A couple of tiger muskies were reported caught recently in Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 7, one at Gartside Dam near Sidney and one at Tongue River Reservoir. These are the only waters in the region that have tiger muskies, so it’s a rare and exciting opportunity.

It’s also a chance to remind anglers that they need to abide by the statewide regulation for tiger muskie, which is one fish daily and in possession, and the fish must be over 40 inches in length. Fish not meeting these dimensions must be released.

It’s also worth mentioning that tiger muskie cannot be speared unless they are over 40 inches long. Anglers spear fishing at either waterbody need to be sure it’s a northern pike or a tiger over 40 inches before throwing the spear.

The tiger muskie, or tiger muskellunge, is the sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge and the northern pike. It is a fast-growing, carnivorous fish with a reputation for being difficult to catch. They are bred in hatcheries for stocking purposes.

Stocking of tiger muskie only occurred at Gartside Reservoir in 2006, 2007 and 2010.  In those years, about 1,800 fish were stocked, ranging in size from almost six inches to about 12 inches. Tiger muskie at Tongue River Reservoir originated from 50 fish stocked by Wyoming Fish & Game in Ranchester Pond in Wyoming. Some of the fish escaped into the Tongue River during flooding in 2013. Ranchester Pond is located approximately 50 river miles upstream of Tongue River Reservoir. Neither Gartside nor Tongue River Reservoir sees regular stocking of tiger muskie, but anglers occasionally encounter these sought-after fish.

(via MT FWP)