Esox Man

My friend Pete (aka: Esox Man) hunts and catches Muskies. They are not easy to catch, and I believe it requires a lot of patience and persistence to catch these powerful fish. They are at the top of the food chain in fresh waters, and they can definitely do some damage (even to people, if you are not careful). I think the fact that Pete consistently catches this fish is a testimony to his skills and knowledge of the fish. I hope that I will one day meet this species of fish on my line, but I hope that someone like Pete will be there to help deal with it (I want to keep my fingers!).



(On Muskies from Wikipedia)

The muskellunge, Esox masquinongy, is also known as the muskie, musky or maskinonge. They are large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. The name comes from the Ojibwe word maashkinoozhe, meaning "ugly pike", by way of French masque allongé (modified from the Ojibwe word by folk etymology), "elongated mask." The French common name is masquinongé or maskinongé.

Like other pikes, the body plan is typical of ambush predators with an elongate body, flat head and dorsal, pelvic and anal fins set far back on the body. Muskellunge attain lengths of 60–150 cm (2–5 ft) and weights of over 30 kg (66 lb). They prefer clear waters where they lurk along weed edges, rock outcrops or other structure to rest. A fish forms two distinct home ranges in summer: a shallow range and a deeper one. The shallow range is generally much smaller than the deeper range. A musky will continually patrol the ranges in search of available food in the appropriate conditions of water temperature, pH and clarity.

Muskies prey upon anything that fits in the mouth. Most of the diet is fish but it also includes crayfish, frogs, ducklings, snakes, muskrats, mice and other small mammals. The mouth is large with many sharp teeth. Muskies take their prey head-first, sometimes in a single gulp. They will take prey items that are up to 30% of their total length. Muskies reach sexual maturity at 3–6years with females maturing later than males. The fish may live to approximately 30 years of age. Females grow faster and live longer than males, and thus reach greater lengths and weights. Muskies are known for their strength and for their tendency to leap from the water in stunning acrobatic displays. A challenging fish to catch, the muskie has been called "the fish of ten thousand casts". Anglers most often use extremely large but otherwise conventional lures; live blue gills are also commonly used. The average lure is 20–30 cm (8–12 inches) long but longer lures of 35–65 cm (14–26 inches) are not uncommon in the musky angler's arsenal.