Iowa Fish Atlas

Native: Yes

State Rank: S3

ITIS Code: 162144          

National Rank:  N5

Global Rank: G5

Modeled By: Anna Loan-Wilsey

State Range:

The muskellunge was only collected in a few Iowa fish surveys prior to 1960, the majority of these from the Mississippi River (Harlan et al. 1987).  Since 1960, it has been successfully stocked in several natural lakes in northern Iowa (Harlan et al. 1987).

Habitat Affinities:

The muskellunge is a native of clear, northern lakes and the backwaters of moderately clear upland rivers but much of its habitat has been destroyed by impoundment, pollution and other types of streams degradation (Clay 1975; Etnier and Starnes 1993; Phillips et. al. 1982; Robison and Buchanan 1988). In sluggish streams and rivers, the muskellunge prefers large, cool, rocky pools with beds of aquatic vegetation and sandy bottoms (Etnier and Starnes 1993; Pflieger 1997; Trautman 1981).  It is seldom abundant in any lake or river where it occurs (Eddy and Underhill 1974).

Predictive Model(s):

Mississippi River Model:

The distribution is based upon existing collection records and professional review.

(("pool" >= 'S09' AND "pool" <= 'S11') OR "pool" = 'S17')

Overall Prediction:

(("pool" >= 'S09' AND "pool" <= 'S11') OR "pool" = 'S17')

Literature Cited:

Clay, W.M.  1975.  The fishes of Kentucky.  Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Frankfort, Kentucky.  416 pp.

Eddy, S., and J.C. Underhill.  1974.  Northern fishes; with special reference to the upper Mississippi Valley.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  414 pp.

Etnier, D.A., and W.E. Starnes.  1993.  The fishes of Tennessee.  University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.  681 pp.

Harlan, J.R., E.B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew.  1987.  Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1997.  The fishes of Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri.  372 pp.

Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill.  1982.  Fishes of the Minnesota region.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  248 pp.

Robison, H.W., and T.M. Buchanan. 1988.  Fishes of Arkansas.  University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas.  536 pp.

Trautman, M.B.  1981.  The fishes of Ohio.  Revised Edition.  Ohio State University Press in collaboration with the Ohio Sea Grant Program Center for Lake Erie Area Research,  Columbus, Ohio.  782 pp.

Data Sources:

Meek, S.E.  1892.  Report upon the fishes of Iowa, based upon observations and

collections mad during 1889, 1890, 1891.  Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 10(1890):217-248.

Nord, R.C.  1967.  A compendium of fishery information on the Upper Mississippi River.

Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois.

UMRCC.  1953.  Revised species list- northern section of the river.  Pages 19-32 in

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Meeting, Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois.

Additional References:

Becker, G.C.  1983.  Fishes of Wisconsin.  University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 1052 pp.

Blimber, D.L.  1983.  Longevity, growth, and mortality of muskellunge in Chautauqua Lake, New York. New York Fish Game Journal 29(2)(1982):134-141.

Cross, F.B., and J.T. Collins.  1995.  Fishes in Kansas.  University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Public Education Series No. 14, Lawrence, Kansas.   315 pp.

Crossman, E.  1956.  Growth, mortality, and movements of a sanctuary population of maskinonge (Esox masquinongy Mitchill).  Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 13(5):599-612.

Crossman, E.J.  1977.  Displacement and home range movements of muskellunge determined by ultrasonic tracking. Environmental Biology of Fishes 1(2): 145-158.

Crossman, E.J., and C.D. Goodchild.  1978.  An annotated bibliography of the muskellunge, Esox masquinongy (Osteichthyes: Salmoniformes).  Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Dombeck, M.P.  1979.  Movement and behavior of the muskellunge determined by radio-telemetry.  Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Technical Bulletin No. 113. 19 pp.

Douglas, N.H.  1974.  Freshwater fishes of Louisiana.  Claitor’s Publishing Division, Sponsored by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  443 pp.

Hall, G.E., editor.  1986.  Managing muskies: a treatise on the biology and propagation of muskellunge in North America.  American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 15. Bethesda, Maryland. 372 pp.

Harrison, E. J., and W. F. Hadley.  1979.  Biology of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) in the upper Niagara River. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 108(5):444-451.

Kelly, G., editor.  1986.  Animal habitat relations handbook.  Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Jefferson City, Missouri.  293 pp.

Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr.  1980.  Atlas of North American freshwater fishes.  North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina.  867 pp.

Oehmcke, A.  1969.  Muskellunge management in Wisconsin.  Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Report No. 10. 18 pp.

Oehmcke, A., L. Johnson, J. Klingbiel, and C. Winstrom.  1965.  The Wisconsin muskellunge, its life history, ecology, and management.  Wisconsin Conservation Department Publication No. 225. 12 pp.

Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr.  1991.  A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico.  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott.  1991.  Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada.  American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20, Bethesda, Maryland. 183 pp.

Scott, W.B., and E. J. Crossman.  1973.  Freshwater fishes of Canada.  Fisheries Research Board of Canada Bulletin No. 184, Ottawa, Canada.  966 pp.

Thom, R.H., and J.H. Wilson.  1980.  The natural divisions of Missouri.  Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science  14:9-24.

Photo Credits:

Upper Left:       Photo courtesy of the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Fish and Wildlife Information System, http://www.conservation.state.mo.us.

Upper Right:     Photo courtesy of the College of Natural Resources, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, http://www.cnr.vt.edu/efish/index.html.