Tiger Muskies

[Griggs]

On lakes that have only Pike and Tiger Muskie, can we start fishing on those at the begining of Pike season? It makes sense to me since Tiger's don't spawn since they're sterile, so we start fishing for them on the Pike opener instead of Muskie opener?

[Brian Jones]

It doesn't matter if it is a lake with tigers or pure strain, once pike season is open you can fish for pike. Kinda hard to stop a muskie from eating your presentation if it so chooses. If you are being true to the fish you shouldn't encounter that many pure strain muskies before the season opens though since they spawn on midlake flats.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I don't know much about muskies, but isn't a tiger a cross between a pike and a musky? If so, it would be difficult to find a lake with pike and tigers, but no pure musky. Correct me if I'm wrong, I'd like to learn.

[RK]

Hiya,

Tiger muskies are a cross between muskies and pike. However, in MOST MN lakes, particularly the metro lakes with tigers, the fish are stocked. So no pure strain muskies present. There are almost always a few natural tigers around in lakes with pure strain muskies, but not very many. I can probably count the number of them I've seen in the last 5 years on one hand...

As for fishing - muskie season's muskies season, whether it's tigers or pure strain. And targeting them out of season in MN isn't legal. There is no way to stop them from hitting a bait of course - I see them every spring bass fishing. Oddly enough, if they hit, it's almost always on either a Jig and pig or plastic worm. They follow spinnerbaits a lot, but don't often hit them, and you can usually just pull it away from them...

This is somewhat off topic but: seems like in the last few years there are more and more guys out 'pike fishing' before the muskie opener, on muskie lakes, with big gear and big baits and great big nets in the boat. Besides being pretty unethical, it's also flatly illegal. You can claim to be fishing pike, but if a CO thinks otherwise (and it's entirely their disgretion), you'll get gigged for it. I've called the TIP line a couple times on guys out casting Suicks on a muskie lake with very few pike of any size, much less ones that can eat 9" suicks. Both times, the guys got busted.

With lakes that have both pike and muskies, it's sort of a tough deal though. There's a lot of gray area there. I fish for pike in the spring on some lakes with small populations of muskies. Chance encounters happen. When I can, I pull the bait away from them. If I can't, it's immediate, in the water release - no photos, no measuring, just get them loose as fast as possible. Sometimes muskies can really bunch up in the spring (saw 40-some stacked like logs in an inside turn while walleye fishing once - quite a sight...), and if you get into those areas, the only thing you can do is get out of there and leave them be.

Cheers,

RK

[guideman]

First of all I'd like to say that not all muskies spawn on midlake flats. Secondly I'd like to say RK hit it on the head. If you hook a muskie out of season, release it at boatside, forget the net and the camera and just put her back.

Don't be one of those guys that goes pike fishing with his muskie tackle, before the muskie season.

You can tell yourself and everyone else, you're just targeting Pike however, ethically you are in violation of the law here in Minnesota.

"Ace"

[Griggs]

I agree with that too. I wouldn't try to catch Muskie in a Muskie lake out of season. But what I'm saying is theres some lakes in the metro that have Pike in them and some stocked Tiger's, but not pure strain Muskies. My point is Tiger's don't spawn. They are sterile hybrids, pike x muskie. The season protects them from spawning, but since Tiger's don't spawn, and Pike season starts in mid May, wouldn't it make sense that you could fish on these particular lakes?

[Giant_Jackpot]

I hear what you are saying, but we don’t need more special regulations just for this. A tiger muskie is a muskie. That’s all we need to know.

[Griggs]

Well I think I'll call the DNR on this. Sounds pretty cut and dry to me, makes perfect sence.

[Just4fun]

If the DNR were to open up tiger muskie season when pike opens, then what would stop you from fishing any lake that has pike and muskies in it, saying you are only after the tigers that could be there? It opens three weeks after pike opener, just hang on for three more weeks.

[Scoot]

Griggs- I agree with you, this is pretty cut and dried, but my conclusion is quite the opposite of yours. Muskie's a muskie's a muskie. Illegal is illegal. Disagree with law all you want, but don't break it or many will follow RK's lead and call TIP.

[Griggs]

I'm not trying to be combative, and I totally follow the regulations, I'm just offering this as debate and genuenly asking because I didn't know what the law for Tiger's is.

What would stop people from fishing in Muskie lakes and just say we're going for Tigers? I'm not talking about lakes that have Pure strain Muskie. I'm talking about a like Orchard in Lakeville that has only Tiger's and Northern. If the law is the law, believe me, I'm a law enforcement student and I'm more than willing to follow the laws, and I will do so, but you couldn't explain to me the logic for Orchard. Now if you were to say well then we would have to make sure everyone knows which has only Tiger's and which have both, then yeah, thats extra work and that might be an argument. But for the purpose of protection, there is no reason to protect Tiger Muskies after Northern opener (besides the reason I just stated)

You can go ahead and call the tipline, I don't plan on doing it if its illegal. I would actually do the same thing if I saw people obviously targeting out of season fishing. We can attribute a lot of the great Minnesota fishing to the DNR's work on managing our lakes properly.

Muskie is a Muskie I disagree with. It might be hard for a lot of people to tell the difference and it might be hard to distinguish lakes that have only Tiger's from lakes that have both, those would be the only problems I can think of. But Tiger's are a stocked hybrid, a sterile hybrid and therefore don't need protection during spawning season.

[Scoot]

Gotcha. I see your point. Your point seems to be that they should make an exception in the law because the law doesn't seem to make perfect sense in this specific example. But, until you get the law changed there's no point in fighting it. If you can get the law changed, then have at 'er!

[Griggs]

Yea but you can't get the law changed until you fight it

I dunno if its even worth it, I just got to thinking about it the other day and was just wondering if there maybe was an exception that I didn't know about.

I left a message for the man in charge of south metro fisheries at the DNR and I will talk to him tomorrow and let everyone know what he had to say.