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Overview
Characteristics
Overview
Muskellunge, also known as musky or muskie, are considered a cool water species and known as the “fish of10,000casts” as they are very wary and elusive torecreationalanglers. They are considered excellent tasting fishwith a flaky white flesh. Muskellunge can reach burst speeds of 30 miles per hour and can live as long as 30 years in their natural environment.
These fish possess a large snout full of canine type teethand needle type teeth and are a sight feeder hunting mostly during daylight. Muskellunge areastealthy ambush predatorhunting nearsubmergedweeds and logs.
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Characteristic category
Food
Characteristics
Food
Young muskellunge feed on minnows and other small ?sh. Adult muskellunge prefer to eat soft rayed prey like suckers, carp and even trout. They will eatminnows, perch, sunfishes and any other fish available in its habitat. Larger muskies have been known to attack and consume nearly any living animal, invertebrates, amphibians, small rodents, waterfowl, muskrats, and smaller muskies. They have large stomachs relative to their size and can consume prey that are often more than half their length.
Characteristic category
Habitat
Characteristics
Habitat
Muskellunge, also known as musky or muskie, are considered a cool water species and known as the “fish of10,000casts” as they are very wary and elusive torecreationalanglers. They are considered excellent tasting fishwith a flaky white flesh. Muskellunge can reach burst speeds of 30 miles per hour and can live as long as 30 years in their natural environment.
These fish possess a large snout full of canine type teethand needle type teeth and are a sight feeder hunting mostly during daylight. Muskellunge areastealthy ambush predatorhunting nearsubmergedweeds and logs.
Lake
River or Stream
Characteristic category
Physical Characteristics
Characteristics
Size & Shape
Muskellunge commonly reach lengths of around 37 inches. The world record was caught in Hayward, Wisconsin in 1949. The fish weighed 67 pounds 8 ounces and was 60 1/4 inches long.
Characteristic category
Life Cycle
Characteristics
Life Span
In a natural?environment?the Muskellunge lifespan is about 12 to 18 years but some have been known to live as long as 30 years.
Reproduction
Muskellunge spawn after ice-out in early April to late May -seeking?water temperatures of around 55 degrees Fahrenheit and depths?less than three feet and often less than 20 inches?to spawn?in. Musky spawning habitat preferences are still not very well understood but the conventional wisdom is that females broadcast anywhere from 20,000 to 250,000 eggs that stick to the substrate that varies from sparse vegetation, woody debris to rock and sand bottom. Males move onto spawning grounds first and swim with females depositing milt over the eggs?across long expanses of undeveloped?shorelines.??Most spawning?activity takes place at?night. Muskellunge do not build nests or care for their young, leaving soon after spawning?is completed.??
Muskellunge eggs hatch in about two weeks depending upon water temperatures. The musky fry absorb their yolk sac and immediately begin feeding on zooplankton (microscopic aquatic animals). Within a few?days?the fry become?piscivorous -?switching over to a diet of small fishes. The young muskellunge spend this period of their life cycle seeking prey and trying to avoid predators such as larger fish, predaceous insects, birds and even larger musky.? The young grow very rapidly for the first few years.
Geography
Characteristics
Range
Muskies are located in the Northern to Northeast part of the United States and up into Canada. Within North America muskellunge are native to the St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and Mississippi River basins.
