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14.139.181.229 at 04:25, 10 January 2014

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[[File:Tiger Muskellunge - Tioga-Hammond and Cowanesque Lakes - Pennsylvania - 2013-06-03.jpg|thumb|Tiger muskellunge caught at Tioga-Hammond/Cowanesque lakes in [[Pennsylvania]] in the United States in June 2013.]]
The '''tiger muskellunge''' is a carnivorous fish and is the usually sterile, hybrid offspring of the true [[muskellunge]] (Esox ''masquinongy'') and the [[northern pike]] (Esox ''lucius''). It lives in freshwater and its range extends to Canada, the Northeast and the Midwest parts of the United States. It grows quickly; in one study tiger muskie grew 1.5 times as fast as muskellunge.<ref>Brecka BJ, Hooe ML, Wahl DH. Comparison of Growth, Survival, and Body Composition of Muskellunge and Tiger Muskellunge Fed Four Commercial Diets The Progressive Fish Culturist 1995; 57: 37-43</ref> Trophy specimens weigh about 30 pounds. Its main diet is fish and small birds. The tiger muskie and the muskie are called the fish of ten thousand casts due to the challenge involved in catching them.<ref>Sandell, George. Half a Million Muskie-Catching Fishing Facts. 1994. Published by Echo Printing Co., p. 21 ISBN 0-940107-07-4</ref>

==Distribution==
The Tiger muskie lives in the lakes and quiet rivers in [[Canada]], the [[Great Lakes]], the Upper Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio and St. Lawrence rivers. It is rarely found far from its natural waters except for the fish that have been stocked. Several states, including Minnesota, New Hampshire, Washington, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming stock tiger muskies. Each tiger muskie tends to inhabit the same areas of its lake from year to year. It tends toward shallower waters (6–9 feet deep) and travels half as much in the summer and fall than it does in the winter to spring, when it prefers deeper waters (15–30 feet deep).<ref>Tipping JM. Movement of Tiger Muskellunge in Mayfield Reservoir, Washington North American journal of Fisheries Management 2001; 21: 683-687</ref>

==Characteristics==
The tiger muskie is the result of the true muskellunge (Esox ''masquinongy'') and the northern pike (Esox ''lucius'') interbreeding. The tiger muskie has some of the characteristics of both of these fish. The pattern of the tiger muskie is varying amounts of color with vertical dark stripes on a light background. The pattern on a tiger muskie very rarely is the same as a northern pike. The body is deeper than the body of either parent fish, but that is common in hybrid fish. The caudal fins are more rounded than the tails of true muskies. The tiger muskie has ten to sixteen pores on the lower part of its jaw.

==Food==
The tiger muskie has food preferences similar to those of the true muskie. It seems to prefer larger fish. Its diet is varied and it includes yellow perch, suckers, golden shiners, walleye, small mouth bass, and various other types of fish. The tiger muskie has a voracious appetite.

==Growth and Survival==
[[Image:Tigermuskielw.png|300px | right | thumb |]]
State record tiger muskie catches are recorded as 20-50 lb depending on the state, with northern states yielding larger specimens.<ref>[2] Sandell, George. Half a Million Muskie-Catching Fishing Facts. 1994. Published by Echo Printing Co., p. 23 ISBN 0-940107-07-4</ref>

Because tiger muskies are bred for stocking purposes, studies have been made of its growth rate and the factors that affect it. The growth rate of juveniles depends on the water temperature as well as the type of feed. In studies, the tiger muskie has had the highest growth, production, and food conversion efficiency at temperatures of 68–75 °F (20–24 °C). Below these temperatures, growth rate slows and above them cannibalism increases.<ref>Meade JS, Krise WF, Ort TO. Effect of temperature on production of tiger muskellunge in intensive culture. 1983, Aquaculture 32(1-2):157-164; Soderberg RW. Flowing Water Fish Culture. CRC Press, 1995, pp. 11-12 ISBN 1-56670-081-7</ref>

Several studies have examined the effect of stocking size on survival of stocked tiger muskellunge. This information helps those involved in wildlife management to make cost effective decisions about breeding and stocking programs. Larger size at stocking has been correlated with higher survival rates and the effect is large enough that it is usually cost-effective to stock larger juveniles (180 – 205 mm)<ref>Wahl DH, Stein RA. Comparative Population Characteristics of Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy), Northern Pike (Esox Lucius) and their hybrid (E. Masquinongy x E. Lucius); Szendrey TA, Wahl DH. Size Specific Survival and growth of Stocked Muskellunge: Effects of Predation and Prey Availability North American journal of Fisheries Management 1996; 16: 395-402 ; Wahl DH. An Ecological Context for Evaluating the Factors Influencing Muskellunge Stocking Success North American journal of Fisheries Management 1999; 19:238-248</ref>

As tiger muskies grow longer, they increase in weight. The relationship between weight and length is not linear. The relationship between total length (L, in inches) and total weight (W, in pounds) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form: <math>W = cL^b\!\,</math>

Invariably, ''b'' is close to 3.0 for all species, and ''c'' is a constant that varies among species. A relationship based on 27 populations of tiger muskie from nine states was used to develop a specific equation for tiger muskie and computed that ''c'' = 0.00008035 and ''b'' = 3.337.<ref>Rogers KB, Koupal KD. Standard weight equation for tiger muskellunge (Esox lucius x Esox masquinongy). Journal of Freshwater Ecology, La Crosse, WI 12(2):321-327, 1997</ref> This relationship predicts that a 33 inch tiger muskie will weigh about 10 pounds, and a 47 inch tiger muskie will weigh about 30 pounds.

==Reproduction==
Cross-breeding of the true muskellunge (Esox ''masquinongy'') and the northern pike (Esox ''lucius'') happens naturally in the wild where both parent species occur. The tiger muskie is sterile, which is not unusual for a hybrid fish. Breeders prefer to breed male northern pike and female muskellunge, because the eggs have less adhesive and have less tendency to clump when hatching.<ref>Schultz, Ken, Essentials of Fishing. 2010. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0-470-44431-3</ref>

==Fishing==
The tiger muskie was caught frequently in the past by anglers who did not know and did not care what they were catching, as long as they tasted good. Now, the tiger muskie is stocked regularly in some lakes, and people go to great lengths to obtain a tiger muskie, but it is not an easy fish to catch. Some people say that it takes ten thousand casts to catch one.<ref>Sandell, George. Half a Million Muskie-Catching Fishing Facts. 1994. Published by Echo Printing Co., pp. 21-27 ISBN 0-940107-07-4</ref>

==Similar species==
Chain pickerel, grass pickerel, redfin pickerel, northern pike, and the true muskellunge are all related to the tiger muskie. These fish are all under the genus Esox.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=677 USGS identification and distribution (native and nonnative) of tiger muskellunge]
*[http://www.lake-link.com/fish/fish.cfm?FishID=29 Identification of the tiger muskie and some state records]
*[http://www.iowadnr.gov/fish/iafish/tig-card.html fishing for tiger muskie in Iowa]
*[http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/tigermuskie.asp fishing for tiger muskie in Maryland]
*[http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/fishing/esocids/pike_muskie_waters.htm fishing for tiger muskie in Massachusetts] and [http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/fishing/esocids/pike_muskie_cvd.htm stocking information for MA]
*[http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_53405-214034--,00.html fishing for tiger muski in Michigan] and [http://www.michigandnr.com/fishstock/default.asp?qry=1&Water=6631&StartMonth=1&StartDate=1979&EndMonth=7&EndDate=2010&Orderby=STOCKDATE stocking information for Michigan]
*[http://www.aa-fishing.com/mn/minnesota-other-fishing.html fishing for tiger muskie in Minnesota]
*[http://www.aa-fishing.com/mo/missouri-other-fishing.html fishing for tiger muskie in Missouri]
*[http://nyfisherman.net/pikefishing.html fishing for tiger muskie in New York]
*[http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/musky/00overview_musky.htm fishing for tiger muskie in Pennsylvania]
*[http://www.utahfishinginfo.com/utahfish/tigermusky.php fishing for tiger muskie in Utah]
*[http://wdfw.wa.gov/factshts/tigermusk.htm fishing for tiger muskie in Washington State]

[[Category:Fish hybrids]]
[[Category:Esox]]

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203.99.193.85: /* == */

14.139.181.229 at 04:25, 10 January 2014