Muskellunge

🗺️ Habitat

Clear, weedy lakes and large rivers throughout the Great Lakes region and upper Mississippi River drainage. Also introduced in many other systems.

🔍 How to Identify Muskellunge

• 1Very large pike-like body, the biggest member of the Esox family
• 2Pattern varies: spotted (spots on light background), barred, or clear (no pattern)
• 3Only the upper half of the cheek and gill cover is scaled (unlike northern pike which has fully scaled cheek)
• 46–9 sensory pores on each side of the lower jaw (pike has 5 or fewer)
• 5Tail lobes are more pointed than northern pike's rounded lobes

🍽️ Diet

Large fish (walleye, suckers, bass), ducks, muskrats, and small mammals. Primarily a fish-eater.

💡 Fun Facts About Muskellunge

• ★"Musky" is derived from Ojibwe words meaning "ugly pike" or "great fish"
• ★The world record musky was 67 lbs 8 oz, caught in 1949 in New York
• ★Tiger musky (pike x musky hybrid) are sterile and widely stocked for trophy fishing
• ★Musky fishing generates over $116 million annually for Wisconsin alone
• ★National Musky Tournament Trail records show average fish around 44 inches in trophy lakes

🛡️ Conservation Status

Least Concern — managed through size and bag limits

🔗 Related Species