What is Muskellunge?
[[File:Muskellunge USFWS.jpg|thumb|right|400px|{{Center|A Muskellunge}}]] The '''muskellunge''' (''Esox masquinongy'') is a [[freshwater]] [[game fish]]. It is the largest member of the [[Esox]] (Pike) family. The muskellunge is also called the '''muskie''' or '''maskinonge''' ([[Canada]]). It is native to [[north]]ern and [[east]]ern [[North America]]. Muskies have been [[Introduced species|introduced]] into other [[States of the United States|U.S. states]].. Muskies are [[Carnivore|carnivorous]] and eat other fish. They are [[Predation#Ambush predator|ambush feeders]] who will attack anything that moves in or on the water. == Subspecies == Currently there are three recognized [[subspecies]] of Muskellunge.<ref name=Reynolds15>Barry Reynolds; John Berryman, ''Pike on the Fly: The Flyfishing Guide to Northerns, Tigers, and Muskies'' (Boulder : Johnson Books, 1993), p. 15</ref> * The Great Lakes Muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy masquinongy'') [[Native (ecology)|native]] to the [[Great Lakes Basin]].<ref name=Reynolds15/> * The Chautauqua (or Ohio) Muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy ohioinis'') found in [[Chautauqua Lake]] and south into [[Ohio]].<ref name=Reynolds15/> * The Northern Muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy masquinongy'') native to [[Michigan]], [[Wisconsin]] and [[Minnesota]].<ref name=Reynolds15/> There is also a [[hybrid]] called the [[Tiger muskellunge]] (or Tiger Muskie). It is a cross between the Muskellunge and the [[Northern pike]] (''Esox lucius'').<ref name=Schultz145>Ken Schultz, ''Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Freshwater Fish'' (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004), p. 145</ref> They are smaller than true muskies but can grow up to 1.5 times faster in the first year.<ref>B.J Brecka; M.L. Hooe; et al., 'Comparison of Growth, Survival, and Body Composition of Muskellunge and Tiger Muskellunge Fed Four Commercial Diets', ''The Progressive Fish Culturist'', Vol. 57 (1995), pp. 37-43</ref> They are almost always sterile and cannot reproduce.<ref name=Reynolds17>Barry Reynolds; John Berryman, ''Pike on the Fly: Th