Fishes of Canada's National Capital Region
Species Accounts
Esocidae - Pikes - Brochets
The pikes, pickerels and muskellunge are found in fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere. They are moderate to large-sized fishes. There are only 5 species and 4 of these occur in Canada with 2 in the NCR.
The family is characterised by a flattened, elongate, duck-billed snout. Teeth are present on the tongue, teeth on the basibranchial bones behind the tongue are small, jaws have large teeth, branchiostegal rays number 10-20, the swimbladder is connected to the gut by a duct, intermuscular bones are forked or y-shaped, there are no fin spines, pelvic fins are abdominal, cycloid scales are present, gill rakers are present as sharp denticles in patches, there are no pyloric caeca, the lateral line is complete, and the forked caudal fin has mostly 17 branched rays.
Pikes are related to the Mudminnow Family by such characters as no adipose fin, dorsal and anal fins far back on the body near the tail, the upper jaw is bordered by a toothless maxilla, and pyloric caeca and the mesocoracoid bone in the pectoral girdle are absent. "Pike" are named for their pointed snout and "pickerel" is a Middle English word for a small pike.
Pikes are predators on other fishes aided by the posterior dorsal and anal fins which facilitate rapid darts forward. They are important sport fishes, much sought after by anglers for their fighting ability, but are not very good eating because of the intermuscular bones.
Northern Pike / Grand brochet
Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758
Taxonomy
Other common names include Pike, Great Northern Pike, Pickerel, Snake, Wolf, Gator, Slinker, Great Lakes Pike, Canada Pike, Shovelnose Pike, Channel Pickerel, Short Pickerel, Marsh Pickerel, Hammer Handle, Slough Shark, Snakefish, Grass Pike, or Jack (young Pike), Brochet commun, Grand brochet du nord, Sjulik, Ihok, Siun, Hiulik, Siolik, Kikiyuk, Idlûlukak. A pike and Muskie hybrid (a "Tiger Musky") is reported from the Ottawa Reach (from Hog's Back downriver) of the Rideau River (Wachelka et al., 2000; RMOC, 2000; Setterington, 2004) although it is not clear if this was the same fish in all reports.
Key Characters
This species is distinguished by having 9-11 pores on the lower jaws (usually 5 on each jaw; the Muskellunge has higher counts), the cheeks are fully scaled, and the overall colour is dark with light spots, the reverse of that in Muskellunge.
Description
Dorsal fin principal rays 15-19, principal anal rays 12-16, pectoral rays 13-17 and pelvic rays 10-11. Lateral line scales 105-148.
Colour
The back and upper flank are dark green, olive-green or brownish, fading to a whitish belly. The flank has 7-9 rows of greenish, yellow to whitish blotches along it. Scales have a golden tip. The head sides have wavy, golden or yellow blotches and lines and the eyes are bright yellow to golden. The dorsal, anal and caudal fins are green, yellow, orange or pale red, blotched and barred irregularly with black. The pectoral and pelvic fins are dusky to orange. Young have 8-15, wavy, white or yellow bars which become the bean-shaped blotches in adults as they gradually break up. There is a gold to green stripe along the middle of the back in some fish but others are completely dark green. There is a stripe below the eye in young less than 4 cm long. Adults have a vertical bar below the eye. A variety, known as Silver Pike, has an overall silvery colour without flank spots. Faber (1984c) illustrates a larva.
Size
Reaches 150.0 cm total length and perhaps 34.0 kg. The world, all-tackle angling record weighed 25 kg and was caught in Germany in 1986. The Ontario record as of the year 2002 weighed 19.1 kg and was from Delany Lake near Kenora. A pike of 20¼ lbs (9.2 kg) and 44¾ inches (1.14 m) length was caught in Boman (= ?Bowman) Lake in the NCR in 1961 (Anonymous, 1961b), a 20 lbs (9.1 kg) fish was taken in Pontiac Bay. (www.neatpage.com/fishing/species.htm, downloaded 20 May 2003), a 25 lbs fish was taken in Lac Lapêche (local informant to A. Martel, 2003), and a 18lbs one from Constance Lake (www.constancelake.com/articles.htm, downloaded 26 April 2004).
Distribution
Found from Labrador and Québec (but not the Maritimes and Gaspé) west to Alberta, northern and northeastern British Columbia, Yukon, mainland N.W.T. and Alaska. In the U.S.A. south to Missouri east of the Appalachian Mountains. Also across northern Eurasia. This species has been stocked in the Rideau River in the early 1940s (Phelps,2001).
Origin
This species entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium, or possibly from a Beringian or Missourian refugium (Mandrak and Crossman, 1992).
Habitat
Pike are solitary and are found in lakes and rivers where the water is still or flowing slowly. Vegetation is moderate to heavy and cover such as fallen trees and boulders is available. Shallow marshy backwaters or the floodplains of rivers are required for spawning. Relatively good water clarity is required for detecting prey (>1-2 m). They prefer warm water with 20-25° optimal for growth and 6-12°C for spawning, but they usually retire to deeper, cooler water at the height of summer. They are tolerant of high temperatures up to 32°C and low oxygen but prefer >4 mgL-1. pH 5.0-9.0 is tolerated. Pike are active in winter as anglers can testify. A fish kill along extensive stretches of the Rideau River and Canal and in Mackay Lake, Rockliffe was reported in spring 1956 (newspaper reports). Summer distribution is usually within 300 m of shore and less than 4 m deep. On windy days, Pike retreat offshore in surface waters. Large fish often occur in deeper water along rocky shores, down to 12 m. Small (1883) reports pike in the NCR as basking listlessly at the surface during summer in shallow water. Fry of other species swim around the pike and are not attacked. In the fall pike spend the day in deeper water but enter shallows at night, even to the extent that their fins are exposed. This may be to enjoy the warmer water there, to remove parasites by rubbing on gravel, or "for the purpose of watching for and capturing small land animals that come to the water's edge at night".
Age and Growth
Life span is up to 26 years but is less than half this in fast-growing southern populations in Canada compared to Arctic fish. Some aquarium fish have lived 75 years. Age groups up to 9 years are recorded for the Mississippi Lake and Mississippi River at Carleton Place (Kerr, 1999c) and in Lac McGregor in the Outaouais (Vallières and Fortin, 1988) while intrrduced fish in Ramsay Lake in Gatineau Park reached over 7 years (Vachon et al., 2006). Maturity, like growth, varies with latitude and habitat. Lac McGregor fish fare well compared with other southern Québec populations, reaching 6.3 kg at age 9. Males mature at 1-6 years and females at 2-6 years. Females grow larger, faster and live longer than males. Adults on the Lac McGregor spawning run averaged 59.0 cm and 1589 g for females and 53.9 cm and 1380 g for males (Chatelain, 1976). Growth is best at 19-21°C and is very efficient.
Food
Food is initially zooplankton and aquatic insects but fish begin to predominate at 5.0 cm after about 1 month's growth. Muskellunge are not usually found with pike as pike spawn earlier and the young pike will feed on Muskie fry. Insects, cladocerans and isopods dominate in young pike (20-95 mm long) in Lac McGregor in the Outaouais (Vallières and Fortin, 1988). Over 90% of the diet of adults is fish, but frogs, crayfish, mice, muskrats and ducklings are taken. The delta areas of the Saskatchewan and Athabasca rivers lose an estimated 1.5 million waterfowl to Pike each year, about one-tenth of the annual production. In Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta, Pike feed on Yellow Perch, Spottail Shiners, Burbot and White Suckers in order of importance. The daily ration was high from May to August with a June peak and very low in winter. Food is seized after a rapid dart from concealment. Cylindrical fish like Yellow Perch are preferred over more deep-bodied species like Bluegills as being easier to swallow. Adults are attacked by lampreys and on the spawning grounds by bears and large, predatory birds. Young are eaten by various other fishes (e.g. Rock Bass in Lac McGregor (Veilleux and Lafrance, 1970)), birds and even large aquatic insects - a small pike was caught in Lac McGregor in the jaws of a larval Dytiscus beetle (Vallières and Fortin, 1988). Both sexes fast during spawning but females have rations 1.5-2.3 times as much as males in summer and winter.
Reproduction
Spawning runs occur in the late evening and early night, several days before spawning occurs. Generally males precede females onto the spawning grounds although at Lac McGregor in the Outaouais the migrations are similar among the two sexes. Males outnumber females 1.19-2.79:1 on the spawning run in this lake. Males have a migration lasting 14-22 days in Lac McGregor and females 13-18 days with the time elapsed from beginning of the migration to the end of the return migration being 22-25 days (Vallières and Fortin, 1988). Spawning takes place during the day, often in mid-afternoon, in shallow bays or flooded fields just after ice melt in late March to May. The Outaouais region in general has start dates of 27 March to 9 April and end dates of 12 April to 20 May, the marsh at Thurso starts 14 April and ends 3 May and Lac McGregor has start dates of 1 April to 21 April and end dates of 15 April to 12 May (Breton, 1978; Vallières and Fortin, 1988). Peak spawning in the Carillon stretch of the Ottawa River near the eastern edge of the NCR peaked at 20-27 April (Hydro-Québec, 1996). Water temperatures on the spawning run are as low as 1.1°C. Spawning itself takes place at temperatures several degrees warmer than this, up to 17.2°C. At Thurso temperature is 4-15°C. The spawning period is about 10 days at any one site. Each female is accompanied by 1-2 males as she swims over vegetation in the shallow water. Both sexes roll to bring their genital regions close together, vibrate and release 5-60 eggs and the sperm. Tail sweeps scatter the eggs. This 3-10 second process is repeated many times each day. Eggs are amber, 3.2 mm in diameter, adhesive and each female can produce up to 595,000. Eggs hatch 12-14 days later and the fry attach to vegetation by an adhesive head gland until the yolk sac is absorbed 6-10 days later. Larvae are 7.0-9.0 mm long at hatching.
Importance
Pike form a significant part of the freshwater commercial catch in Canada, about 4100 tonnes in 1988 worth almost $3.3 million. They rank after Lake Whitefish, Lake Trout and Walleye in Saskatchewan. In Alberta Pike were used for mink food and are exported to French consumers.
Moving pike to another water body is illegal in Ontario as they are predators, e.g. as noted above they, will eat Muskie fry, and they can change the ecosystem dynamics. Vachon et al. (2006) describe how the introduction of pike into Ramsay lake in Gatineau Park caused the probable disappearance of three fish species, namely Margariscus margarita, Culaea inconstans and Gasterosteus aculeatus, with several others expected to disappear in the next few years.
Dymond (1939) records catches from 1881 onward in the general vicinity of the NCR but trends cannot be determined as fisheries data is recorded from different areas at different dates. For example, in 1903 the catch was 95,630 lbs (43,416 kg) in the Ottawa River and tributaries (Québec), the highest recorded. The catch in Ontario in 1891 from the Ottawa River fronting on Prescott, Russell and Carleton counties and inland waters was 13,125 lbs (5959 kg). Commercial fisheries for pike above and below Hull from the Québec side of the Ottawa River is documented by Pluritec (1982b) for the period before 1964.
Pike may carry the cysts of Diphyllobothrium latum, the broad fish tapeworm, a cestode which can infect humans with the adult stage if incompletely cooked flesh is eaten. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources publishes a print and on-line "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish" (www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/) and has advisory limits for eating this species in the Mississippi Lake and River, Rideau River, South Nation River and Ottawa River. Environnement Québec also has recommended limits, in meals per month (1 to 8) for size of fish (small, medium or large), for such areas as Lac Deschênes at Aylmer and Quyon, Deschênes Rapids, the Ottawa River below Gatineau, above Hull, and at Masson, the Lièvre River above and below Buckingham and the Gatineau River at Chelsea, among others (www.menv.gouv.qc.ca, downloaded 13 October 2004). As these limits are apt to change, anglers consuming this fish should consult the most recent version.
They are sold fresh and make excellent eating, having white, flaky flesh, perhaps not as good as Walleye or Salmon Family members. A muddy taste in summer is attributed to the skin mucus and can be avoided by removing the skin before cooking. Pike are good sport fish taken by trolling spoons, plugs, fishes and worms near or off weed beds. They may also be taken with minnows suspended below a float. Wire leaders are used because of the Pike's sharp teeth. They are also an important element of the winter ice fishery taken with live or salted fish as bait or by jigging. Size limits are imposed on anglers but research shows this must be done with care. A large limit might seem to protect young fish so more survive to reproduce, but often more large females are taken and egg production decreases. A careful balance must be struck. In 1999 it was the third most frequent species at 11.5% (after "basses" at 37.4% of events and Walleye at 16.0%) sought at competitive fishing events in Ontario (Kerr, 1999d). One of the more fascinating aspects of Pike lore is the stories which have accumulated over the centuries. The Emperor's Pike, 579.5 cm long and 250 kg, was purportedly caught in a lake near Württemburg in 1497 and found to have a copper ring around its gill region relating in Greek its release by the Emperor Frederick II on 5 October 1230. The skeleton of this monster was kept in Mannheim Cathedral but was shown to have extra vertebrae taken from several Pike. The story itself is untenable even without the physical disproof. The Pike would have had trouble growing with a copper ring around its gill region and a Pike 579.5 cm long should have weighed more like 1.5 tons. A general belief in giant Pike made stories of people being pulled into ponds, hands being severed, infants in the Pike stomach, and so on more acceptable. While these European tales can be discounted by the practical North American, one Pike myth current in Canada is that they lose their appetite and their large canine teeth in midsummer when one would expect them to be actively feeding and biting on anglers' lures and baits. Scientists regard this as an angler's excuse. Pike do lose teeth but replace them regularly and always have an efficient set. Pike don't bite well in August because prey is abundant and they are well fed, and they tend to retreat to cooler waters at this time.
Muskellunge / Maskinongé
Esox masquinongy Mitchill, 1824
Taxonomy
Other common names include Musky, Muskie, Lunge, Jack, Chatauqua; and Tiger, Spotted, Barred, Great, Leopard, Great Lakes, Ohio or Wisconsin Muskellunge, and Maskinonge. Muskellunge and Maskinongé have been variously attributed to Latin or Québecois for long mask (masca longa, masque allongé) and various Indian words. There is an unnamed smaller, lake form of this species in Ontario which is barred rather than spotted and has a different biology, but its presence in the NCR has not been determined (Hubbs et al., 2004).
Key Characters
This species is distinguished from Northern Pike by having a total of 12-20 pores on the lower jaws (usually 6-10 on each jaw), only the upper half of the cheek is fully scaled, and by colour pattern.
Description
Dorsal fin with 15-19 principal rays, anal fin with 14-16 principal rays, pectoral rays 14-19 and pelvic rays 11-12. Lateral line scales 130-176.
Colour
The bank and upper flank are golden green to brown, or yellowish, flanks similar or grey or silvery and the belly is whitish with small brown or grey spots and blotches. The head has spots on the sides or bars radiating from the eyes. Flanks have dark brown to black spots, bars, blotches or worm tracks (vermiculations) on a lighter background. The dark markings vary considerably between and within populations. Very large fish are more silvery and such markings are obscured. Fins are green to red-brown and the dorsal, anal and caudal fins in particular are blotched with dusky spots. Young have a gold or gold-green stripe down the middle of the back, upper flanks and back are blue-green to tan fading to white below and the flanks have irregular, dark blotches or oblique bars. Hybrids with Northern Pike are strongly barred and called Tiger Muskellunge.
Size
Reaches over 1.83 m and possibly 45.0 kg but most are much smaller. The world, all-tackle angling record from Blackstone Harbour, Georgian Bay, Ontario was caught on 16 October 1988 by Kenneth J. O'Brien and weighed 29.48 kg and was 1.47 m long. Muskies are said to reach 55 inches (1.4 m) in the Rideau River (Wachelka et al., 2000) but see below. The Ottawa River may have fish weighing in the 62 lbs range, based on an estimation by a local angler of a fish he released ( https://secure.cccpdc.com/allcanada/html/canadianMemoriesInFisherman.cfm, downloaded 20 June 2003) and up to 62 inches in length (Kerr, 2004; not in the angler diary below).
Small (1883) reported the largest fish offered for sale by Mr. Lapointe in the NCR was 42 lbs (19.1 kg). Bebee (2004) records Muskies of 53 lbs 4 oz from Beckett's Landing on the Rideau River (1947) and shows photographs of 52 and 54 inch Muskies from the Long Reach of the Rideau River. Anonymous (1964) reported a 50 inch 35 lbs Muskie from the Rideau River near the Jock River. Waddell (1999) reported a 53 inch (1.35 m) Muskie with a 22½ inch (57.2 cm) girth caught trolling in the Ottawa River. Its estimated weight was 33 lbs (15 kg). Mullington (1999) reported a 58 inch (1.47 m) Muskie from the Ottawa River near Orléans, presumably the same fish as the 58 inch and 28.5 inch girth fish caught by Ed Barbosa on 20 October 1994 (www.canadian-sportfishing.com/NationalFishRegistry/Live_Release1.asp, downloaded 13 June 2003). A 53 inch Muskie was reported from Wendover in the Ottawa River (www.fish-hawk.net, downloaded 20 May 2003). Anonymous (1979) reported a 30 lbs 6 oz (13.8 kg) Muskie which was 47½ inches (1.21 m) long from the Rideau River. A 36 lb fish was caught in Dow's Lake in the 1960s (www.ottawafishing.com, downloaded 20 May 2003). Wachelka (1999) however gives details of mis-reporting a 55 lbs (25 kg) fish from Rockland on the Ottawa River (probably a 35 lbs fish (15.9 kg) with rumours of capture on the Rideau River. Newspaper reports have a 51.25 lb Muskie from near Rockland in the Ottawa River, caught in November 1996. A 62.25 x 27.5 inch Muskie weighing approximately 57 lbs was caught near Hull in the Ottawa River on 12 July 1997 (www.muskiescanada.ca, downloaded 20 May 2003). A 44.5 and a 55 inch Muskie from the Ottawa River is pictured in Kerr (2004). A 51 x 22 inch (1.3 x 0.6 m) Muskie was caught at Rockland 17 October 1998 by Rick Collin as were two 50 inch (1.27 m) fish by other anglers (The Release Journal, 22(1):5, 1999). A 51 inch Muskie from near Rockland was pictured at www.fishontario.com/photo_gallery/page1/Dan-Maclean.jpg, downloaded 23 August 2004. A 52 inch, 22 inch girth and 51.5 lbs weight Muskie was caught at Rockland by Brent Luckman (Mullington, 1998; Buie, 1998) and fish to 30 lbs are caught in bays near Clarence on the Ottawa River. A 56.5 inch Muskie with a girth of 26.5 inches and a reported weight of just over 51 lbs or 22.95 kg (or 23.15 kg converting the 51 pounds to kilogrammes) was caught near Kars in the Rideau River on 8 October 2004 (Ward, 2004). A 40 lb muskie is reported as having been caught from the bay below Jessups Falls on the South Nation River (Naomi Langlois-Anderson, South Nation Conservancy, pers. comm., 7 August 2007).
Beebee (2007) lists old records of muskie taken in the Rideau River, up to 58 lbs (26.3 kg) and 60 inches (1.52 m).
Weight in pounds for large Muskie released alive can be derived from the formula "girth2 x length/800", or allowing for overestimates for very large fish, the same formula can be used but ¾ inch should be taken off the girth before it is squared (The Release Journal, 22(1):16, 1999).
Distribution
Found from southwestern Québec and southern Ontario west to western Lake Superior but only south of this lake to western Ontario and introduced to southern Manitoba. In the U.S.A. south to northern Georgia. The Chat's Lake area near Arnprior had 10,000 young Muskie stocked in 1956 (newspaper reports). The Rideau River was heavily stocked with this species in the 1940s and early 1950s (Hopkins, 2000). 25,000 fish were released in the Rideau River in the Long Reach near Kars or Osgoode in 1941 (newspaper reports vary; Bebee, 2004). The Jock River and Steven Creek (North Gower) have also been stocked with this species (Kerr, 2001a).
Origin
The Muskellunge entered the NCR from a Mississippian refugium.
Habitat
Muskellunge are found in the warm shallows of lakes and rivers where there is abundant vegetation such as pondweed and of cover such as fallen trees and boulders. Their requirements are narrower than those for Northern Pike. The Jock River is the only natural small stream harbouring this species in southeastern Ontario (Billington, 2002) although the major rivers in the NCR are famous for their Muskie. In the Carillon stretch of the Ottawa River near the eastern edge of the NCR, radiotelemetry showed 12 of 40 fish remained in lentic habitats (bays), 17 used mainly lotic habitats (main channel of the Ottawa River and tributaries) and 11 fish used both habitats (Hydro-Québec, 1996). Muskellunge used habitats deeper and further from shore in summer but closer to macrophyte stands than in spring. Greater distances were travelled in spring and autumn than in summer and winter. Young-of-the-year muskies in the Carillon stretch occupied 3-5 m wide macrophyte beds in the upper part of the water column in contrast to pike which used the deeper portion. Relatively good water clarity is required for detecting prey (>1-2 m). Large fish often occur in deeper water along rocky shores, down to 12 m. They are more common in slower streams and rivers than Northern Pike. They are tolerant of high temperatures up to 32°C and low oxygen but prefer >4 mgL-1. However they prefer temperatures below 26°C, with 20-25°C optimal for growth and 6-12°C for spawning. pH 5.0-9.0 is tolerated. A fish kill along extensive stretches of the Rideau River and Canal was reported in spring 1956 (newspaper reports).
Age and Growth
Life span has been estimated at over 30 years but even trophy fish are mostly less than 23 years old. A small sample from the Ottawa River had a maximum age of 20 years for 5 females and 17 years for 3 males (Casselman et al., 1999). Growth is rapid in the first few years but the rate varies with locality being slower in northern Ontario than the south. Both sexes mature at 3-6 years although males are smaller. Females generally live longer than males.
Food
Small Muskellunge up to about 4 cm feed on zooplankton but soon switch to fishes alone. In The Ottawa River Muskies are known to feed on Mooneye when they enter shallow waters. Fishes are seized by a rapid dart from motionless concealment in vegetation or near fallen logs and stumps. A Muskie may watch a prey item for many minutes before striking. The prey is impaled crossways on the large canine teeth, taken back to concealment and rotated in the mouth so it can be swallowed head first. This prevents injury if the prey has spiny fins. As well as fish, frogs, crayfish, snakes, muskrats, mice, shrews, chipmunks and various waterfowl are taken. Young and adults are cannibals; a 71.1 cm fish was found to have a 40.6 cm Muskie in its stomach. They are reported to make occasional lunges at bathers who claim to have been bitten and there is a report from the 1956 Ottawa Citizen of a Muskie grabbing the leg of Melville McConeghy while he was dangling it in the water from a boom of the Gillies Lumber Company near Arnprior in the Ottawa River. Reported attacks are on dangling hands or legs and swimmers, being too large, are not attacked.
Reproduction
Spawning occurs in April to May after ice melt and later than Northern Pike. Peak spawning in the Carillon stretch of the Ottawa River near the eastern edge of the NCR peaked at 27 April-5 May (Hydro-Québec, 1996). Water temperature is usually over 9°C in shallow, vegetated or debris-rich flooded areas. The Kemptville Creek estuary wetland is a regionally significant spawning site (Schueler et al., 1996). The fish home to specific spawning grounds and to areas on these grounds. Some fish have been caught at the same place for 7 years in Stony Lake, Ontario. Such fish may well have summer home ranges distinct from other spawning groups and are reproductively isolated. This could be very important in managing Muskellunge stocks. The large female swims over the vegetation with one, sometimes two, males, both sexes rolling to bring their genital areas close together when eggs and sperm are shed as the fish vibrate. Their tails lash to spread the adhesive eggs which fall into the vegetation. The spawning season usually lasts a week with many such spawning acts. A female may have 265,000 amber eggs up to 3.5 mm in diameter.
Importance
Commercial landings of Muskellunge in Ontario and Québec reached an estimated 447,578 fish in 1888-1897 but commercial fisheries were closed in 1936 to protect the developing sport fishery. Dymond (1939) records catches from 1875 onward in the general vicinity of the NCR but trends cannot be determined as fisheries data is recorded from different areas at different dates. For example, in 1898 the catch was 26,650 lbs (12,099 kg) in the Ottawa River from Carillon to Pontiac in Québec) including the Gatineau lakes, the highest recorded. On the Ontario side the highest catch was in 1891 at 12,050 lbs (5471 kg) from the Ottawa River fronting on Prescott, Russell and Carleton counties and inland waters.
This large sport fish is avidly sought by residents and visitors to Canada and it is a mainstay of the angling industry. Large Muskellunge are more common in Canadian than U.S. waters, including waters of the NCR. The Ottawa Chapter of Muskies Canada has carried out radio-tracking in 1994-1997 and is involved in habitat restoration to protect this sport fish (Smith in Kerr, 1999b). A Muskies Canada sponsored contest on the Ottawa River in August 1998 resulted in 33 fish being caught by 35 anglers, the biggest fish being 51 inches (1.3 m) long (Smith in Kerr, 1999b). The lower Ottawa River below Rockland attracts anglers from the United States for the large Muskie found there and the Rideau River has the best catch rate in eastern Ontario, remarkable for a large metropolitan area (Hopkins, 2000).
An estimated 100 person-hours of angling is required to capture a Muskie large enough to keep. However 74 keen Muskie anglers in Lake St. Clair caught 1273 fish in 1017 days of fishing. There are a number of fishing clubs in Canada and the U.S. devoted to catching Muskellunge. They are caught by trolling or by using a large, live fish as bait. They are very strong fighters and will leap out of the water. There are strict fishing regulations in regard to size, season and bag limits in order to maintain stocks of this species (OMNR, 2002). In Ontario in 1999, competitive fishing events encouraged live release after measuring length in the water at the point of capture and an honour system for reporting catches (Smith in Kerr, 1999b; Kerr, 1999d). However about 30% of all angled Muskellunge die because of stress, including many apparently fit fish released by anglers. The flesh is white and flaky and Muskie can be baked, poached or fried but most larger fish are mounted as trophies. Environnement Québec has a recommended limit of 4 meals per month from large-sized Muskie taken in the Ottawa River below Gatineau (www.menv.gouv.qc.ca, downloaded 13 October 2004). As these limits are apt to change, anglers consuming this fish should consult the most recent version.
Angler diaries provide the following data summarised in Kerr (2004). Dow's Lake and the Jock River are within the NCR but the
Ottawa and Rideau River reports presumably include fish from outside the NCR. Note that not all years are reported in the range given
and completeness of reports will vary within years:-
| Water Body/Years | Angling effort (rod hours) |
Catch (Number of fish) |
Harvest (Number of fish) |
CUE* | Mean size# of angled fish (and sample size) |
Largest fish# |
| Dow's Lake/1995-2003 | 379.25 | 67 | 0 | 0.177 | 34.9 (67) | 45.0 |
| Jock River/1988-2002 | 262.50 | 57 | 0 | 0.217 | 30.2 (44) | 39.0 |
| Ottawa River/1981-2003 | 16,074.75 | 1549 | 0 | 0.096 | 37.6 (1390) | 58.3 |
| Rideau River/1985-2003 | 3442.60 | 434 | 0 | 0.126 | 34.5 (400) | 55.0 |
* = catch per unit effort
# = in inches
These figures show that many serious anglers release their catch unharmed, your chances of catching a Muskie are better in the Jock but the big ones are in the Ottawa with large fish in the much smaller and more accessible Rideau.
© Brian W. Coad (www.briancoad.com)
