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| I think there are two different things being discussed here. The tigers swimming with their heads "body surfing" and the regular muskies sticking their heads up.
My family has netted two different fish - a northern pike and one muskie that were fairly stationary, sticking their heads out of the water. Both were choking on large ciscos/tulibees. One was a 21 lb pike many years ago on Inguadona, blind in one eye, choking on a 2-3 lb cisco. The second was a muskie on the Indian Lake Chain, about a 12 lb fish, doing the same. One possibility is an inherent survival device to help swallow the stuck prey (using increased gravity out of the water). This happens when fighting muskies/hybrids on live bait, as well. Sometimes their first response is to stick their head out and "periscope."
My first time on LOTW in 1985, and I've never seen it so consistently since, was a July, 90-plus degree occurance... We worked our way into Burrow Bay and when we stopped to fish each mini-bay, fishing it from point to point, a muskie would stick its head out of the water in the pea-green soup conditions. The head would be out from 3-5 seconds or so. As soon as we would come off plane, wait a bit, we started to look around, almost expecting it. Sure enough, a head would come out, seemingly looking around to see what had entered their bay - never more than one fish per location. Weird. As 5:00 hit, we saw no more do this for the remainder of the trip. None of these fish followed or reacted to lures. I've never seen more than one fish do this at a time, since, in a day.
DC |
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| Saw this on the weekend on the Ontario side of Lake St. Clair. We actually trolled over to it thinking it would spook but it just sat there looking at us. I scooped it up in the net. It was about 36 inches and as clean as can be no marks or nothing, a real beauty. We released after a pic and off it went just as calm as ever.
D
Musky - Odd Behavior
Question
Why do musky sometimes swim slowly with their head out of the water? I have seen this twice in the last 2 years.
Answer
We receive more descriptions of unusual behavior associated with muskellunge than most other fish. For most of us trying to catch a trophy muskellunge, the "odd" behavior is swimming toward a lure and turning away just as one's heart begins pounding in anticipation of an attack. From time to time, we do hear from anglers who have witnessed similar "head above water" actions like you describe.
There are a couple of theories about this action, including:
Since muskellunge attack prey from the side and then swallow them head-first, the musky might bet taking one last gulp associated with consumption of a large meal.
Musky like to be well acquainted with their surroundings and are surfacing to get a "better look around."
Muskellunge have also been seem "basking" and occasionally "porpoising" with their backs out of the water. This is suspected to be associated with getting to warmer surface water, perhaps to increase metabolism and aid digestion of a large meal (reptiles seek warmth for similar reasons).
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Posts: 128
| A few photos my buddy snapped of a headswimmer Tiger.
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| A couple of months ago I was pitching a bucktail in a swallow water bay and this, what I thought was a duck's head just pops up out of nowhere 15 feer from the boat. After, staring at the crazy duck swimming, I come to find out it's a musky with it's head out of the water coming right towards the boat. I started pitching my lure but the musky just swam off and disappeared, what a friggin' crazy experience. |
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Posts: 61
Location: Anoka | Yes it sure is weird on June 11 me and my partner were fishing the metro muskie tourny on Indy when he says hey look at that snapping turtle lol I turned and instantly knew it was a huge muskie 48 to 50 leech strain head completly out of the water and mouth open half way I scarmbled to change lures I threw a shallow invader she followed but wouldent eat I then came back to that fish 5 times she followed every time but just wouldent eat but thats how my year has been going oh well still fun
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Posts: 3864
| Seen it, but it did not compare to seeing a snake swim one weird day. I think FishOn was with me at Lake Y in Da Yoop. This snake thought it was the Loc Nest Snake, about 6' long swimming hard with about 14" of his neck and head out of the water. Bright brown with yellow, I was told later is was likely a corn snake. Big enough to take a baby away from dingos, man.
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Posts: 531
Location: Hugo, MN | I netted a 41" Tiger that was doing this on Yellow Lake in Wisconsin. She let us net her calmly, and released like any other caught fish, never to be seen again. I've also seen Leech Lake strains do this on White Bear Lake. Caught a 48" a few years ago that I saw swimming like that. When we got close enough it went subsurface, then I threw a cowgirl out in front of it and boom! That's the only one I've ever even gotten to follow, let alone strike a bait after seeing it swim like that. Pretty neat to see. |
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| Today we were at a little lake in New Mexico called Bluewater Lake, noticed the muskies doing this a lot more in the late afternoon, it was the first time we ever went muskie fishing and it was something unexplainable to us. Never seen a fish do that before and we've been around. Good to know why they do that. Thanks for the info posted on this page. Happy Fishing everyone. If you all have any pointers on how we can catch these guys next time. That would be awesome. We got stumped today, but it was sure was a good time!!!! |
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Posts: 86
Location: colorado | The tigers here in Colorado, do this a lot. I didn't realize true's do not do this. The lakes I fish for pike I don't see them doing it.Alway thought it was a musky thing. Interesting. |
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Posts: 120
| I fish a tiger lake here in PA, and have seen them doing this same thing quite often as well... Also never seen a pure strain do this, or a nothern for that matter. I've seen pures come up and porpoise, but not surfing, looking around like the tigers do.
Twice it has been after getting their attention with a lure... In June I had a big fish come up and whiff on my crank bait--30 seconds later it was back up on the surface swimming with its head out looking around, lol. Just like the pics...So wierd! Great pics btw. |
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Posts: 661
Location: Sussex, NJ | saw a tiger do this one time on a lake in NJ. My buddy threw a magic maker at it and it came after it instantly. We missed the fish but it sure was awesome to watch! |
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Posts: 313
Location: Bemidji, Lake Vermilion | Caught a 50.5 this summer after watching it head out of the water off and on for about 5min. Smoked a hawg wobbler, had a guy and his kid vacationing in MN but from CO watch the whole thing unfold. Fun stuff. |
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| Seen it on Miltona many times. Yesterday we saw a bunch doing it, flat calm all day.
Never had luck catching one that did it though. |
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| Also saw this on Tonka on Wed. A closer look showed that somebody had recently caught her and had obviously had both fingers firmly in her eyes, probably to "quiet" her down while the unhooked her. 45 in, so not legal although I wish I had put her down. Don't really know how a blind musky lives. Don't tell me they can live without eyesight. |
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Posts: 209
| skid - 9/30/2012 5:31 PM
Don't tell me they can live without eyesight.
Well, this is exactly what you just told me not to do, but I've heard of studies where they cut the optic nerve of fingerlings and find them still alive several years later. On the other hand, I still hate seeing people hold fish like that.
Edited by MuskieMark01 9/30/2012 11:53 PM
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Posts: 173
| Don't tell me they can live without eyesight.
Sorry to go against your instructions but they can and do live totally blind. One large female in the telemetry sudy on the Ottawa River was blind at tagging but keeps spawning .
I'm not suggesting that the eye socket hold is acceptable , just that muskies can and do survive injuries fishermen assume are fatal. On the other hand some "strong" releases turn up dead a few days later. |
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