Musky/Pike Regulation Changes

[Red Childress]

Education is the key to understanding the "misunderstood" muskellunge........


Feeding studies have shown that other fish (besides Walleye and Bass) make up the primary food source for Muskies. Studies of the stomach contents of 1,092 show they sometimes eat insects, crayfish, small mammals and waterfowl. They are a natural predator, and like all predators, are opportunists. Studies have shown that even when they're abundant, other game fish make up a very small percentage of the Muskies' diet. Muskies prefer soft-finned, high protein based fish such as suckers, tullibee, ciscoes, bullheads, carp and minnows. In fact, the food sources Muskies prefer most are usually fish species that most people would rather NOT have in their waterways.

Walleye ranked extemely low in the Muskies' diet. In the 1,092 study fish, only 5 contained traces of walleye. The study collectetd Muskies from 34 separate bodies of water, including lakes with large populations of walleye. Despite the abundance of walleye in these lakes, walleye proved to NOT be an important food source for Muskies. 63.5 percent of the stomach contents was made up of yellow perch and various minnows, while 3.4 and 3.1 percent of stomach volume contained walleye and bass respectively.

The bottom line is that Muskies will eat the occaisional walleye or bass and is minimal compared to the amount of game fish such as Walleye that are harvested by anglers.