Michigan Lake Depths

Game fish · pike family

Muskellunge

Esox masquinongy · also called musky, muskie

Native to MichiganRecorded in 74 Michigan lakes and bays
Illustration of a muskellunge in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Wild populations
Mainly in the western Upper Peninsula; stocked elsewhere
Great Lakes
Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River are world-class
Spawns
Early spring after the pike, in 15–20 in of water near 55°F
Eats
Suckers, minnows, perch and sunfish
Michigan records
Muskellunge, Great Lakes strain: 58 lb, 59 in — Lake Bellaire, Antrim County, 2012
Muskellunge, northern strain: 49 lb 12 oz, 51 in — Thornapple Lake, Barry County, 2000

Where muskellunge have been recorded

74 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list muskellunge, across 42 counties, including 4 Great Lakes bays. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Lake St. Clair, St. Clair CountyGrand Traverse Bay, Grand Traverse CountyBig Bay de Noc, Delta CountyLittle Bay de Noc, Delta CountyTorch Lake, Antrim CountyBurt Lake, Cheboygan CountyMullett Lake, Cheboygan CountyBlack Lake, Cheboygan CountyIndian Lake, Schoolcraft CountyElk Lake, Antrim CountyHamlin Lake, Mason CountyLac Vieux Desert, Gogebic CountyLake Michigamme, Marquette CountyBrevoort Lake, Mackinac CountyMuskegon Lake, Muskegon CountySouth Manistique Lake, Mackinac CountyLong Lake, Grand Traverse CountyLake Skegemog, Kalkaska CountyGun Lake, Barry CountyPlatte Lake, Benzie CountyOtsego Lake, Otsego CountyLake Margrethe, Crawford CountyLake Macatawa, Ottawa CountyLake Bellaire, Antrim CountyNorth Manistique Lake, Luce CountyIntermediate Lake, Antrim CountyLake Gratiot, Keweenaw CountyBelleville Lake, Wayne CountyWest Twin Lake, Montmorency CountySanford Lake, Midland CountyWixom Lake, Gladwin CountyAustin Lake, Kalamazoo CountyChicagon Lake, Iron CountyDiamond Lake, Cass CountyThousand Island Lake, Gogebic CountyOrchard Lake, Oakland CountyMona Lake, Muskegon CountyCisco Lake, Gogebic CountyWhitmore Lake, Livingston CountyTeal Lake, Marquette CountyLake Hudson, Lenawee CountyCrooked Lake, Lower, Barry CountyLake Ovid, Clinton CountyIron Lake, Iron CountyCraig Lake, Baraga CountyThornapple Lake, Barry CountySixmile Lake, Charlevoix CountyLake Emily, Iron CountyStanley Lake, Iron CountyMurray Lake, Kent CountySouth Dease Lake, Ogemaw CountyLake Roland, Houghton CountyCedar Lake, Leelanau CountyCedar Lake, Van Buren CountyBig Bateau Lake, Gogebic CountyBankson Lake, Van Buren CountyRoss Lake, Gladwin CountyLong Lake, St. Joseph CountyRound Lake, Van Buren CountyGrassy Lake, Schoolcraft CountyLong Lake, Wexford CountyOsterhout Lake, Allegan CountyBig Island Lake, Schoolcraft CountyBudd Lake, Clare CountySwan Lake, Iron CountyMcKeever Lake, Schoolcraft CountyWilson Lake, Antrim CountyEast Twin Lake, Luce CountyClam Lake, Antrim CountyDana Lake, Delta CountyCampau Lake, Kent CountySt. Clair Lake, Antrim CountyMoosehead Lake, Gogebic CountyThornton Lake, Alger County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 64lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 7lakes where a DNR fisheries survey netted them
  • 30lakes the DNR has stocked since 2016; 9 of them are listed on that stocking alone

A lake can appear in more than one line. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked them.

Lakes listed on stocking alone are ones the DNR has stocked since 2016.

Inland lakes on this list run from 30 to 18,998 acres (median 540) and from 5 to 285 ft deep (median 38.5 ft).

When and how big muskellunge are caught

From 1,896 Master Angler entries, 1994–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 46 in, so these describe big fish that anglers chose to register — where and when people fish, not how many fish a lake holds.

Entries by month

The busiest month is July (24% of entries); 6% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 47 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 52 in.

Method

Trolling69%
Spincasting21%
Drift Fishing4%
Spearfishing3%
Still Fishing2%

Bait

Artificial lures67%
Minnows and baitfish17%
Other6%
Worms and crawlers5%
Live bait (type not given)3%

Share of entries that recorded a method (1,860) or a bait (423).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Lake St. Clair, St. Clair 1,162
  2. Thornapple Lake, Barry 32
  3. Black Lake, Cheboygan 20
  4. Austin Lake, Kalamazoo 19
  5. Lake Skegemog, Kalkaska 17
  6. Murray Lake, Kent 17
  7. Sanford Lake, Midland 17
  8. Elk Lake, Antrim 15
  9. Mullett Lake, Cheboygan 14
  10. Budd Lake, Clare 12

Master Angler entries matched to each lake. A busy lake gets more entries; this is not a ranking of fishing quality.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

How to recognize it

A single dorsal fin set far back, dark spots or bars on a lighter body, and scales on only the upper half of the cheek and gill cover. The Michigan Fishing Guide gives six or more sensory pores under each side of the lower jaw (the DNR’s species page says six to ten).

Don’t confuse it with

Northern pike — Light spots on a dark body, a fully scaled cheek, and five or fewer pores under each side of the jaw.
Tiger muskellunge — A pike × muskie hybrid with dark wavy bars. No longer raised in Michigan hatcheries.

Up close

Illustration of a muskellunge's head from the side and slightly below, showing seven and eight sensory pores along the two sides of the lower jaw, with scales on only the upper half of the cheek and gill cover.
Muskellunge: six or more pores under each side of the lower jaw (seven and eight drawn here); the cheek and gill cover are scaled only on their upper halves.
Illustration of a northern pike's head from the side and slightly below, showing five sensory pores along each side of the lower jaw, a fully scaled cheek, and scales on only the upper half of the gill cover.
Northern pike: five pores under each side of the lower jaw; the whole cheek is scaled; the gill cover is scaled only on its upper half.

AI-generated close-ups, not photographs, drawn from the cited descriptions. They show what to look for; they are not a substitute for an expert identification (provenance).

Life in a Michigan lake

Muskies are ambush predators that lurk near shore in the shade of plants or logs, dart out to strike, and often carry prey back to cover. In summer heat they may move a little deeper to cooler water near a drop-off.

They spawn in early spring shortly after ice-out, scattering eggs among plants in shallow water. Young muskies grow very fast for their first few years.

Source: Michigan DNR species page.

Rules and eating

Check the rules before you keep fish. Each lake page shows the regulations that apply there, and the Michigan Fishing Guide is the official source. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check Michigan’s Eat Safe Fish guidelines.

All 74 lakes with muskellunge

Show every lake, by county

Alger County 1

Thornton Lake

Allegan County 1

Osterhout Lake

Antrim County 7

Clam Lake, Elk Lake, Intermediate Lake, Lake Bellaire, St. Clair Lake, Torch Lake, Wilson Lake

Baraga County 1

Craig Lake

Barry County 3

Crooked Lake, Lower, Gun Lake, Thornapple Lake

Benzie County 1

Platte Lake

Cass County 1

Diamond Lake

Charlevoix County 1

Sixmile Lake

Cheboygan County 3

Black Lake, Burt Lake, Mullett Lake

Clare County 1

Budd Lake

Clinton County 1

Lake Ovid

Crawford County 1

Lake Margrethe

Delta County 3

Big Bay de Noc, Dana Lake, Little Bay de Noc

Gladwin County 2

Ross Lake, Wixom Lake

Gogebic County 5

Big Bateau Lake, Cisco Lake, Lac Vieux Desert, Moosehead Lake, Thousand Island Lake

Grand Traverse County 2

Grand Traverse Bay, Long Lake

Houghton County 1

Lake Roland

Iron County 5

Chicagon Lake, Iron Lake, Lake Emily, Stanley Lake, Swan Lake

Kalamazoo County 1

Austin Lake

Kalkaska County 1

Lake Skegemog

Kent County 2

Campau Lake, Murray Lake

Keweenaw County 1

Lake Gratiot

Leelanau County 1

Cedar Lake

Lenawee County 1

Lake Hudson

Livingston County 1

Whitmore Lake

Luce County 2

East Twin Lake, North Manistique Lake

Mackinac County 2

Brevoort Lake, South Manistique Lake

Marquette County 2

Lake Michigamme, Teal Lake

Mason County 1

Hamlin Lake

Midland County 1

Sanford Lake

Montmorency County 1

West Twin Lake

Muskegon County 2

Mona Lake, Muskegon Lake

Oakland County 1

Orchard Lake

Ogemaw County 1

South Dease Lake

Otsego County 1

Otsego Lake

Ottawa County 1

Lake Macatawa

Schoolcraft County 4

Big Island Lake, Grassy Lake, Indian Lake, McKeever Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

St. Joseph County 1

Long Lake

Van Buren County 3

Bankson Lake, Cedar Lake, Round Lake

Wayne County 1

Belleville Lake

Wexford County 1

Long Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan