Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Muskellunge are a vary frail sport fish. Overfishing causes the population to dwindle rapidly, so most fisherman practice catch and release. There have been many regulations administered to decrease the number of muskellunge killed by enforcing minimum size and length restrictions. These regulations were first established in 1891 but then eliminated in 1930. They were eventually reestablished in 1960. The minimum length is set at 30 inches and the daily limit is 6. There have also been open season dates established in 1930 for anglers (fisherman) which are May 15 - February 1 but later extended to February 15. The most serious and difficult to solve problem facing muskellunge is the destruction of spawning habitat. Spawning habitats suffer when lake shore property owners remove unwanted weeds for easier boat access or add sand to their beaches to improve swimming conditions.
To increase muskellunge populations efforts have been made at muskellunge management consisting of stocking fry in natural populations. (Nechvatal, pers. comm., Olson, 1989, Sternberg, 1992)
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Muskellunge bring in millions of dollars a year from sport fishing. The modern perspective on muskellunge is to regard them as a very desirable sport fish managed for their trophy value. Muskellunge are considered something special and are held in high esteem by both anglers and fishery managers. (Nechvatal, pers. comm., Graff, 1986)
Muskellunge are the top predator in any body of water where they occur, and they will eat larger prey than most other freshwater fish. Adult muskellunge will eat fish from one-fourth to one-half of their own length and up to 20% of their own weight. Young muskellunge do not hesitate to attack other fish of nearly their own size, grabbing the prey by the head and swimming around with the tail sticking out of their mouth until they digest enough to swallow the rest of the unfortunate victim. Muskellunge fry (the young) start to feed on plankton shortly after hatching. As the fry reach about one inch in length, they begin to feed on tiny insects and at about 2 inches their diet consists mainly of small fish, even including their own kind. Muskellunge feed primarily on fish, insects, ducklings, frogs, muskrats, and mice. There have even been reports of large muskellunge attacking small dogs and even humans, although most of these reports are greatly exaggerated.
Muskellunge feed very little until the spring when the water warms to 50 F. Feeding peaks when the water reaches temperatures of about 70 F, and some feeding continues until the water reaches 80 F. Muskellunge consume more food as the water cools in the fall, but they seldom feed once the water temperature drops below 40 F. (Sternberg, 1992)
Muskellunge are native only to North America. Muskellunge are abundant in many lakes and rivers over much of North America, however, their greatest concentrations are present in the waters of the Midwestern states. Their native range extends from 36 to 51N, barely reaching into Canada. (Sternberg, 1992)
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Muskellunge inhabit freshwater rivers and lakes and can survive in a wide range of water temperatures. Muskellunge prefer water in the 67-to 72-degree range and are hardly ever found in waters with a maximun temperature below 68 F. Muskellunge favor clear water and cannot adapt to water that stays turbid most of the time. They also have a well-defined home range. Several studies have shown that muskellunge seldom leave their home range, except to spawn, although they roam about within it. The larger the body of water the larger the home range. Although they prefer shallow, weedy water (less than 20 feet deep) during their early years of life, as they grow larger, they spend more time in deep water.
Muskellunge cannot endure fast current, so they are seldom found in rivers with high gradient (drop), of more than 10 feet per mile. If there are backwater areas where they can get out of the moving water then they will live in rivers with higher gradients and faster currents. (Sternberg, 1992)
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 19.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 10.0 years.
"Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family " Esocidae (Waszcuk, 1996), they resemble the northern pike in most respects, but are distinct in the following respects. The sides vary from greenish to brownish to silverish, usually with dark markings, but the marks may be absent. The white or cream-colored belly often has brownish or grayish spots. The dorsal and anal fins, which are set far back on the body, vary from greenish to brownish to blood red and usually have dark markings. The duckbill-shaped jaws have long, sharp teeth: the roof of the mouth has pads of shorter, recurved teeth. The cheek and gill cover have scales on the top half only. The underside of the jaw has sensory pores, numbers varying from 12 to 20, but the count is usually 15-18. (Sternberg, 1992)
Range mass: 1 to 29.48 kg.
Other Physical Features: bilateral symmetry
The impressive size and insatiable feeding habits of muskellunge have resulted in many myths and misconceptions. Some of these are listed below: Myth #1: The muskies in my lake are eating all the other gamefish.
While muskies eat some gamefish, they are not numerous enough to have a significant impact on other gamefish populations.
Myth #2: I've seen the same muskie in the same spot many times.
Although they have a small home range they move about quite a lot. A certain piece of cover may hold a muskie most of the time, but it may not be the same fish.
Myth #3: The muskies you see suspended just beneath the surface are sick.
For some unknown reason, muskie seem to enjoy "sunning" themselves. On calm, sunny days, they often lie motionless with their backs almost out of the water. These muskie are healthy and sometimes catchable, if approached without being spooked.
A tiger muskie is a hybrid between a muskellunge and a northern pike. Its sides have irregular, narrow bars, often broken into spots, on a light greensih to brownish background. The tips of the tail are rounder than a muskellunge's. (Sternberg, 1992)
"Muskie anglers are die-hards, who brave rough water, snow squalls, and torturous cold November winds in search of one of the biggest freshwater fish in North America. (Waszcuk, 1996)
Muskellunge are random spawners, not nest builders. They scatter their eggs in shallow water, most often over live or decaying aquatic plants or their roots. They spawn in the early spring, normally in water temperatures from 49 to 59 f. They often spawn in the same weedy bays of the main lake or on shallow flats in large bays, far from the shoreline, as in the Great Lakes and some other large lakes. Muskellunge have been known to drop their eggs in water as deep as 6 feet. Males move onto the spawning grounds a few days before the females. The spawning period lasts for 5 to 10 days. As the eggs and milt (sperm) are released, males thrash their tails wildly, apparently to help scatter the eggs. The violent activity commonly results in deep gashes and split fins, and the damage may kill the fish.
Females leave the spawning area a few days after depositing their eggs. Males normally stay around for several weeks, but do not protect the eggs. With no parental care the eggs are vulnerable to predators such as cray fish, predacious insects and small fish. In about two weeks, the eggs that survive will hatch. The fry are precocial and begin to feed on plankton after their mouths develop.(Sternberg, 1992)
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 1460 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 1825 days.
The muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae.
The name "muskellunge" originates from the Ojibwe words maashkinoozhe (meaning "great fish"), mji-gnoozhe, maskinoše, or mashkinonge, meaning "bad pike", "big pike", or "ugly pike[2]" respectively. The Algonquin word maskinunga, which is borrowed into the Canadian French words masquinongé or maskinongé. In English, before settling on the common name "muskellunge", there have been at least 94 common names[3] applied to this species, including but not limited to: muskelunge, muscallonge, muskallonge, milliganong, maskinonge, maskalonge, mascalonge, maskalung, muskinunge and masquenongez.[4]
Muskellunge closely resemble other esocids such as the northern pike (Esox lucius) and American pickerel (E. americanus) in both appearance and behavior. Like the northern pike and other aggressive pikes, the body plan is typical of ambush predators with an elongated body, flat head, and dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins set far back on the body. Muskellunge are typically 70–120 cm (28–48 inches) long and weigh 7–16.5 kg (15–36 lb),[5] though some have reached up to 1.8 m (6 ft) and almost 30 kg (70 lb).[6] Martin Arthur Williamson caught a muskellunge with a weight of 27.8 kg (61.25 pounds) in November 2000 on Georgian Bay.[7] The fish are a light silver, brown, or green, with dark vertical stripes on the flank, which may tend to break up into spots. In some cases, markings may be absent altogether, especially in fish from turbid waters. This is in contrast to northern pike, which have dark bodies with light markings. A reliable method to distinguish the two similar species is by counting the sensory pores on the underside of the mandible. A muskie will have seven or more per side, while the northern pike never has more than six. The lobes of the caudal (tail) fin in muskellunge come to a sharper point, while those of northern pike are more generally rounded. In addition, unlike pike, muskies have no scales on the lower half of their opercula.
Anglers seek large muskies as trophies or for sport.[8] In places where muskie are not native, such as in Maine, anglers are encouraged not to release the fish back into the water because of their negative impact on native populations of trout and other smaller fish species.[9]
Muskellunge are found in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes and large rivers from northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota through the Great Lakes region, Chautauqua Lake in western New York, north into Canada, throughout most of the St Lawrence River drainage, and northward throughout the upper Mississippi valley, although the species also extends as far south as Chattanooga in the Tennessee River valley. Also, a small population is found in the Broad River in South Carolina. Several North Georgia reservoirs also have healthy stocked populations of muskie. They are also found in the Red River drainage of the Hudson Bay basin. Muskie were introduced to western Saint John River in the late 1960s and have now spread to many connecting waterways in northern Maine.[10] The Pineview Reservoir in Utah is one of three Utah locations where the hybrid Tiger Muskellunge is found.
They prefer clear waters where they lurk along weed edges, rock outcrops, or other structures to rest. A fish forms two distinct home ranges in summer: a shallow range and a deeper one. The shallow range is generally much smaller than the deeper range due to shallow water heating up. A muskie continually patrols the ranges in search of available food in the appropriate conditions of water temperature.
Muskies are ambush predators who will swiftly bite their prey and then swallow it head first. Muskellunge are the top predator in any body of water where they occur and they will eat larger prey than most other freshwater fish.[11] They eat all varieties of fish present in their ecosystem (including other muskellunge), along with the occasional insect,[11] muskrat, rat, mouse,[11] frog, or duck. They are capable of taking prey up to two-thirds of their body length due to their large stomachs.[12] There have even been reports of large muskellunge attacking small dogs and even humans, although most of these reports are greatly exaggerated.[11]
As muskellunge grow longer they increase in weight, but the relationship between length and weight is not linear. The relationship between them can be expressed by a power-law equation:
The exponent b is close to 3.0 for all species, and c is a constant for each species. For muskellunge, b = 3.325, higher than for many common species, and c = 0.000089 pounds per cubic inch or 0.0025 g/cm3.[13]
According to the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) the largest muskellunge on record was caught by Cal Johnson in Lac Courte Oreilles (recognized as Lake Courte Oreilles by the association), Hayward, Wisconsin, United States, on July 24, 1949. The fish weighed 30.5 kg (67 lb 8 oz) and was 153 cm (60.25 inches) in length, and 84–86 cm (33–34 inches) in girth.[14][15][16]
Muskellunge are sometimes gregarious, forming small schools in distinct territories. They spawn in mid- to late spring, somewhat later than northern pike, over shallow, vegetated areas. A rock or sand bottom is preferred for spawning so the eggs do not sink into the mud and suffocate. The males arrive first and attempt to establish dominance over a territory. Spawning may last from five to 10 days and occurs mainly at night. The eggs are negatively buoyant and slightly adhesive; they adhere to plants and the bottom of the lake. Soon afterward, they are abandoned by the adults. Those embryos which are not eaten by fish, insects, or crayfish hatch within two weeks. The larvae live on yolk until the mouth is fully developed, when they begin to feed on copepods and other zooplankton. They soon begin to prey upon fish. Juveniles generally attain a length of 30 cm (12 inches) by November of their first year.
Adult muskellunge are apex predators where they occur naturally. Only humans and (rarely) large birds of prey such as bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) pose a threat to an adult.[17] But juveniles are consumed by other muskies, northern pike, bass, trout, and occasionally birds of prey. The muskellunge's low reproductive rate and slow growth render populations highly vulnerable to overfishing. This has prompted some jurisdictions to institute artificial propagation programs in an attempt to maintain otherwise unsustainably high rates of angling effort and habitat destruction.
Though interbreeding with other pike species can complicate the classification of some individuals, zoologists usually recognize up to three subspecies of muskellunge.[18]
The tiger muskellunge (E. masquinongy × lucius or E. lucius × masquinongy) is a hybrid of the muskie and northern pike. Hybrids are sterile, although females sometimes unsuccessfully engage in spawning motions. Some hybrids are artificially produced and planted for anglers to catch. Tiger muskies grow faster than pure muskies, but do not attain the ultimate size of their pure relatives, as the tiger muskie does not live as long.
Although very rare, muskie attacks on humans do occur on occasion.[19][20]
The muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae.
