Muskies Inc.

FYI...

Sexing a muskellunge (muskie) is done by examining the external urogenital opening (vent) located on the underside of the fish, just ahead of the a**l fin.Female: The vent area is larger (to accommodate BB-sized eggs) and resembles a pear or a figure-8 shape.Male: The vent is smaller and resembles a keyhole shape (similar to an older skeleton-key lock).This external identification is highly reliable for sexually mature muskies, which are typically 30-36 inches long for females and 28-31 inches for males. For smaller or juvenile fish, the vent shapes are much harder to distinguish.Because muskies are apex predators and highly prized sport fish, they endure a lot of stress when caught. If you are examining a live fish, always keep it in a catch-and-release cradle in the water, minimize handling time, and be incredibly gentle when supporting the fish to turn it over for inspection.

Cassi’s first time musky fishing, and she pulls in a nice Tiger!
📷: Heath Schiesher

Let's talk about tagged tiger muskies for a second!
I'm sure by now, most people are aware of the aging and growth study that the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Mountain West Muskie Chapter 65 have been conducting at Pineview Reservoir, but it never hurts to talk about it.

If you are fishing at Pineview Reservoir, there is a good chance you may catch a tiger muskie with an external floy tag next to the dorsal fin. Sometimes they can be moss covered and difficult to see or read. Please do not remove this tag!! This tag is for a study, not for a prize! The color of the tag indicates the year the fish was tagged. The number closest to the end of the tag is the tag number. Record that number and the length of the fish. Also on the tag is a phone number.

To report, you can:
A) Call the number on the tag, leave a message, and someone will get back to you.
B) Message this page directly.

Tell us the tag number, the length of the fish, and the date you caught it. We will tell you when it was caught and tagged, how long it was when it was tagged, if there have been any recaptures of that fish in between tagging and your recapture, and we may even be able to tell you the fish's gender and age.

We do not need to know where ok the lake you caught it or what you caught it on!

Please try to be as accurate as possible on the length. One item we recommend is the Rapala 60" folding ruler. It's a small, cost effective measuring device that runs $15-$17 and is easy for anyone to use from boat or shore.

This study helps the biologists understand growth rates, the growth rate differences in genders, and how the rate growth slows as these fish age.

Some fun facts:
1) We see an average growth rate of 4" per year through the 30" range.
2) When stocked at 2" in April, tiger muskies in Pineview will be up to 16" by October.
3) The fastest recapture we have seen is 1 day after the previous recapture.
4) The most recpatures of a single fish so far has been 6 times!
5) The oldest fish that we have aged with this study has been 11 years old!

Seeing that these fish can live to be 11 years old and be recaptured 6 or more times in a lifetime highlights how we should take care of them so that they can reach their true potential size!!

We at Mountain West Muskie are happy to share tag information with anyone who reports a fish! So get out there and catch a tiger muskie, and if it has a tag, let's hear about it!!

How to hold your muskie for a quick picture.