Webzine Articles Fish-On! Fish-On! - 6 - Pike | Fish-On! - 6 - Pike |
|
|
|
| Written by TV Ontario | |
| Friday, 01 March 1996 | |
|
Page 3 of 20
Pike vs. Muskie It may not matter to some if they've caught a pike or a muskie but it should. In many places, f'ishing regulations give more protection to the muskie than to the pike and these protective measures can range from a Fishing season that is shorter for muskie but longer for pike to a specific bag limit with greater numbers allowed for pike. So, confusing a muskie for a pike could lead to an angling violation. In addition, the unnecessary demise of the muskie contradicts ethics in many areas where anglers believe the species should be released unharmed. The most reliable distinguishing features between the two fish (see figure 6-1) are: the submandibular pores, the scaling on the cheeks and opercles, color, and markings. Under the jaws of each species are small holes called submandibular pores. The pike has ten or 11 while the muskie has 12 to 20. In the muskie, the cheeks and opercles, the bony plates covering the gills, are not fully covered with scales while the pike's are. The pike's background color is dark and the markings lighter, while the muskie's background is light and the markings darker. I have been using the name "muskie," by the way, even though the official spelling given to the species in the statutes of Canada, its country of origin, is maskinonge, derived from the Indian word mashk (deformed) and kinonje (a pike). However, the accepted common name is "muskellunge" or "muskie" for short. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
| Jr. Jersey T-Shirt |
 |
| $ 23.99 |
