....was fishing for walleyes using 1/4 oz jig head with half a nitecrawler hanging off it. |
Post date: Friday, January 24, 2014 - 09:44
 Beaver Lake, NE |
Post date: Thursday, April 5, 2018 - 23:20
 Wisconsin |