Northern Pike Vs. Musky: Species Identification Guide

People who only fish occasionally or anglers who aren’t familiar with a species like the musky typically get pike and muskies confused. Luckily, there are easy ways to distinguish between the two species, and in this post, we will show you what to look for in your next encounter with these fish.

Closely Related

Muskies and pike are very closely related and belong to the same genus, which is the Esox genus.

Being in the same Genus means that the musky and the pike are essentially cousins evolutionarily speaking, and they can even successfully interbreed and create tiger muskies as offspring. However, a hybrid tiger musky is sterile and cannot reproduce.

Muskies have a tiny distribution compared to pike, and most of their range consists of the Midwestern U.S. and the southern parts of Canada, and even then, the majority of lakes in these areas do not host muskies.

On the other hand, the pike is widespread throughout the northern half of the United States and north throughout Canada to the Arctic, and the same is true in Europe.

How to Identify the Two Species

There are two ways to easily identify these two closely related species, and that is by observing their coloration, markings, and tail/fin features and shape.

Musky

Wisconsin Strain Musky

There are two genetic strains of the musky that make up the majority of the musky population, there are a few other strains that are far less common, but for the sake of brevity, we will focus on the common strains known as the Great Lakes Strain, and the Wisconsin or Clear strain.

Clear strain muskies have olive or green colored or even brownish-gold colored bodies with golden scales on the top portion of their bodies. They have dark vertical bars running the length of their bodies, but the markings can vary, and some may not have any, or they may be very faint.

Great Lakes strain muskies are more silver/green in appearance, and instead of vertical bars or being clear, their bodies feature dark spots over most of their bodies.

Great Lakes Strain Musky

Northern Pike

In contrast to muskies, northern pike have a dark green to olive coloration, with the sides of the body being covered in white or cream color dash-like markings.

The markings between the two species are so distinct and different that it’s really hard to confuse the two species when comparing the two.

Tail and Fin Colorations

Tail and fin shape and coloration are another giveaway on what species you’re dealing with.

Musky

Muskies have a typical V-shaped tail with a deep fork. The coloration is anywhere from green to dark red, with juvenile muskies typically not yet featuring the red coloration.

There may be some faint markings on the fins or tail, but they are not very prominent.

Northern Pike

Northern pike do not have the drastically angled tail fin tips like a musky and have rounded tails with a shallower V-shape.

The coloration of the tail is also drastically different when compared to a muskies tail, with bright orange/yellow colorations and dark prominent black markings and lines on the tails.

Final Thoughts

The coloration and tail features are the best and fastest way to determine whether the species you caught is a northern pike or a musky, there are other ways to tell, such as counting the pores under the jaw, but if you can recognize these simple giveaways, they other methods aren’t needed.

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