By Robert Benjamin
Muskie is the nick name giving to Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) which name comes from the Ojibwe word "maashkinoozhe" (ugly pike), although some citations refers the name is from the French "masque allongé" (long mask) a modified Ojibwe etymology. Muskie is a relatively rare, large and elusive freshwater fish of North America, more often found in Minnesota.
This fish is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae, with 3 recognized subspecies: Chautauqua Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy ohiensis) - Tiger Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy immaculatus) - Great Lakes Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy masquinongy)
All the subspecies are present in the areas where muskie live, including the Great Lakes (region north to Canada), Chautauqua Lake, Lake Ontario, the Ohio River system, the Saint Lawrence River, Hudson Bay, and in the Upper Mississippi, generally preferring cold, clear lakes and large rivers.
Subspecies have also name variations, such as Wisconsin Muskellunge, Barred Muskellunge, Allegheny River Pike, Jack, Pike, Ohio Muskellunge, Barred Muskellunge, Ohio River Pike, and Unspotted Muskellunge, all of them lurking among weeds and floating plants, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
Shared preferences make northern pike, muskellunge and even the American eel occur in the same body of water, generally leading to incidents of interbreeding. Muskellunge eat fish, small muskrats and sometimes ducklings, thanks to their tooth-lined jaws.
Muskellunges are usually light colored with long bodies and dark bars running up and down, opposite of their close competitor, the northern pike, which can be identified by the light marks over their dark body. Body's colors vary from light green, silver and light brown.
Northern Pike have 5 or fewer sensory pores on the underside of their jaw, while Muskellunges have six or more. There are also a sterile hybrid of the tiger muskie and the northern pike stocked in several lakes in the Twin Cities metro region, easily identifiable because of their dark markings over a light background (similar to a muskie), but with rounded tail fins, like on northern pikes.
Muskies resemble Northern pike in behavior and appearance, with flat heads, elongated bodies, as well as dorsal, pelvic and anal fins set far back of the head. They grow as big as 2 to 6 feet (71 to 183 cm) and weigh around 66 pounds (30 kilograms).
Depending on their habitat, sometimes the marking of Muskellunges break up into spots, or is totally absent in turbid waters. In addition, the lobes of the tail fin in Muskellunge usually come to a sharper point than those observed of the northern pike.
There is a website that has great information on most species of freshwater fish. It has details that pertain to each species of fish such as habitat, spawning, eating habits, the best lures and baits and more, the website is called: Fishing Stringer, and can be found at this url:
http://www.fishingstringer.com
By Robert W. Benjamin
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Robert W. Benjamin has been in the software business on the internet for over 5 years, and has been producing low-cost software for the past 25+ years. He first released products on the AMIGA and C64 computer systems in the late 1970's-80's.
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