Common names include muskie, lunge, maskinonge, great pike, and more than forty other local names.

Sometimes confused with northern pike, but the two species can be easily separated. The muskie has dark marks on a light background, while the northern has light marks on a dark background. Also, the tips of the muskie's tail are more pointed. The muskie's marks range from small spots to vertical bars, depending on the color phase. There are usually 12 to 18 pores on the underside of the lower jaw. The cheek and gill cover have scales only on the top half.

The muskie's moody, unpredictable nature has fascinated generations of anglers. Muskie fishing becomes an obsession of many, even though they catch very few. Muskie fishermen commonly use foot-long plugs and spinners, and baitfish weighing over a pound. They use stout baitcasting rods and 30 to 50 pound dacron line, always with a wire leader. Hooked muskies wage a spectacular but usually short battle. They leap and make powerful runs that often break the line or straighten the hook.

Muskies hybridize naturally with northern pike, producing the tiger muskie. Many fish hatcheries also produce tiger muskies.

Fish are the muskies' favorite food. But like northerns, they eat whatever they can find, including frogs, crayfish, mice, muskrats, and ducklings. Muskies prefer large food items, and where large foods are not available, their growth is slow.

Muskies grow more rapidly than other members of the pike family. They have been known to live over 30 years. Females grow faster and live longer than males.

1957 - 69 pounds, 15 ounces, caught in the St. Lawrence River, New York. A 102-pound muskie is said to have been netted from Lake Superior in the early 1900's, but the report has never been authenticated.

Ontario

A West Nipissing Resort
Lecuyer's Lodge