Date:Tue 7/16/2024 10:45 PM
Happy Thursday, everyone! Today's fish of the day is the muskellunge!
The muskellunge, also called a musky, lunge, ski, and scientific name Esox masquinongy, is known for being the largest species of pike. Muskellunge can be found around the rivers of Michigan, specifically the Great Lakes region, Canadian waters, St Lawrence River, and around the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. Outside of their natural range, they can also be found around the Tennessee river, South Carolina rivers, and as far South as Upper Georgia, where they are kept stocked intentionally for recreational fishing. They live around clean and clear waters with little silt, preferring to surround themselves with aquatic vegetation and weeds. This is because they tend to lurk near weedy shores and rocky outcroppings, although they can be found in deeper waters during the summer.
The diet of the muskie is made up primarily of other fish, although they will also eat: frogs, water birds, rats, and other animals that can be found in and around their environments. On rare occasions, muskellunge have been reported attacking dogs and children They attack other animals in an ambush, where the muskie will swiftly bite and swallow, not allowing any time for prey to fight back or escape. They can get as large as 50 inches in length, but there are claims of fish getting as large as 6ft. They have few predators, only large birds, such as bald eagles, other larger muskellunge or pike, and human fishing. With human fish thought to be the cause of their declining numbers.
Similar to other pikes, the muskellunge form small schools, and will claim territories that they fiercely defend, only becoming more aggressive during the breeding season. They spawn in the spring, like other pikes, finding clean rocks or sandy bottomed rivers to lay their eggs. Spawning is only around a week to two weeks in length, and eggs are abandoned almost immediately. Once born, juveniles are only a few cm in length, but can get as large as 12 inches by their first year of life, and can get as old as 12-18 years.
That's the muskie fish, have a good Tuesday, everyone!