50-inch muskies no longer rare in state (2024)

FAQs

How rare is a 50 inch muskie? ›

Muskellunge have long been called “the fish of 1,000 casts” because they're so difficult to catch. By that measure, 50-inch muskies might easily be called “the fish of a million casts.” Hansbarger says, however, that those cast-per-fish ratios are coming down. “It's not really a thousand casts anymore.

Tiger muskies are the rarest and most elusive of all North American esocids. In most settings where they occur naturally, they have a nearly mythical status. A mere sighting of a trophy specimen gets people talking.

Depending on the body of water, muskellunge in Minnesota could take 13 to 21 years to reach 50 inches.

In October of 1949, Louie Spray caught a muskie that weighed 69 pounds, 11 ounces from the Chippewa Flowage near Haywood, Wisconsin. That muskie is recognized by the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as the “All Tackle” muskellunge record.

On July 24, 1949, Johnson claimed to have caught a 67-pound 8-ounce muskie on an inland lake near Hayward, Wisconsin. Photos were taken, witnesses watched the weigh-in, and Johnson submitted his catch to Field & Stream as a new world record.

They tend to find a secluded place to be alone and wait for food. These fish are in no hurry to go out looking for a meal. Therefore, a lure generally must be right on top of a fish that has never seen one as a source of danger before in order for it to latch on and be caught.

Pike and muskies rarely attack people, but attacks do happen. These species draw more human blood than "scarier" freshwater fish.

The Middle Allegheny River, Pennsylvania

Every year, scores of 50-plus-inch fish are caught and released in the Allegheny, some pushing 40 pounds. This is where my muskie obsession began.

Characteristics. The tiger muskie is the result of the true muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and the northern pike (Esox lucius) interbreeding. The tiger muskie has some of the characteristics of both fish. Tiger muskie, like pike and muskellunge, have long, cylindrical-shaped bodies.

Life Cycle

the Muskellunge lifespan is about 12 to 18 years but some have been known to live as long as 30 years. Muskellunge spawn after ice-out in early April to late May - seeking?

How much does a 50 inch muskie weigh? ›

This chart indicates that a trophy for pure strain muskie is 28 pounds/46 inches and a trophy for tiger muskie is 18 pounds/38 inches. So if you consider a trophy pure strain muskie to be 50 inches, then a more simpler mathematical ratio for a trophy tiger muskie would be 40 inches or bigger.

Despite claims from a number of resort communities in Wisconsin and other mid-west states, Boulder Junction, in Northern Wisconsin's Vilas County is the only official Musky Capitol of the World®.

Today, we're hanging out with musky legend Larry Ramsell. Larry has been fishing for muskies for over 60 years and has some crazy stories.

Common Names: Muskellunge, musky, muskie, 'lunge, northern muskellunge, maskinonge, tiger muskellunge (used for the muskellunge/northern pike hybrid). Meet the muskellunge -- a lean, mean fightin' machine that is arguably the most sought-after trophy in Wisconsin.

The basic rate for Lax is $14.95 per inch, so a 50-inch muskie will be around $750.

Muskie are typically between 28 and 48 inches and between 15 and 35 pounds, but they are known to reach up to 72 inches long and 70 pounds in extreme cases. Juvenile fish tend to grow to about 12 inches in their first year.