"Compared to pike, muskies are considerably more
selective as to what they eat. They're known
for their habit of following a fly, then
turning away at the last second. But muskies
can afford to be choosy; pike can't. Since
muskies aren't as numerous, they face less
food competition from other members of their
breed. Pike must eat whatever they can
whenever they can or be outcompeted.
Due to their finicky nature, muskies are commonly
billed as "the fish of 10,000 casts." Stories
often describe how an angler fishes for years to
catch a single muskie. Such tales discourage
many anglers from trying for muskies. It's
true that muskie fishing can be tough, but it's
not nearly as difficult as many writers would lead
you to believe. Some muskie specialists land
dozens each season.
Because pike aren't as selective, they're much
easier to catch. In a creel survey conducted on a
Wisconsin lake, anglers removed 50 percent of the
pike crop in a single season. Another reason pike
fishing is easier: the fish don't seem to learn
from past mistakes. Many anglers have caught a
pike with a distinctive marking, released it and
then caught it again the same day. Rarely does
this happen with muskies.
The relative ease of catching northern pike makes
them extremely vunerable to overfishing. In most
heavily fished waters, pike exceeding 10 pounds are
unusual. But in remote areas, they commonly reach
25 pounds or more. Muskies are less affected by
fishing pressure and frequently attain in excess
of 35 pounds, even in waters pounded by anglers.
The largest pike taken by fly fishing weighed 33 pounds,
8 ounces. It was caught in Nejanilini Lake, Manitoba,
in 1994. Surprisingly, the largest fly rod muskie weighed
only 18 pounds, 9 ounces. It was caught in Pike
Lake, Wisconsin, in 1989. A tiger muskie caught in the
St. Lawrence River, Quebec, 1985, weighed 30 pounds, 6
ounces.
All Esocids are excellent food fish, with lean, white,
flaky, mild-tasting meat. They're often belittled
because of the Y-bones in the meat, but the bones
can easily be removed. Muskies, however, are too
scarce to kill for the meat. Release them to
fight another day." |
