In August 2021, triathlete Matt Gervais was on a training swim in Lake St Clair, on the US and Canada border between Ontario and Michigan, when something grabbed his right hand.
“It was an intense pain. Almost like burning,” Gervais told the Windsor Star newspaper. “It took me a moment to understand what exactly was going on. A real ugly fish. Big eyes, big teeth.”
The attack was brief, too quick for Gervais to gauge the size of the fish that had bitten him, but he knew it to be a muskellunge, not least because one of the teeth remained lodged in his knuckle.
It was likely an instinctual response from the muskellunge, or ‘muskie’, as they are often known, grabbing at potential prey as it swept passed its nose. But despite letting go, the muskie delivered lacerations that required stitching. There is more than one reason why the pike family are known as ‘freshwater sharks’, and the muskie is the largest of them all.
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Caught in 1949, the official rod-caught record muskie weighed 30.5 kg and measured 153cm long. Bigger, unratified specimens have been landed, and rumours of fish exceeding 2 metres in length have long-swirled around the vast inland waterways of Cananda and the northern US where they are found.
Muskies, like all members of the Esox genus, are an ancient species, dating back 60 million years. The sleek, torpedo-shaped body is perfectly formed for ambush attacks, propelled by anal and dorsal fins that are set back beside a thick-wristed, powerful tail.
Muskies will remain still for long periods, conserving energy and often only stirring when light levels drop or if a prey item happens to present itself. Their olive-green body is blotched with a series of pale yellow markings, either spots or bars, the strength and pattern of which often reflect the water clarity and depth, or presence of weed.
The head is pointed towards the snout and dominated by the mouth. With the jaws open, the gape is vast, and the teeth are extremely sharp and numerous, positioned in rows and backward-facing, similar to a shark. There is some debate as to whether pike species have an anticoagulant compound within their saliva or coating the teeth, as even small nicks can bleed profusely. In reality, it is a mark of the sharpness and efficiency of those teeth.
The muskie’s eyes are positioned towards the top of the head and are round and slightly bulbous. They have a cold, unblinking appearance that adds to the fish’s sinister demeanour, but despite appearance, muskies, and all pike species, are vulnerable when captured by anglers and care must be taken if the fish is to be returned to the water.
The name ‘muskellunge’ evolved from the First Nation Ojibwe word maashkinoozhe, which means ‘ugly pike’, just as Matt Gervais had described. It seems a little bit cruel to a fish that may appear fearsome, but has a rugged beauty, especially the delicate watercolour patterning on the flanks. A muskie is certainly capable of inflicting an ugly wound or two, though.
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