# Tiger Muskie



## TeamPlaker

Hey all....
Are there any lakes in Ohio that stock Tigers?


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## riverKing

not anymore, they switched over to pures a while back. if your looking for other esox sp. I can give you some places.


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## TeamPlaker

Sure! I would like to plan a trip in the spring to try and get a Tiger. I just would like to know where they are so I can research the lakes and see what the guides go for.


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## roger23

the cold water chain of likes Coldwater Michigan has some ,,real hard to get them,,on the Quincy end ,Marble lake I have seen many caught


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## cincinnati

do you want to travel?

WI has many Tiger lakes, some stocked, some natural reproduction.


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## TeamPlaker

I'll travel far if the odds are decent. I was hoping for a place in a neighboring state like Kentucky, but I am planning vacation to Wisconsin in the spring, location is undetermined.


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## cincinnati

Tigers, owing to their northern pike heritage, don't tolerate warm water as well as pure strain muskies. However, they're easier (& cheaper) to tank raise because they'll eat pelletized food instead of live fish. 

It's also a known that they don't reproduce & can't overrun an existing fishery which serves to appease the "they're eating all my crappies/walleyes/bass guys." (I've heard that OH briefly stocked Acton w/tigers!)

There are tigers available in the Madison (WI) lakes but I don't know if these are natural or stocked. 3 of the top 10 tigers ever recorded, including #'s 1 & 2, were caught in Lac Vieux Desert, on the WI/MI border. They naturally reproduce in there & many are caught each year. Several other lakes in that area also have populations of varying significance.

There is also a stocked impoundment in CO that is now kicking out nice fish.

Decent odds? Come on, we're talking about musky fishing, right?


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## TeamPlaker

Sounds good, I'll have to check into that.

Decent odds to me are making my 10,000 casts instead of 100,000.


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## TIGGER

We were up at Lake St. Clair 2 months ago and think we may caught a tiger. Kevin L. is holding it in the pics




















Last year I was fishing with Vc1111 at West Branch and he may have caught one there also. This one may be a Barred musky also. The markings are similar looking on the back but a bit different on the sides.



















John


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## TeamPlaker

From what I understand, Tigers are supposed to have a rounded tail. I don't know enough about muskie yet to correctly identify them... only what I've studied in books.
Either way you slice it, those are beautiful fish.


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## MuskieJim

Tiger muskies occur naturally when a northern pike fertilizes musky eggs. The tail really does not differ in a tiger muskie. There are a few PA rivers and watersheds that are stocked with tigers. Check the PA state fishing site to get that info.

If you're going to take a trip just to catch tigers, I recommend Pineview Reservoir in Utah. It is the #1 tiger muskie lake in the country, constantly pumping out 50" tigers. They have been stocked there for the past 15 years or so.


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## TeamPlaker

Thanks all for the info... several places to look into. Now I just have to research them and check out the guides.


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## 1roofmusky

Sorry to correct you Jim, but the largest tiger out of Pineview UT was a 49". Thats the state record. Pineview is a good bet to catch mutiple tigers in a day, with some people catching up to 10 in 8hrs! 4 footers are not uncommon, but 50 inchers are extremely rare anywhere!


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## MuskieJim

Hmmm. I read an article in MH last year that had a couple fish over 50 inches that were posted in pics. Here was one of the photos that I found on MH's website that said it was a 50 incher from Pineview....


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## sisezz73

Hey Teamplaker, Wisconsin has an open and close season on musky. I believe it runs from the closet saturday to memorial day to the end of november. I have seen many caught in that state but never landed one myself. And i AM WELL OVER MY 10,000 CAST LOL, but will keep going after them whenever I have the chance. Good luck


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## 1roofmusky

CORRECTION!!!!!! Insert foot in mouth!!!! Two documented 50inch fish have been caught from Pineview. One of which is the largest tiger ever released! A real monster at 53 1/4 inches by Ray Johnson in 1998. The other was a 51 incher caught by Kay Moore on June 19, 2007. She released this fish and Larry Ramsell told her it was one of the top 35 hybrids ever caught in the U.S. However, the current UT state record holding fish is a beastly 49inch x 33lb10oz tiger from Pineview caught in July 2006. I had to consult my December/January issue of Musky Hunter (pgs62-65) after my earlier post. *******Kay Moore is a woman and Ray Johnson is African American. So Jim, that picture you posted here is a farce.*******


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## MuskieJim

Well the picture is definately from Pineview, you can tell from the background. What size do you think the one is in the photo? Definately upper 40s


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## 1roofmusky

Definately mid to upper 40's Jim. Those colors are amazing! They look a lot like some other muskies we know about!!! wink wink


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## 1roofmusky

Jim- that other musky pic from this thread(from st clair) is definately a tiger! Those juveniles really are beutiful. The other fish from west branch is not a tiger. It looks like the juvenile(barred muskie) we trolled up last November near the Rock springs causeway.


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## ShutUpNFish

None of those first four fish are tigers. The following two are. Many times, a young barred strain muskie may look like a tiger. The way to tell is by looking and the tail, which is much like that of a northern and the markings around the face and gill plate. Color is also usually a give away....the color of a tiger will be a silvery grey with leopard type spots around the face and the fins that distinct redish hue with darker spots. Tigers also usually do not have that irredescent green on the sides like a barred or clear strained muskie. However, the Great Lakes spotted strain is usually a dead give away.


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## MuskieJim

Both of the pics that I posted are from Pineview, where the only fish that are even present are tigers. From what I've seen, not all tigers are necessarily the same color.


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## Clayton

WOW! What beautiful fish!


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## ShutUpNFish

MuskieJim said:


> Both of the pics that I posted are from Pineview, where the only fish that are even present are tigers. From what I've seen, not all tigers are necessarily the same color.


Thats correct Jim, thay are not all the same color, but neither are other strains. However, folks often mistake young, barred up muskies with tigers when often times they are not tigers. A tiger definitely as a certain look to it and you can tell mostly by the side of it's face and gill plates, fins and specific markings. Some good examples below...notice the differences in the markings.

Clear Strain










Barred Strain








Tiger









In response to the last comment: I have caught a few muskies, and I can't remember one that was NOT a sight to look at no matter what the strain!


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## Weatherby

> I have caught a few muskies, and I can't remember one that was NOT a sight to look at no matter what the strain!



I agree. Actually I don't think I have ever seen any fish, regardless of species that wasn't. However I am partial to the toothy ones


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## MuskieJim

So you don't think either of these are tigers?

Paul you have a lot more knowledge than I do, so I'll take you're word for it!


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## Weatherby

I think both of those fish are tigers.


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## 1roofmusky

SUAF-by your own words you've described the two pineview fish and the st clair fish as hybrids. Appearance is not the only way to tell them apart. The pores under the jaw is truly the only way. The only fish on there thats not a tiger is the bottom juvenile from WB. How many other muskies have you seen in St. Clair that arent salt & pepper fish- NONE. Except for the riverines in the deep parts of the main river and even they look nothing like that tiger. And I've caught both kinds and pike there. Never a tiger though.


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## 1roofmusky

JIM-stick up for yourself!!! You are not a rookie anymore!!! You know what you're looking at!! You've done more musky fishing with me all over the midwest in 3 years than most do in a decade! You've definately caught more than most people!


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## ShutUpNFish

NO NO NO.....the two fish that Jim posted are clearly tiger muskie....sorry if I confused anyone. I meant that the first 4 pictures in this post were NOT tigers. Please read the first two sentences of my original post...

I went back and re-read my post and cannot see the confusion here other than maybe the photos.....after looking at all the pictures, I see where the confusion is coming from. The first 4 photos are of two fish. The next 2 photos are 2 different fish (definitely hybrids). I should have stated...that the first 4 PHOTOS were not hybrids, but the last two posted by Jim are hybrids. Give yourself more credit Jim, you know what you're talking about, I know that! 

Again, sorry for the confusion guys....as we all know, its always harder to communicate thoughts through message boards and writing. Just a matter of miscommunication mixed with misunderstanding.

_MORE FACTS BELOW ON IDENTIFYING HYBRIDS:

1. In general, identifying the muskellunge from the hybrid is fairly easy, though it can be more difficult with some individuals. 

2. The tiger muskie is named for the prominent light-colored, branching bars on a dark blue-green background; some of the light-colored pattern continues across the back.

3. Muskellunge, on the other hand, have much less prominent, non-branching, dark bars on an olive to tan background with no pattern across the back.

4. Chin pores, located on the right and left bottom surface of the lower jaw, will usually number 6 or 7, up to 10, per side on muskellunge.

5. Chin pores on tiger muskie number 5 or 6 per side._


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## 1roofmusky

That was a bit confusing, but you're right, this isn't like having a face to face conversation. So it can be a little hard to communicate your point across at times. Thanks for clearing that up. SUAF - Gabe


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