| NORTHERN PIKE (also known as great northern pike, jackfish, snake) |
IDENTIFICATION & FEATURES: |
- Light oval spots on dark green becoming lighter on the side
- Wavy dark bands on the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins
- Duck-like jaws
- Cheek fully scaled, upperhalf of opercle only scaled, 10 pores on undersides of lower jaw
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HABITAT:
- Prefers shallow, well-vegetated ares in warm water
- Frequently found in less than 1m (3 ft.) of water
SPAWNING:
- Matures at 2-4 years of age
- Spring spawner on vegetated floodplains of rivers, marshes and bays immediately after ice-out
- Eggs hatch in 12-14 days
FOOD:
- Almost exclusively fish but will eat small animals
ANGLING:
- Trolling or casting with spoons, plugs, spinners or spinner baits
- Still-fishing with baitfish at the edge of weed beds
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| MUSKIE (also known as muskellunge, musky and lunge) |
IDENTIFICATION & FEATURES: |
- Distinguished by vertical bars or spots on its side
- Sides may be clear at times
- Tips of tail fin more pointed then northern pike
- Cheek and opercle both scaled only on upper half, 12-18 pores on undersides of lower jaw
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HABITAT:
- Quiet, weedy areas of lakes and rivers
SPAWNING:
- Spawns in the spring in low-lying marshy areas
FOOD:
- Feeds on mainly on fish, but also crayfish, frogs, mice, muskrats and waterfowl
ANGLING:
- Mainly caught trolling or casting with heavy spoons and large plugs, spinners or spinner baits
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