Tiger Muskie advice

[TOXIC]

Just an fyi, all true Tiger muskies are stocked.  
 

“The tiger muskie is the hybrid offspring of the muskellunge and northern pike. Tiger muskies are very rare in nature because they're sterile and can't reproduce on their own but due to their stout genetics, they grow larger faster than either of their parent species.

 

I have only caught 1 Tiger in all my years but hundreds of pike and regular muskies on everything from tubes to cranks to Senkos and jerkbaits.  The 1 tiger I caught was in Wisconsin in a 2 man pvc boat trolling back to the cottage dragging a deep diving crankbait.  

[gim]

54 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

My reason for posting about northern pike was an example of a large pike eating a small bait which the OP said he already has & intends to use.

Understood, thank you for clarifying.

28 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Just an fyi, all true Tiger muskies are stocked.  
 

“The tiger muskie is the hybrid offspring of the muskellunge and northern pike. Tiger muskies are very rare in nature because they're sterile and can't reproduce on their own but due to their stout genetics, they grow larger faster than either of their parent species.

 

That doesn't make any sense.  A naturally-produced one from a northern pike and a pure strain muskie wouldn't be stocked.

 

In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the recognized world record tiger muskie is from Lac Vieux Desert, which is a lake on the Wisconsin-Michigan border.  They have never stocked a tiger muskie in that lake.

 

 

[TOXIC]

6 minutes ago, gimruis said:

That doesn't make any sense.  A naturally-produced one from a northern pike and a pure strain muskie wouldn't be stocked.

I’ve always known they were sterile, I thought it was common knowledge.  I hate to send you down the rabbit hole of googling but you’ll get your answers there.  Lots of scientific articles.

 

Do tiger muskies spawn?

 

 

 

 

A tiger musky (Esox masquinogy x lucius). Muskies spawn in the spring and will work their way up into very shallow waters to lay their eggs. Sadly, tigers are a rarity due to their inability to breed.Dec 12, 2019

[gim]

15 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I’ve always known they were sterile

Yes, I understand that.  They cannot reproduce themselves.

 

They can be produced naturally from a pure strain and a pike.  Although rare, it can and does happen. 

 

Maybe we are misunderstanding each other here.

[Susky River Rat]

30 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

I’ve always known they were sterile, I thought it was common knowledge.  I hate to send you down the rabbit hole of googling but you’ll get your answers there.  Lots of scientific articles.

 

Do tiger muskies spawn?

 

 

 

 

A tiger musky (Esox masquinogy x lucius). Muskies spawn in the spring and will work their way up into very shallow waters to lay their eggs. Sadly, tigers are a rarity due to their inability to breed.Dec 12, 2019

Tiger Musky themselves can not reproduce. Tiger musky can happen naturally due them being the esox family. So yes it does happen naturally but it’s not tiger musky reproducing tiger musky. It’s the two pure bred pike or musky fertilizing the eggs of one or the other. 

[Further North]

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

Just an fyi, all true Tiger muskies are stocked.  

Tiger muskies, though rare, absolutely occur naturally without stocking.

Every one I have caught to date has been a natural fish.

[Jar11591]

Tiger muskie being sterile means they can’t reproduce themselves. Pike and muskie can hybridize naturally, the resulting offspring can’t. 

[TOXIC]

Ok so y’all sent me down the rabbit hole.?. I think we are both right.  Yes, they can naturally occur but no they cannot spawn themselves and are sterile.  
 

While some tiger muskie occur naturally most are bred in hatcheries. 

[Further North]

5 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Ok so y’all sent me down the rabbit hole.?. I think we are both right.  Yes, they can naturally occur but no they cannot spawn themselves and are sterile.  
 

While some tiger muskie occur naturally most are bred in hatcheries. 

Yep.

A natural tiger, from a body of water that has never been stocked with them, is quite a "thing".

It leaves you in awe of Mother Nature's adaptability, persistence..."Life will find a way."

[gim]

30 minutes ago, Further North said:

Life will find a way

[TnRiver46]

Ain’t y’all never seen a mule???

[Deleted account]

I have to get this back on track? Oh the irony...

I know muskie guys and their lures are like a religion, and there certainly is a lot of method to the madness, but I find most esox outings where one isn't chasing trophy sized muskies or pike can be handled with a couple of lures. Color is easy, match what they are eating, or throw something gaudy and loud. I would feel confident throwing just three things, and five would be plenty. They are:

 

1) A suspending or slow floating JB, 5"-7" 

2) A modified #3 or #4 inline spinner with a single 4/0 or 5/0 hook, either open or screw lock T-rig with a 5"-6" tail.

3) A WP (which is actually a copy of an old musky lure)

 

4) A double bladed #4 inline with 4" bucktail (like a mini cowgirl)

5) A T-rigged 7" Super Fluke (or similar)

 

Honorable mention: Spoon, single willow SB, Super Spook, swim jig, buzz bait.

[gim]

12 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

3) A WP (which is actually a copy of an old musky lure)

Most people probably don’t know that the original WP is the 190 version, designed for muskie fishing. It’s a big lure.

 

Only after years of catering to muskie fishing did they realize they were only draining the wallets of a small demographic, and expanded into the bass fishing realm. Then their sales really took off. 

[Further North]

7 hours ago, gimruis said:

Yes.  That.

6 hours ago, Deleted account said:

I have to get this back on track? Oh the irony...

I know muskie guys and their lures are like a religion, and there certainly is a lot of method to the madness, but I find most esox outings where one isn't chasing trophy sized muskies or pike can be handled with a couple of lures. Color is easy, match what they are eating, or throw something gaudy and loud. I would feel confident throwing just three things, and five would be plenty. They are:

 

1) A suspending or slow floating JB, 5"-7" 

2) A modified #3 or #4 inline spinner with a single 4/0 or 5/0 hook, either open or screw lock T-rig with a 5"-6" tail.

3) A WP (which is actually a copy of an old musky lure)

 

4) A double bladed #4 inline with 4" bucktail (like a mini cowgirl)

5) A T-rigged 7" Super Fluke (or similar)

 

Honorable mention: Spoon, single willow SB, Super Spook, swim jig, buzz bait.

....and a Smokin' Rooster.

?

[Deleted account]

10 hours ago, gimruis said:

Only after years of catering to muskie fishing did they realize they were only draining the wallets of a small demographic, and expanded into the bass fishing realm. Then their sales really took off. 

LOL. I think Larry went to the Chinese movie sound dubbing school, we'd watch just to see how far out of synch the fish splahes and drag screaming effects were.

After originally poo pooing the WP for bass, the 110 and 75 have found their way into the rotation all be it in a niche, the others I could not warm up to no matter how much tinkering and mods.

4 hours ago, Further North said:

Yes.  That.

....and a Smokin' Rooster.

?

I can be up there for ice out...

[TOXIC]

16 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Ain’t y’all never seen a mule???

Yep.  And they’re sterile too.  ?

[bowhunter63]

Buchertail Made by Joe Bucher . They Hammer Buck tails, plus you can throw them all day and still use your arms tomorrow 

[gim]

42 minutes ago, bowhunter63 said:

plus you can throw them all day and still use your arms tomorrow 

That's a good point that no one has brought up yet.  Standard pure strain muskie gear is big and difficult to use for hours on end.  It requires a fair amount of physical strength.  Whereas heavy bass gear or northern pike gear isn't.  Simply being able to fish longer is a big advantage and that extra hour of fishing could prove to be the difference between success and failure.

 

Plus you could still lift your arms the following day too!

[bowhunter63]

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

That's a good point that no one has brought up yet.  Standard pure strain muskie gear is big and difficult to use for hours on end.  It requires a fair amount of physical strength.  Whereas heavy bass gear or northern pike gear isn't.  Simply being able to fish longer is a big advantage and that extra hour of fishing could prove to be the difference between success and failure.

 

Plus you could still lift your arms the following day too!

I used to live in Rhinelander Wisconsin . After opening day we pounded the water. I was a lot younger then. But the next day it was Smallmouth fishing .  Suicks and crank baits we caught a lot. But Bucktails always put some in the net 

[gim]

9 minutes ago, bowhunter63 said:

I used to live in Rhinelander Wisconsin

Really nice area of the state up there by Minocqua and Eagle River.

[TnRiver46]

18 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Yep.  And they’re sterile too.  ?

Indeed! And they don’t have to be stocked haha. Just need a horse and donkey in the same pasture 

[Deleted account]

17 hours ago, gimruis said:

That's a good point that no one has brought up yet.  Standard pure strain muskie gear is big and difficult to use for hours on end.  It requires a fair amount of physical strength.  Whereas heavy bass gear or northern pike gear isn't.  Simply being able to fish longer is a big advantage and that extra hour of fishing could prove to be the difference between success and failure.

 

Plus you could still lift your arms the following day too!

Yeah, and wimpy muskie gear is light compared to jigging wireline 8- 10 hours a day six days a week, but on the plus side, chicks dig the Popeye forearms...

 

[Further North]

On 1/18/2023 at 1:30 PM, gimruis said:

That's a good point that no one has brought up yet.  Standard pure strain muskie gear is big and difficult to use for hours on end.  It requires a fair amount of physical strength.  Whereas heavy bass gear or northern pike gear isn't.  Simply being able to fish longer is a big advantage and that extra hour of fishing could prove to be the difference between success and failure.

 

Plus you could still lift your arms the following day too!

That was the point I was trying to make:  We don't need that giant tackle to catch muskies.

I Listed my three most successful musky lures, and you can toss them all day on medium to heavy bass gear....and those lures have caught many more muskies than my big stuff.

Same on the musky fly fishing side: I've caught far more muskies (around 3:1) on my "heavy 8 wt." rods than my 10 and 12 wt. rods combined.