It is also known by its original Indian name, maskinonge, which is the official name given it in the statutes of Canada and those of Ontario and Quebec.
Anglers often refer to it as the musky.
The muskellunge has been exclusively a game fish in Ontario since 1904 and in Quebec since 1936 due to the intensity of sport fishing for it and the decline in catches. A close relative of the northern pike, the muskellunge exhibits the same long body shape with dorsal and anal fins set back near the tail, the long, flat-topped snout with undershot jaw, and the large mouth armed with rows of strong, sharp teeth. Early in the century, this fish was known to exceed 45 kg in weight. The largest on record weighed 50 kg and was netted by commercial fishermen in Michigan state waters in 1914. The world's record catch by an angler was taken on the St. Lawrence River in 1957 and weighed 31.5 kg.