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Diet
Its keen senses, fusiform shape, rapid acceleration and well
developed teeth make it ideally adapted for detecting, catching
and consuming fish. Feeding studies across its North American
range confirm that other fish comprise at least 95% of its
diet. Crayfish, insects, amphibian, reptiles, small mammals
and waterfowl may also be eaten. Generally, muskies will take
advantage of the most abundant prey species of sufficient
size although experimental and field data indicate that, when
the opportunity to choose exists, muskie prefer soft rayed
species, like suckers, minnows, carp, ciscos, and bullheads.
In almost all water bodies studied, Yellow Perch was a very
important prey item comprising about 30 percent of the diet.
Many anglers have experienced a muskellunge attacking a hooked
bass or walleye at the boatside. This may have lead to the
impression that muskellunge are significant predators of other
game species. Like all predators, muskies are opportunists
and may respond aggressively to the nearby struggles of a
hooked fish. The most comprehensive field studies, however,
have revealed that even when they are abundant, other game
species form a very small part of the muskellunge diet. Tom
Burri (1997) sampled the stomach contents of 1,092 muskies
in northern Wisconsin. Of 547 fish items identified, only
17 were bass and four were walleye.
Hamilton and Crossman (unpublished 197?) undertook a study
of the feeding habits of smaller muskies inhabiting the shallow
Nogies Creek Sanctuary. From 320 muskies sampled, 327 prey
items were identified. In decreasing order of importance,
the following species accounted for 283 items (90%) of the
sample: Pumpkinseed; Yellow Perch; Rock Bass; White Sucker;
Golden Shiner, Brown and Yellow Bullheads.
Larger muskies tend to consume larger prey and can swallow
items that are 45 percent of their total length. Thus, a 50
inch muskie can conceivably eat 24 inch long, cylindrically
shaped prey species, like white suckers. Occasionally, muskies
encounter difficulty attacking big fish. In June of 1994,
Dale Wiley was making a second trolling pass through a familiar
stretch of Pigeon Lake when he observed a gull sitting on
a what looked like a white log in open water. The gull flew
off as he approached to investigate what turned out to be
a 53-inch muskie. Closer inspection revealed the fish to be
in serious trouble. Its gills where white and lodged firmly
in its throat was a mid-sized carp that Dale estimated to
be about 20-inches long.
The caudal portion of the carp had lodged between the gill
arches and Dale was neither able to move the carp nor revive
the muskie. Interestingly, Dale caught and released two other
50-inch muskies in the same area in the following week.
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Reference :
Crossman, E.J. 1986. The Noble Muskellunge:
A Review. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 15
: 1-13.
To the muskellunge bibliography
International Muskie © 1995-2002
http://www.trentu.ca/muskie/biology/biol01.html
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