But on the muskie the lower halves of both cheek and gill cover are scale-less. Also, the northern pike has whitish or yellowish spots on a darker greenish background. The muskie usually is a grayish olive color with darker spots which tend to form oblique bands. The muskie is a voracious predator. They consume 6.4 percent of their body weight per day.
Adults eat mostly minnows, suckers and shad.
They seem to be opportunists and when hungry will eat any living thing they can catch and swallow. Average growth of muskies is reported as 10.5,17,22.4,26.4 and 30.2 inches at the end of successive years of life and a 48-inch fish would be around 14 years old. Male muskies mature in their fourth spring, females in their fourth or fifth spring. Spawning occurs in April. Water temperatures range from 50 to 60 degrees F., but 55 seems to be about the optimum.