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The tiger muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy × lucius'' or ''Esox lucius × masquinongy''), commonly called tiger muskie, is a carnivorous fish, and is the usually-sterile, hybrid offspring of the true
muskellunge
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.
Origin of name
The name "muskell ...
(''Esox masquinongy'') and the
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...
(''Esox lucius''). It lives in fresh water and its range extends to Canada, the Northeast, and the Midwest United States. It grows quickly; in one study, tiger muskie grew 1.5 times as fast as muskellunge. Like other
hybrid species
Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. Previously, reproductive isolation between two species and their parents was thou ...
, tiger muskie are said to have "hybrid vigor," meaning they grow faster and stronger than the parent fish, and are also less susceptible to disease. Trophy specimens weigh about . Its main diet is fish and small birds. The tiger muskie and the muskie are called the fish of 10,000 casts due to the challenge involved in catching them.
Distribution
The tiger muskie lives in the lakes and quiet rivers in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
, the Upper Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio and St. Lawrence Rivers. It is found the most in Michigan. It is rarely found far from its natural waters except for stocked fish. Several states, including Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, Washington, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming stock tiger muskies. Each tiger muskie tends to inhabit the same areas of its lake from year to year. It tends toward shallower waters ( deep) and travels half as much in the summer and fall as it does in the winter to spring, when it prefers deeper waters ( deep).
Characteristics
The tiger muskie is the result of the true muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy'') and the northern pike (''Esox lucius'') interbreeding. The tiger muskie has some of the characteristics of both fish. Tiger muskie, like pike and muskellunge, have long, cylindrical-shaped bodies. Their dorsal and ventral
fins
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
are located far back near the tail and are lobe-shaped. The caudal fins of the tail are more rounded than those of true muskies. They have skinny and compressed heads and the bottom jaw is elongated with an upward curve, known as a duckbill-shape. Its pattern is varying amounts of color with vertical dark stripes and spots on a light background, the opposite color scheme of a northern pike. The tiger muskie has 5 or 6 chin pores per side on the lower jaw.
Diet
The tiger muskie feeds as the northern pike and muskellunge do, by waiting near weeds and ambushing its prey. They have food preferences similar to those of the true muskie and northern pike as well. They seem to prefer larger fish during the summer and fall months in preparation for the winter months. During the winter and spring months they prey on smaller easier targets due to their slow metabolism. Its varied diet includes
yellow perch
The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...
,
suckers,
golden shiner
The golden shiner (''Notemigonus crysoleucas'') is a cyprinid fish native to eastern North America. It is the sole member of its genus. Much used as a bait fish, it is probably the most widely pond-cultured fish in the United States. It can be fo ...
s,
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
,
smallmouth bass, and various other types of fish. When fish are not readily available tiger muskies will feed on
crayfish,
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
s,
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
lings,
muskrats,
mice, other small
mammals, and small
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s.
Growth and survival
State-record tiger muskie catches are recorded as depending on the state, with northern states yielding larger specimens.
Because tiger muskies are bred for
stocking
Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpare ...
purposes, studies have been made of its growth rate and the factors that affect it. The growth rate of juveniles depends on the water temperature and the type of feed. In studies, the tiger muskie has had the highest growth, production, and food conversion efficiency at temperatures of . Below these temperatures, growth rates slow and above them cannibalism increases.
Several studies have examined the effect of stocking size on survival of stocked tiger muskellunge. This information helps those involved in wildlife management to make cost-effective decisions about breeding and stocking programs. Larger size at stocking has been correlated with higher survival rates and the effect is large enough that it is usually cost-effective to stock larger juveniles (180 – 205 mm)
As tiger muskies grow longer, they increase in weight. The nonlinear relationship between total length (L, in inches) and total weight (W, in pounds) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form:
Invariably, ''b'' is close to 3.0 for all species, and ''c'' is a constant that varies among species. A relationship based on 27 populations of tiger muskie from 9 states was used to develop a specific equation for tiger muskie and computed that ''c'' = 0.00008035 and ''b'' = 3.337. This relationship predicts that a tiger muskie will weigh about , and a tiger muskie will weigh about .
Reproduction
Cross-breeding
A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...
of the true muskellunge and the northern pike occurs naturally in the wild where both parent species occur. The tiger muskie is
sterile, which is not unusual for a hybrid fish. Breeders prefer to breed male northern pike and female muskellunge, because the eggs are less adhesive and have less tendency to clump when hatching. While some tiger muskie occur naturally most are bred in
hatcheries
A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ex-situ conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled condi ...
. Tiger muskie usually grow more quickly than the pure-strain muskie and northern pike in the first several years. They can also endure high temperatures better than the parent fish and they grow more quickly reaching legal size sooner, making them more useful in stocking.
Angling
The tiger muskie was caught frequently in the past by anglers who did not know and did not care what they were catching, as long as the fish tasted good. Now, the tiger muskie is stocked regularly in some lakes, and people go to great lengths to obtain a tiger muskie, but it is not an easy fish to catch. Some people say that it takes 10,000 casts to catch one. The current world record tiger muskie was caught by John Knobla on Lac Vieux Desert.
Sport
The tiger muskie is renowned as a sport fish because it can reach sizes over long. They can be caught in lakes and reservoirs in locations with plenty of
forage
Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used ...
. Being large, powerful fish, they can be difficult to manage. The best way to catch a tiger muskie is to get the fish to the side of the boat as quickly as possible so the fish does not become exhausted; this is especially important during the summer months. Using a large landing net, scoop the fish onto the boat making sure it does not flop around too much; fish often hurt themselves by thrashing wildly in boats. Quickly grip over the top of the
gill plates, but be careful of the gills because they can tear easily and are very sharp. Make sure to use pliers when removing the hook because tiger muskies have many sharp teeth.
Like many other predatory fish, muskies like to hide in the edge of weed beds so they can ambush prey. They can also be found in areas where they have quick access to open parts of the lake. Unlike other fish muskies seem to feed when the weather and atmospheric pressure stay consistent, rain or shine. Catching tiger muskie is usually done by
trolling
In slang, a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a forum, a chat room, a online video game), or in real life, with the i ...
at speeds between 4 and 6 miles per hour, but they have been caught trolling faster and slower.
Contrary to popular folklore, muskie will hit at any size
fishing lure
A fishing lure is a broad type of artificial angling baits that are replicas designed to mimic real prey animals and attract the attention of predatory fish, using appearances, flashy colors, bright reflections, movements, vibrations and/or loud ...
: the lure does not have to be huge. The lure size should vary depending on the amount of weeds in the area or at the depth you wish to fish. In open water, larger lures such as Jointed Rapalas, Loke Lures, Ziggy Lures, Willy Lures, Wiley Lures, Large Mepps Bucktails, Muskie Plugs, large spinner baits or long shallow running Rapalas can be effective. Usually, Fire-Tiger and Perch-color work best during the day time and red lures work better in the evening.
When fishing in weeds it is better to use smaller lures. Original Floating
Rapalas, or Thundersticks work very well. Smaller Jointed Rapalas and smaller spinner baits are effective too.
References
External links
USGS identification and distribution (native and non-native) of tiger muskellungeIdentification of the tiger muskie and some state recordsTiger Muskie Fishing Tips & General Information
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7801533
Fish hybrids
Esox
Freshwater fish of North America