Photo by Matt Garvin on iNaturalist · CC BY-SA 4.0
Muskellunge
Esox masquinongy
- When
- Jun–Nov — June, July, August, September, October, November. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it holds
- Deep weed edges, rock bars and river current breaks in big water.
- How to know it
- Like a pike but with dark bars on a light flank — the reverse pattern — and pointed tail lobes.
- What to know
- The fish of ten thousand casts. Fall is the trophy season as water cools.
- The tactic
- Oversized bucktails and gliders, with a figure-eight at the boat every cast.
Seasons, size limits and catch limits change every year and differ by water body. Check the current regulations for your province or state before you fish.
Found in these regions
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Also active in September
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Sander vitreus
Olive-gold flanks, a spiny first dorsal, and the big glassy eye that gives it the name and lets it hunt in low light.
Where and how to catch it →
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Micropterus dolomieu
Bronze-brown with vertical bars, red eye, and a jaw that ends level with the eye — not past it.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Joshua Johnson · CC BY 4.0
FishJan–JunNorthern pike
Esox lucius
Long torpedo body, duck-like jaws, light bean-shaped spots on a dark green flank.
Where and how to catch it →Photo: Daughter Dad · CC BY 4.0