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Posts: 1296
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | Interesting how symantics (names) are changing after a hundred years. The Eagle "Tiger" held by Rob is a cross between a muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and a pike (Esox lucius). This "cross" has ALWAYS been considered a "TIGER" muskie. Some clear, weedy muskie lakes produce true muskies with barred patterns that some call tigers, but they lack the spots that true hybrids have. Not all tigers produced from this cross have the beautiful blue hue/tint to them that the Eagle, Pineview, LVD and others have, especially tigers produced in dark water systems, but this is not inherent to just Eagle Lake.
Crosses between "silver pike" (Esox lucius-mutation, as pointed out by Mr. Worrall) and muskellunge will produce the same "tiger" pattern as the other non-mutated pike.
Where things can get "weird" is when there are F2 hybrid "backcrosses" (extremely rare in nature), from a female "hybrid/tiger" and a true muskie (yes, female hybrids ARE able to reproduce when backcrossed with either male parent-however survival is very low in the male muskie cross and usually a 100% failure with the male pike cross). The F2 backcross produces a strikingly spectacular specimen that looks a lot like a chain pickerel with "black" chains.
Leopard muskies had always been considered those with round, black or dark brown spots...basically a vividly marked "spotted muskie" like the 50-incher caught from Cass Lake, MN by Mark Windel's many years ago (if I find the photo I will post it). These are merely true muskies with a more vivid pattern for reasons uncertain, likely environmental.
The fish shown by erico could fall into the "leopard" category. The fish shown by Brian Kroll is what I would consider more of a "Jaguar" pattern, often found in extremely clear waterbodies.
Edited by Larry Ramsell 10/28/2008 9:26 AM
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Posts: 56
Location: Oak Lawn, IL | Here's a Cass Lake "Leopard" my buddy Chuck caught this past August...
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Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Here's the only one I've ever had in my boat that I would consider a leopard, my Dad got her on St Clair in '05 on a topraider. She was totally different than anything I've ever seen even when compared to other vividly spotted fish. Her spots continued across her back and even over the top of her head. 
Edited by Will Schultz 10/28/2008 6:53 PM
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Posts: 221
| Again....wow. Those are insane.
Crazy that environmentals can produce a fish like the one Mikeallen posted.
Darcy
Edited by 50inchGrinch 10/28/2008 8:15 PM
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Posts: 1296
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | Will, great example of a "leopard" true muskie.
As an aside, another tidbit...for many years around the Park Rapids, MN area, silver pike (Esox lucius) were called and considered "Silver Muskies", which of course was innaccurate. In fact, at one time MN used these "silver muskies" in the hatchery program...of course they were raising "silver pike"...wonder what they thought when some of them reverted to their natural pike coloration!
On the other hand, the muskies in KY are called "silver muskies". This is because they look "silver" in the water. They are however, TRUE muskellunge (Esox masquinongy). |
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